Fall and rise of the Raven

 I came across a dead sheep on Flash Lane yesterday which attracted several Magpie, Carrion Crows and 2 Raven.

Raven

Ravens are now a common sight around the moors and I regularly see and hear them from my house in Darley Dale but it was only in the mid 1990's that the Raven regularly bred in Derbyshire. 

However, according to The Birds Of Derbyshire the Raven was common in the County during the 18th Century but was subject to persecution and quotes a record of 1725 Ravens killed at Wirksworth between 1707 and 1724. 

Breeding continued until the the 1860s after which there are just occasional records of visiting birds until regular breeding commenced again from 1992 onwards.

Although most of my records are of 1s and 2s I counted 28 together over Harland Edge on 3rd October this year.

Floods followed by blue skies

 After two days of almost continual rain the flooding around Darley Dale was as bad as I can recall in the past two decades with the roads closed at Fourlane Ends, A6 at Rowsley and in the centre of Matlock.

Flooding between Darley Dale and Darley Bridge at Fourlane Ends

Fortunately with dryer weather following and clear blue skies today the river level has fallen quickly. I took a walk up on to the edge of the moors and was rewarded with great views of both Common Raven and Northern Goshawk.

Northern Goshawk - male

Common Raven

I was sad to hear that the juvenile Whooper Swan in Bakewell had died a couple of days ago, at was odd for a young bird to be separated from its parents at this time of year.

Raven display

With the first decent days sunshine of the year I witnessed plenty of display from both Raven, one of our earliest breeding birds, and Buzzard yesterday.
The Raven is unusual amongst British birds in that it will regularly do a complete roll whilst in flight and I just managed to catch this bird whilst it was upside-down and calling.

Raven - rolling

I also got a reasonable comparison shot of Raven and Buzzard flying together for size comparison, similar size with Raven just a bit longer in the wing.

Raven and Common Buzzard

Goshawk v Raven

Ravens calling overhead whilst I was walking on the moors today caused me to look up to see two birds interacting with a second calendar year female Goshawk. They were quite distant but I thought the photos gave a useful size comparison.
The Goshawk was not that much smaller than the Ravens and was instigating the interaction, chasing and dive bombing one or other of the Ravens for several minutes.

Goshawk 2nd calendar year female with Raven

Raven - Bent Lane

Glorious sunshine this morning but just 2°C on the moor and rather icy first thing, with snow visible on the higher slopes above Stanege Edge. 
Not many birds about but I caught this Raven flying over the dead bracken on the edge of the moor. It has clearly just eaten with extended crop and still with some blood on the bill. It's a difficult bird to photograph being all black but with the sun on it and a coloured background the feather detail shows up nicely.

Raven

Raven in the mist

Misty start to the day but I came across three Raven on fence posts on the edge of the moor, two birds took off but one remained and one of the departed birds returned and appeared to be encouraging the third bird to leave. I'm guessing that the bird left on the post was a youngster.

Raven

Raven and Crow

The sunshine yesterday afternoon encouraged a few birds to take advantage and I heard Dippers singing along the river and saw several Raven displaying. This bird attracted the attention of a local Carrion Crow which makes a good comparison of the bulk and bill size of the Raven compared to the crow.

Raven and Carrion Crow

Raven

From the behaviour of the local Ravens at their nest it looks like they probably already have young in the nest, although I couldn't see them in the typically deep structure. They seemed quite happy to leave the nest for 5 or 10 mins during changeovers. It won't be long before they are sat on top of the nest if all goes well.

Raven

Raven

Another great shot from Ken Smith. A recently fledged Raven, one of a family of four raised locally. It's now possible to hear the familiar croak of the Raven in all the local Dales but it used to be a rarity.
This photo shows off the bluish sheen to the feathers which is often lost in a photograph.

Raven - Beeley Moor

These 3 Raven were the highlight of this mornings visit to Beeley.

Raven