Nov 8th, 2010

The storm did its work during the night. When we went out at about 7 a.m., there were lots of twigs and small branches on the ground, and lots more leaves. The playing fields were sodden, and there were some rather large puddles on the hard ground of the tennis courts.
Thankfully, the biggest was in a place Miss Sophie doesn't run through ...!

It was cold and clear, and there was no wind. The sun was hidden behind high clouds.

The two ravens picked us up when we reached the vicinity of the tennis courts and followed us inside, again sitting on the high fencing.

They follow us to the other end, anda cross - and are even sitting precariously on the nets. They swoop down to pick up the scraps, but always wait until I turn my back.

I am now pretty certain that this is the young pair. Also, I think they look thin only as a reaction to my looking at them directly when they are on the ground. It is something birds generally do when scared - making themselves look thin and small.
When they sit on the high fence, they look big and impressive, and are not frightened. They allow me to come quite close when they are so high up, to within a foot. Thus I could clearly see the hook on the tip of the upper beak, which is a distinguishing feature of ravens.

Miss Sophie's training continues ... long way to go yet. She pretended she couldn't hear me when she was interested in some dogs on the other side of the fence ... still, her tail kept wagging at them, and we'll just have to continue with the training inside the courts ...

More gloomy weather forecast for the next few days - we'll see! Right now the sun is shining, but there is not much warmth.