Perhaps the most aggravating species I try to photograph.
1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 1000, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Common as they are around here ravens are one of my most difficult subjects – right up there with kingfishers and, dare I say it, Golden Eagles.
I swear, it’s ingrained in their DNA to vamoose a split second before I get my lens on them and I mean that literally. I’m convinced it’s because they’ve been shot as vermin for so many generations that whenever a vehicle stops for them, or someone aims something long at them (like a rifle or a big lens) they’re out’a here. They just don’t like attention from humans, they’re that smart.
This shot may or may not be up to my usual standards but it’s a wild raven (as opposed to semi-tame birds found in places like National Parks where many are highly acclimated to humans) so I’m going with it. I took this shot this past Christmas Eve Day just after the bird took off from the flats at Farmington Bay WMA. The raven is fairly small in the frame but I like the flight posture and the good exposure and detail on those dense, photon-sucking blacks. And I think the bird’s shadow adds to the image.
In my neck of the woods I typically don’t even stop my pickup for ravens anymore because they’re so reliably and aggravatingly uncooperative. Even slowing down will often flush them but if they do hang around for that long the instant my vehicle rocks back to a complete stop they’re almost invariably already gone. That very thing happened again yesterday with a raven in the west desert which probably led to the subject of this post. I do tend to dwell on failure.
I don’t like to cuss birds but when I do it’s typically a raven. I simply don’t need any more “air shots” of where ravens used to be.
Ron
I was just at Bryce Canyon and had a raven come very close to me and perch on a sign. He posed for me and several others for quite a while. I think he was enjoying the attention. I’d never seen that happen before.
Great image of the Raven. Interesting comments about the species habit of leaving quickly when humans appear, particularly if they are pointing tele lens. We observe the same here Down Under with a range of Corvid species, and assume it is or the same reasons. In any case, they are smart birds.
Gary, corvids in particular are smart and learn readily as individuals. And since many behaviors are genetically controlled after being selected for during evolution I’m pretty close to convinced that their tendency to be wary of being stalked by humans is “in their DNA”.
That is a nice exposure, showing the different wing feathers. I rarely see Ravens in this area; see them mostly at higher elevations. Crows are common and are also very wary of people, although less so around the fast-food joints in town along with the other black bird -Brewer’s Blackbird.
I know what you mean about crows and fast food joints. We have lots of them in and near cities during winter but not the rest of the year.
That’s a bit surprising, Ron. Around here, while some individual ravens are arrogant, shy, standoffish, for the most part they are curious about humans, especially those whom they recognize, or those doing peculiar things. As an example, we have a group of hang gliders, the Good Day to Die Club, and when they launch from the edge of Mt. Tamalpais with nothing below them but the Pacific Ocean and a couple of narrow beaches, the local ravens like to get above and in front of them and do rolls, and pass things to one another, as if to say “Hey Homey saps, can you do this?” I have yet to photograph this, but I am patient. . The local raven pair have given me some of my best bird shots, and I was just hanging with them yesterday; I am processing some shots even now.
Martha, I have a good friend, Jim DeWitt who lives in Boise, ID, who is surprised by the “flightiness” of our ravens around here too. But if you’ve read the comments to this post you know that many of my readers from other parts of the country see the same tendency in their ravens – extreme spookiness. I suspect it’s at least partly a function of how acclimated to human activity they’ve become in certain areas. I tend to (attempt to) photograph them in fairly remote areas most of the time.
Nice photo of one of my favorite birds – love the light on the feathers. I’ve yet to get these guys bigger than a dot in my frame. They are so elusive. So congrats to you!
Thank you, Joanne.
I am with Marty. And a big, big fan of ravens. Beautiful, clever, family minded birds who are often unjustly disparaged or dismissed. I really like the feather detail, the irridescence AND the shadow in this shot.
Thank you, EC. I agree.
Understood! The MOST challenging of species! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. Our photographers contribute many images to the Hawks Aloft library, but we have a dearth of Ravens, Belted Kingfishers, and Golden Eagles. Two other species that are a nemesis are Sharp-shinned Hawk and Northern Goshawk!
Gail, speaking of Golden Eagles I had a wonderful opportunity with one this morning. I can hardly wait to look at my photos. I’ll have to be lucky to have anything real good but I’m exited about that unlikely possibility…
Gail Garber, if you would like some raven shots, please feel free to contact me.
Ravens, the beautiful geniuses. Two places they don’t avoid humans are the turnouts in Yellowstone and parking areas in Death Valley. No one shoots at them there and they have obviously learned that people will give them handouts. Love the Corvids.
Leslie, the same is true in many of our parks. Corvids could be extremely approachable in Glacier NP when I lived nearby and visited often.
As you said all you have to do is think about slowing down and they have read your mind! There is always that one that seems to have made eye contact with you long before you realize it. Very nice shot!
Thanks, Kathy. This morning at Bear River I didn’t even get a raven in my viewfinder even though there were quite a few of them in the area.
Lololol! Ravens aren’t associated with trickster deities for no reason. 🙂
Agreed.
Another of our most ignored winged friends along with Coots, Mallards, Doves, etc. They are indeed common and I think it is our nature to seek the uncommon. They are very smart and I think it is the vehicle along with the big rifle like lens that drives them away. On foot with a smaller hand held camera I have no problem getting relatively close to them. On days when we have really strong winds I love to watch them have great fun riding the thermals. As Marty says above, “Ravens don’t get their due”, and that is so true. Always liked Edgar Allan Poe’s Raven poem.
And no bird enjoys harassing our eagles more than ravens. One day earlier this year I saw one of our eagles land on a tall snag tree close by. Then about two hundred yards away I saw three ravens take off and head for that same tree. I knew exactly what they were doing to do so I just focused the camera on the eagle and sure enough they flew in and surrounded him. He only lasted about two or three minutes before he could not take it anymore and took off.
Everett, ravens harass Bald Eagles constantly out at Farmington, or at least they used to when we had many more eagles than we do now. I miss that interaction even though the eagles probably don’t.
Corvus corax, my favorite! Thanks for still photographing them amidst the challenges.
Thank you, Art.
Beautiful Raven Ron. 🙂 The birds you mention and others DON’T like things pointed at them….. Used to think it would be easy to get them all feeding on road kill near the edge of the road – HA! Slow down/stop and they are gone! I have had it happen with Eagles at quite a distance also. The “black” tho beautiful is NOT helpful for photography!
“The “black” tho beautiful is NOT helpful for photography”
That’s for sure. Thanks, Judy.
Ravens are truly beautiful birds that don’t often get their due. Thanks for including this shot — you have captured feather detail and some iridescence. I’d say that’s a win. 👍
Thanks, Marty. Wow, you’re up and at them early. Must be a new batch of pooches…
Unfortunately, just insomnia this time. 😕
There is nothing JUST about insomnia. Many, many cultures have used sleep deprivation as torture. For good reason. It is.
Always believed that if anyone wanted any info out of me all they’d have to do is deprive me of sleep and I’d tell them anything they wanted to know, that I thought they wanted to know and, probably, more than they wanted to know! 😀
Yup. And if they didn’t like my story I would change it as many times aw necessary. My eyes rolled back just before 3 again this morning. I am tired (literally AND metaphorically) of this.