#ThawPeriod

#ThawPeriod

Mountainous Part of the Northern Hemisphere.

#NorthernRaven

Northern Raven captured at dawn through a bay-window; so you need to pump-up the volume.

#RavensNest

A new nest has been located about 2 km from here by observing activities nearby. And that nest has been built on an approximately 60° sidewall at about 50' from the ground on the far West mountain range.

At this moment the nest is completely uncovered and can easily be spotted by predators but for Ravens, it's part of the game. I've been observing Raven's nests for years now and I know that Ravens around here prefer to build in deciduous trees. Eventually growing leaves will produce fresh air while protecting the nest against bad weather. Also youngsters don't have much feathers and sunshine will keep them warm while parents are away looking for food. Coniferous trees would simply create too much heat with no air while sap would damaged their feathers that later would not be useful for their first flight lesson.

Anyway, their nesting period has started in mid-March which now makes more than 21 days of brooding so far; meaning eggs have hatched and we're about to see some serious activities up there. Also meaning 4 to 7 new Ravens in the valley.

#NorthernRaven

Diane is still looking for some attention; or should I say, a large sized chicken egg.

@BenAdrienProulx November 22, 2023.

#…

Knowing that if I die before my time comes, it will only be the result of a "accidental" overdose of medications.

-Ben Adrien Proulx March 1st, 2024.

#BlueJays

Rush hour for Northern Blue Jays.

You’re lucky if you see these birds in the city; they’re extremely wild and prefer secluded coniferous forests. Around here it’s easily a hundred of them daily and even more during Winter Seasons, when the food is scarce.

If you wish to attract them to your feeding stations well it’s quite easy. They’re part of the Corvidae family so are very intelligent and omnivorous. They eat practically anything and sometimes they even steal Raven’s food (meat & eggshell). But what’s best and less expensive is black oil sunflower seeds and unshelled peanuts, which they really adore.

But these guys come with a price. They are beautiful but very territorial, extremely aggressive (Borderline Psycho) and will scare away birds from their own size down to smaller ones.