Play

Sketching for the paper

Speaking of the playfulness of the ravens  - I've been going through some films to find representative snapshots for a paper on subadult raven play - and it really is hilarious!

Once this paper is submitted, we will start on another study on play - the earliest form taking place in the nest, when the chicks are only a few weeks old. We filmed Juno's and Siden's chicks in the nest this summer, and now it's time analyze the data. A quite time consuming job as it is done frame by frame, but since temperature is dropping and it is raining heavlily it might be quite nice anyway.

//Helena

Flight

From my work at the Centre for Animal movement research at the Biology department in Lund, I have learnt about amazing aerial accomplishments in the bird world. For example, the great snipe that can make up to 6800 km nonstop flights when migrating, or the common swift that spends almost it's entire life on the wing - even eating and sleeping.
Ravens are no famous long distance migrants, but when it comes to flight acrobatics, they must be among the top birds. Maybe that is partly due to their playfulness - chasing each other with incredible speed, dropping items from high altitude and then rapidly dive to cach them again, or rolling and spinning in the sky. (See for example: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2774/4356856066_84943edf39.jpg or http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8091/8597127972_49315049a2_o.jpg)

Ten years ago, ravens were rarely seen in this area, but in recent years, the raven population in southern Sweden has increased, and now we have lots of wild raven visiting. Likely, our ravens attract some of them - especially the vagrants, young ravens who has not yet paired up. But for the last two yeas, a raven pair has breed no less than 600 metres from our aviaries, and during breeding season, we can hear the chicks beg for food and the adults communicating with each other and our ravens.

It is with mixed emotions we watch them fly over us, as it somehow stresses the limits and boundaries of our own aviaries. It is a comfort, though, that the ravens in our aviaries quite often fly themselves out of breath. Including the runway, the aviary complex streches about 35 metres, and while play chasing they just fly through the runway, makes a quick circle, and then back through the runway and into the next aviary. Or, they just bump into one of the big rafters with their feet - similar to a swimmer's turn  - and immediately fly off again.

It is a special experience, walking through the runway as one of the ravens are passing, just centimetres above you head.

//Helena

Wary looks

You could tell by the wary look from Rickard, that it was long since I brought the camera to the aviary.

Siden was the first to get used to the camera, but Juno was still not convinced.

It didn't take Rickard too long either - my pockets and rubber boots were far too interesting.

Little Tosta, the boldest of the three young, immediatey flew off to a safe distance when I tried to take a picture of her going through my pockets...and again, notice the wary look.

Somehow it seemed a lot safer when I was on the same side as the ravens  - opposite of the camera.

...and after yet a few minutes, the camera was just one of those interesting objects that could be either eaten...or destroyed:)

//Helena

Autumn's first lab meeting!

Can, Ivo and Mathias

This Friday, we had our first lab meeting at the corvid research station. The two PhD students Ivo Jacobs from the Netherlands, Can Kabadayi from Turkey, Mathias and myself. Ivo started his postion in January and Can arrived from Ankara only last week and formally started yesterday. It's great to have them here, and we are looking forward to some great research coming from them soon!

We started off discussing this semester's work, studies, papers, courses and meetings....

...and then turned to the more physical side of running a research station. For example scrubbing away algea from the wood besides the aviaries. When wet, this green growth literally can break your back, so we had a go at getting rid of it. As you can see, quite back breaking as well, but not as acute as a slip.

Before dinner we did a short excursion to Vombsjön, which is only ten minutes by car from the station. Both Ivo and Can has been to Sweden before - taking courses at the Biology department - and thus knows a lot more bird species than we do:)



//Helena

Busy summer!

Not much blogging this summer, but it doesn’t mean that there has been nothing going on.

The three raven chicks did fledge eventually, which was somewhat a shock to the young parents. Tosta, presumably the only female among the three, was first out of the nest. We found her on the ground one morning – missing most of her tail feathers. It turned out that the unexperienced parents were bewildered by having one of their chicks on the ground while the other two still in the nest, so they tried to drag her back. Pulling out tail feathers as a result. The next chick, a huge male called Gorm, came two days later. And now the parents had learned, so he only lost one or two feathers. And as you can guess, when Flygg, the third chick (also a male) fledged, the parents didn’t crumble a single feather. Siden and Juno continued to feed the fledgelings for a few weeks, and also allowed us to feed Tosta, who is the only of the three that will come near us. And after yet a few weeks we integrated the two aviaries, which was a totally undramatic business. We had expected fights and maybe injured chicks, but they immediately seemed to accept each other which was a great relief to us. And the hierarchy in the group is unchanged, with Siden as top bird and the young ravens at the bottom. As it should be.

We have also carried out a caching study – a cooperation with Oxford – comparing ravens, new caledonian crows and jackdaws. This was when the ravens were still separated, but Siden, Juno, Rickard and None all accepted to be individually tested in the runway.

In early July we attended the third conference of Comparative cognition in Wienna, and right now Mathias is attending the Behavior conference in Newcastle. In fact, at this very moment he is preparing his talk in his hotel room:)

Apart from this, we have done some construction work around the facility, and the plan is to do the painting and finish up by mid September. 

I will be back with some fresh pictures soon!

//Helena

Six weeks

Six weeks and still not fledged!

To the clip!

Nearly fledging?

The nestlings are growing less chicky and more juvenile - preening themselves and curiously observing the surroundings. Usually ravens fledge around the age of 5-6 weeks, so we are waiting anxiously for the first young out of the nest. See them preen (and yawn).

Siden is surveilling my doings with the camera.

Juno is on her way with yet another meal.