Mar 25, 2008
Ward Pound Ridge Reservation
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Ravens returning to Raven Rocks?
After more than a century of near absence, the common raven is returning to Westchester, and may have once again taken up residence near Raven Rocks in Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. According to former reservation assistant curator Taro Ietaka, during a recent hike to Raven Rocks, near the southern tip of the reservation overlooking the Stone Hill River, a pair of ravens flew away as hikers approached.
“Ravens have definitely returned,” said Mr. Ietaka. “We’ve now had dozens of sightings.”
Over the past century, when most of Westchester was given over to farmland, ravens, a forest bird, were scarce, despite several spots, including Raven Rocks, bearing their name. Even in the early 20th Century, ravens in Westchester were a rare sight — in 1905, historian Robert Bolton referred to ravens as having “long ago disappeared,” according to Mr. Ietaka.
But with the increase in forests over recent decades, the area has become more hospitable to the large birds.
According to Michael Bochnik of the Hudson River Audubon Society, there were only scattered, rare sightings of ravens in the area until the mid-1980s, when the first of the more recent sightings came. Reports of ravens started to increase in the late 1990s, and the first recent sighting in Ward Pound Ridge Reservation was in 1999 by local birdwatcher Bobbi Reynolds, Mr. Ietaka said.
It would be another three years before another raven was seen in the reservation, in 2002.
“But 2004 was the breakthrough year,” wrote Mr. Ietaka in a reservation newsletter. “Up to four ravens at a time have been seen.”
These days, while not nearly as common as their smaller cousin, the crow, ravens are seen flying over the reservation fairly frequently.
“Ravens have been expanding their range into what would have been considered nontraditional habitats,” John Askildsen of the Bedford Audubon Society told The Ledger. “Some of my birding colleagues have actually observed ravens in New York City and Long Island in recent times.”
Ravens vs. crows
While in the same family as crows, the common raven is a much larger bird, reaching as much as two feet long and with a wingspan of up to four and a half feet, according to National Geographic. Like their cousins, the birds are omnivorous, and will scavenge and hunt down prey.
Ravens’ calls are much different from those of crows, generally transcribed as a “croak” instead of the crow’s “caw.”
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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