The Delaware-Otsego Audubon Soc. has been using trail cameras baited with road-killed deer to determine winter Golden Eagle presence in the Catskills and central NY over the past few years. The numbers of ravens coming in to these sites is astonishing--hundreds at a time on occasion. So many that they can strip a full grown deer carcass to the bones in a day.
When I began birding in the 1980s, it was necessary to travel to the Adirondacks to have a chance of seeing a raven--what a range expansion! Here's a link to a photo of a modest congregation at one site: https://photos.app.goo.gl/a3EAuqzCZgYkjN6D3. Andy Mason On 12/1/2017 3:25 PM, Andrew Block wrote: > Nice sighting. It is very rare for around here to see so many in a > flock, but out West they are frequently seen in medium sized flocks > sometimes much larger usually at a feeding site such as a dead large > mammal. I have personally seen a flock of 80-100 in Unity, Maine, > back in the mid 80's flying over the Unity College campus. It blew my > mind when I realized they were ravens. It's so great to have them > around here. > > Andrew > *Andrew v. F. Block* > /Consulting Naturalist/ > 20 Hancock Avenue, Apt. 3 > Yonkers, Westchester Co., New York 10705-4629 > Phone: 914-963-3080; Cell: 914-319-9701 > www.flickr.com/photos/conuropsis/albums > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From:* Shaibal Mitra <[email protected]> > *To:* "NYSBIRDS ([email protected])" <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Friday, December 1, 2017 2:43 PM > *Subject:* [nysbirds-l] Astonishing High Count for Common Raven, > Suffolk Co., LI > > Watching a Prothonotary Warbler flying around me in low, repeated > zig-zags over open ground on 1 December wasn't the most unusual thing > I saw this morning at the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank, Suffolk > County, Long Island. > > Pat had seen a couple of Common Ravens before I arrived and wanted me > to see them. "There's a raven," she said, "with those crows." Raising > our binoculars, we came to the same shocking realization > simultaneously: "They're ALL ravens!" > > A flock of more than 30 Common Ravens rose above the treeline to the > south of property; I counted 23 at one point, and Pat counted 30 at > another, but there were clearly more based on the way that portions of > the flock dipped in and out of sight. One of my photos shows at least > 21 in the frame. The group gradually dispersed westward and southward, > but ten or more were still visible at times over the next hour or so, > including when Derek Rogers stopped by to see if I was ok. > > Prior to this I wasn't aware that Common Ravens occurred in flocks > larger than a family group, even in places where they are common > (except maybe along salmon runs in Alaska), and I would have thought > that 30 was about right for the total population on all of Long Island. > > Perhaps there is an overnight roost there or nearby, to be worked out. > > The statuses of Long Island Corvus have changed beyond recognition. > Whereas we used to have Twa Corbies, with brachrhynchos vastly > outnumbering ossifragus, now there are Trois--and nowadays a count of > 30 American Crows would be quite notable anywhere on western LI. > > Shai Mitra > Bay Shore > -- > > NYSbirds-L List Info: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > > ARCHIVES: > 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html > 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L > 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 > > Please submit your observations to eBird: > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ > > -- > > > -- > *NYSbirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> > ABA <http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> > *Please submit your observations to **eBird* > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>*!* > -- -- Andrew Mason 1039 Peck St. Jefferson, NY 12093 (607) 652-2162 [email protected] -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
