In February this year I looked out of the window and noticed a raven. And then a few days later I noticed 2 ravens. Both times they were on a nearby pylon, but then they started hanging about on a red bricked Victorian tower next to the pylon and I started to wonder if they were scouting out a possible nest site - and it turns out they were! The tower is about 500m from my house, but with the help of binoculars and mini-scope set up in the lounge I’ve been following their progress, from nest building to laying, hatching and feeding, to finally the chicks fledging.
It has been such a joy and a huge privilege to watch them over the last few months and to witness their behaviour. I’ve seen the male bringing in food to feed the female while she was incubating chicks, both birds ‘kissing’ beaks high up on the tower, tiny chicks stretching up, beaks agape, parents collecting and eating faecal sacs, larger chicks fluffing their wings out, spraying guano over the edge of the nest, and now finally the first tentative steps away from the nest and along the ledge.
I’ve been keeping a blog of all the events. What follows is the edited highlights with pictures (if you’d like the detailed un-edited diary it is in this blog post Raven Diary)
6th February - One raven seen on a pylon near Ruchill water tower.
8th February 2 ravens seen, first on a pylon and then on Ruchill water tower. The tower is a grade A listed building and was a central feature of Ruchill hospital which specialised in infectious diseases and which closed in 1998. The site is currently being converted into houses.
Tuesday 11th A raven was seen bringing a stick to the ledge on the tower.
Thursday 13th The ravens continue to build the nest. The male brings in the twigs and branches and the female uses them to construct the nest. The nest is big enough to almost hide the female, with only the very top of her head visible at times. Raven nests can be large - up to 1.5m wide and 60 cm deep though this one looks quite a bit smaller, it’s likely to be that deep.
Fri 14th Feb Less activity today, but the ravens need to spend time away feeding, especially as the female needs protein for egg production. They also line their nests and often using wool, and as there are few sheep in Ruchill (ie none) they need to fly further afield to find wool.
Saturday 15th Feb
One raven was seen doing an acrobatic display - flying then suddenly swooping and diving, dropping behind the trees, then coming up again. Possibly a courting ritual?
Tuesday 25th February (First day of incubation!)
After a few days with very few sightings today the female spent most of the day on the nest! It seems reasonable to assume she is now incubating eggs. Ravens lay on average 5 eggs per clutch and they lay them about 1 day apart. There is some evidence that they start incubating once the penultimate egg has been laid and incubation is all done by the female. The nest is so large that when she sits low down over the eggs it’s often impossible to see her.
Wednesday 26th February
The female has been on the nest all day, while the male has been around keeping a lookout either high up on the tower or on the pylon next to the tower (see photo).
Thursday 27th February
Today the male flew down to on the ledge near the nest, then waddled up to the nest and very quickly fed the female by putting his beak into hers.
The male provides both food and water for the female while she is on the nest. He can store both temporarily in his crop or sublingual pouch, though he will also bring food in his beak. The crop is an expanded, muscular pouch near the gullet or throat. It is a part of the digestive tract, essentially an enlarged part of the oesophagus.
Monday 3rd March
Today both ravens were out on one of the turrets together for a while and then seemed to ‘kiss’, with the male opening his beak and the female putting hers inside his briefly. This is a way for them to show affection for each other and to strengthen their pair bond.
Wednesday 5th March
Interesting behaviour today. When the female had left the nest a male raven flew in directly to the nest, first stood on it, then sat down, though not as low as the female does. Male ravens don’t strictly incubate as they do not have brood patches - featherless areas of skin which are rich in blood vessels which raise the temperature of the skin, and so keep eggs warm. But they do help to keep the eggs warm while the female has a break. In other species (like peregrines) both males and females brood the eggs.
A few minutes later the female returned, settled right down into the nest as normal and stayed there, and the male raven flew away.
Saturday 8th March
The female continues to sit on the nest with occasional feeds from the male. Sometimes she leaves the nest when the male arrives and they fly up to one of the turrets of the tower. One in particular looks like there is a rim where water or maybe insects collect as they both spend time with their beaks in it eating or drinking.
Saturday 15th March
Today the male flew on to the top of the tower, then flew down to the ledge soon after - normally a sign he is about to deliver food, but instead he decided to mate with her while she was on the nest. She didn't seem overly keen, perhaps more worried about the safety of the eggs! He then flew off and returned soon after.
Monday 17th March - day 20 of incubation
Incubation of the eggs is from 20-25 days, so we are watching for any change in behaviour. So far, nothing different, though both the male and the female poke their beak into the nest, perhaps turning the eggs every now and again.
Friday 21st March, Day 24 of incubation/ hatching day!
Exciting day today - it looks like hatching has happened! At 2:15 the male arrived, quickly fed the female, then both birds bent over into the nest. This is the first time this has happened so it looks like they are feeding chicks!! The light is making it hard to see much today.
Saturday 22nd March, 1 day since hatching
Multiple feeds have happened today, though not as many as I thought would be needed for newly hatched chicks, so I’m worried!
Tuesday 25th March
Male is regularly brining in food - often feeding the female first, then they both feed the chicks.
Wednesday 26th March
There has been regular feeding all day today with often the male bringing food, then sitting on or near the nest while the female flies off for a few minutes. This is an improvement on previous days where feeding has seemed sparse and inconsistent (at least compared to the literature, which was worrying).
