Rambunctious Ravens

Have I mentioned the family of Common Raven (Corvus corax) that have decided to be our neighbors this year? I’m still uncertain as to where the actual nest was located, but the now fledged juveniles and parents have included the area around our home in part of their daily foraging activities. Ravens (like hawks and owls) invest a lot of time in the raising of their offspring and continue to feed them well beyond the time they can fly and have reached their adult size. So, imagine if you will, the entire family of seven jet black birds — each about two feet long with a wingspan of a little less than four feet — hopping around on the ground, flapping, begging and croaking loudly at one another. They have a rather dependable schedule of landing in front of our cabin just as the sun is setting. As far as I can tell, they then proceed to forage on the ground for the small fruits that have been falling from the heavy-laden ornamental plum trees. The clamor is impressive and the spectacle is well worth watching.

Now that I am feeling better (FINALLY!!), I’ll do my best to get some decent pics to share with you guys. In the meantime though, I had some fun creating this bit of digital art from various in-flight images. **Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.** I think I was imagining polka dots when I first started creating, but looking at the finished piece I find myself fantasizing about a sky filled with countless moons as ravens wing their way home to roost for the night….

 

Common Raven & moons, artwork

 

Harsi / July 2, 2011 / artwork, birds

Comments

  1. Chris - July 8, 2011 @ 8:55 pm

    I love this. You have no idea how much. If you made this into a 40″x11″ print, I would absolutely buy it; there is a place in my room where this would look just awesome. I’ve enjoyed getting caught up on the things you’ve been up to while I was away; seems like you’ve encountered some crazy stuff lately (rattlesnakes are one thing, but bears are on a whole different level! I mean, I knew you said you had ’em, but the pictures just make it so much more real y’know?)

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  2. Harsi - July 8, 2011 @ 11:09 pm

    I know I’ve been saying how I need to work on creating artwork for me and stop worrying so much about how well it will be received… That being said, I am so immensely pleased that you like this, Chris. I would happily make you a print and give it to you for free… but, sadly, I created this piece with little thought to it being used for more than just viewing on the web and I seriously doubt that it would hold up to being printed that large. I’ll experiment some more with this concept and see if I can’t come up with something that would look good at that size. Again, I am flattered and thrilled that you like it. 🙂 The bears are definitely here year-round, but we don’t actually get to see them very frequently. (And I have had only 2 or 3 opportunities to even attempt to photograph them.) The mother and her cubs was a very special sighting and one I am happy I was able to share with everyone!

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