Tag: common raven

Common Raven Disposing of Eggshells

 When this Common Raven landed on a large rock fairly close to me last week on Antelope Island I could see that it had something in its beak and assumed that it was some type of food.  It wasn’t until I got home and processed the images that I could tell what it was.   Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2500, f 6.3, ISO 500 It turns out that it was eggshell, presumably from its own nest.  In researching Common Raven eggs I found that they have this kind of marking and color (though there is some variability in both) and this shell remnant seemed to be about the right size for a raven so my assumption is that it’s a raven eggshell and not leftovers from a meal from raiding the nest of another bird.  There is a raven nest relatively close to this rock.    Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2500, f 6.3, ISO 500 Here the raven is very carefully placing the shell in a crevice in the rocks.  At the time I took the photo I couldn’t figure out why the bird would simply abandon what I thought was food.      Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/3200, f 6.3, ISO 500 Here the raven has dropped the eggshell…     Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2000, f 7.1, ISO 500 and then it hopped to the peak of the rock to “crow” about its accomplishment. Birds of North America Online says this about raven eggshell disposal – “No…

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Tree of Death (warning – graphic!)

 In late January my friend Mia and I made the drive to the Promontory area north of the Great Salt Lake in a quest for Golden Eagle photos.  We did find some eagles but were definitely unprepared for what else we stumbled upon.   Second warning – most of these photos are graphic and may be profoundly disturbing to some.  If you proceed further in this post, please – no complaints about what you’ve seen.  You have been twice forewarned.       A misleadingly idyllic scene What we found was the kind of country that I love – wide open spaces, big skies, blissful silence and isolation.  The setting reminded me of the area around Cut Bank, Montana where I grew up.      Tree of death So what a shock it was to come around a bend in the dirt road by this little reservoir and find such a horrific scene!  Someone had apparently shot two Red Foxes, a domestic cat and a Common Raven and deliberately hung them in this tree right next to the road as some sort of a sick trophy display.     First Red Fox in tree This Red Fox had been hung by its neck in a fork of branches.     Second Red Fox in tree This one was simply draped over a stronger branch, very close to the road and with no obstructing branches between the fox and everyone who was forced to look at it as they came around the curve in the road.     Cat impaled on fence post…

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