Feb 9th

It was cold again, and the sky was mostly grey and gloomy when I left the house at 7.30 a.m. The wind came from the North, and it was decidedly nippy! Earlier, I had heard the robins, and some far-away raven calls coming from Pontcanna Fields. 

That is where I went first this morning, to see if I could find my bold raven. 

I did find a raven pair - but they were keeping well away, so those were definitely not my bold pair. But I was rewarded with a view of the dawn, the sky a dramatic orange-pink in the East.

I went back to the ravens field, and the young pair were waiting for me, sitting in the trees in the spinney. One made a soft cawing noise. Feeding them, first on the ground, then in the enclosure elicited the same behaviour from them as already described so many times.

I then went back to the big field, the young pair following me in their usual fashion. As soon as I got to the enclosure there, the quarry pair turned up as well, one of the birds still sporting that brown patch on his chest.

As both pairs don't approach the scraps unless my back is turned, it was difficult for me to see which one started a small kerfuffle. All four were at it, but it was not serious.

 

Then, from Pontcanna Fields, my bold pair arrived!

Interestingly, the quarry pair retreated immediately into the enclosure, and the young pair immediately assumed the juvenile begging posture, squawking softly and walking in this posture behind the bold pair.

As I threw the scraps to them, the bold raven walked straight up to me, again picking up what he could get. His companion meanwhile had the head feathers erected slightly. These feathers make her head look much bigger and darker.

Two schoolboys walked straight through the raven assembly, but the ravens hopped on a bit, to get further out of their way, but not flying off.

I got rid of all the scraps - the bold raven this time actually eating quite a few, and not storing them in his gullet.

Now the next question is: did the bold pair turn up because it has been so cold for the last four days, making it difficult to find food - or did they turn up because of the time of day? I was about half an hour later today than usual because of my visit to Pontcanna Fields. 

I am inclined to believe that the time of day - or rather, the light conditions - are the main reason, but perhaps it is a combination of cold and daylight. Tomorrow I will go out later to find out. It will be even colder not just tomorrow but also the next few days, which will give me the opportunity to investigate.