Watching a Common Raven fledge

In mid-April, I learned from eBird about the Common Raven nest with two nestlings next to the bike path in a neighborhood park. The nest was on a pillar under a major thoroughfare. A busy bike path runs through the highway viaduct. I decided to monitor the nest for Nestwatch. One bird was more developed than the second bird, and I was concerned because I never saw the adults near the nest when only the second nestling remained. One day in early May I arrived to discover the second bird had just fledged from the nest and was in the viaduct hopping around on the rocks. Occasionally it would fly a few feet. It explored some canvass and other stuff lying around. The adults watched attentively from a steel girder under the highway. They were so attentive, I needn’t have worried. I watched for an hour until the fledgling flew out of the viaduct. I was able to find the fledgling nearby and get a beautiful portrait of the bird. This became one of my most treasured birding experiences.

Out West birds(Part 3)

Out West Birds(Part 1)

Out west birds.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Cornell Lab of Ornithology