Friday 28th March
The weather today and yesterday has been particularly wet and windy. During a dry patch the male left the nest unattended for about 10 minutes, but otherwise the female has been keeping the chicks warm and dry. The male sheltered under the ledge that has the nest for a while when it was particularly wet!
Monday 31st March (day 9 since hatching)
Exciting day today - for the first time the chicks were visible reaching up for food when the parents were near. There are definitely 2 and possibly 3 chicks. This is such a step change from yesterday (they were stretching easily a few cm above the nest) that it must be due to their necks getting stronger, not just them growing a bit bigger.
Both parents are now regularly off the nest, though one often keeps a look out from the ledge above or from the nearby pylon.
Late evening - a bird was seen carrying a fecal sack away for the first time. (Earlier there were possible sightings of a bird on the nest eating them). This was then captured in the photo above a few days later.
Saturday 5th April (2 weeks and 1 days since hatching)
The ravens continue to feed the chicks regularly, with frequent feeds especially in the evening. Often two feeds happen in quick succession - sometimes a raven will go to where water has collected, so possibly they are using that to soften some food or to deliver water directly.
First photo of a chick was captured on 2nd April (beak and tail just visible). The parents are both leaving the nest for longer periods of time and are brooding less.
Wednesday 9th April 2 weeks and 5 days from hatching
The ravens continue to grow which is making them easier to see. The biggest ones have darker plumage starting to show. We can now definitely see 3 chicks and are fairly sure there is a fourth one! The best time to spot the chicks is actually when the adult flies off, which for some reason causes all the chicks to stretch up, begging for food.
Thursday 10th April (2 weeks 6 days from hatching)
Interesting behaviour today - one parent flew away with a stick from the nest, and later threw another stick from the nest out of the side! Maybe making more space for the growing chicks.
Monday 14th April (3 weeks and 3 days from hatching)
The chicks seem to have really grown in the last few days - when they fluff themselves up and move around the nest we can see fully formed birds with sleek black feathers. The edge of the nest is getting increasingly white as they spray their guano over the side. Regular feeding is still happening, but the chicks are left for long periods in between.
Thursday 17th April (3 weeks and 6 days from hatching)
The chicks are really big now and sometimes sit at the top of the nest. In the afternoon the adult fetched water that had collected on one of the turrets and brought some to each chick, making 4 trips back and forth in total.
Sunday 20th April (4 weeks and 2 days from hatching)
The chicks are spending a lot of time stretching their wings to build up their muscles, often sitting right on the edge of the nest. Interestingly the adults have both been around much more over the last few days - whether that is because they don't need to be away or because the chicks are now more vulnerable I don't know.
The adults also spend time cleaning out the nest - one removed a huge stick that had a fecal sack attached to it - it took quite a lot of wrestling to get it free before it managed to fly away with it
Wednesday 23rd April (4 weeks and 5 days from hatching)
A visit to the tower this evening and sadly only 3 chicks were seen (but keep reading!) But they are doing well and are almost adult sized. Still on the nest, but flapping their wings a lot and are getting very good at manoeuvring around the nest. After feeding they turn round, walk backwards a few steps before leaning forward so that guano sprays over the edge of the nest. Sometimes they almost slip and I worry they will fall off the ledge.
Friday 25th April (5 weeks since hatching)
Exciting event this evening- the first raven chick left the nest! I’m not entirely sure it did so on purpose- they often look like they are about to slip and fall when they are flapping their wings and jumping around the nest. When I saw it, the chick had already left and was next to the nest on the ledge and an adult was close by looking concerned, touching beaks with it to reassure it. The adult then left and the chick managed to gingerly turn round, then sat still for a bit against the tower. It eventually got back on to the nest, and was greeted by the other chicks who started preening it. It’s going to be a worry watching them from now on!
Saturday 26th April (5 weeks and 1 days since hatching)
More excitement today with 1 chick leaving the nest this morning, and 3 chicks leaving the nest this evening! Another chick stayed in the nest, so there are definitely 4, which is a fabulous brood, and unusual, at least compared to birds which breed in the countryside which often manage only 1 or 2. This is likely indicative of a good food supply for these ravens in the city. The adult fed the chick on the ledge and as happened yesterday an adult was keeping a close eye and touching beaks with the chicks this evening to reassure them. One was so comfortable it lay down on the ledge and seemed to fall asleep!
Wednesday 30th April (5 weeks and 4 days since hatching)
The chicks have suddenly become much more active, spending much of the day walking up and down the ledge - or just lying down on it. Two chicks particularly like one corner and another chick likes being in the middle of a different side. There has been no sign of a 4th chick for the last couple of days, but this could be because it has fledged. Parents are still feeding regularly and spending time on the tower keeping an eye on the chicks
Saturday 3rd May
For the last few days only two chicks have been seen on the tower, and today there is only 1. Adults are still around at times, and the chick sometimes is in the nest and sometimes walking on the ledge. It seems that the others have now fledged.
Monday 5th May
This morning two ravens were performing sudden swoops and dives, each time climbing back up to the same ledge of the pylon before diving off again. I assume to impress the female
This afternoon 2 chicks were around on the ledge, and then later one of the chicks was on the little ledge below along with an adult - the first proof we’ve had that the chicks have fledged. The one on the ledge possibly still hasn’t though
Sunday 12th May
Chicks doing well, and regularly return to the tower to rest. They are still being fed by the adults.