Dec 14th

Another cold and grey morning. It was still dark when we left the house at 7.30 a.m. The sunrise looked as if someone had made a line with a paint brush across the sky, right above the rooftops. It was a pinkish, pale orange. 

The wind hit us when we left the shelter of the street, it came from the North west and was icy!

We'd not heard raven calls earlier this morning. There were none in the park, nor did we hear any calls. 

The young pair came flying in from the allotments when we were practically in the middle of the ravens field. They are getting closer when in the open field, but are not keen on being fed in the enclosure. One even stayed outside it until we were halfway round.

We left along the 'no-more-food' walk. One followed us and flew to sit on a small crab apple tree. The slim branches could just about bear its weight. 

It was good to go this way - on the patch of the big field, where I had the six ravens last week, Cookie and Toby were having their play-time. They're both Border Collies - so we went up and had a chat, with them and their owners.

As we went further along, back home, two ravens came from the toddlers' playground, and sat on a small rowan tree, watching us. They got a few scraps, because I now think its not so much the locality they associate with the food, its me and Madame!

Interestingly, the magpies avoid the ravens, and they also fly off when we approach, regardless of ravens being around. I know they have observed me and the ravens getting food at least once, but they don't seem to have made the connection between me and food being made available.

It will be even colder tomorrow - I might change our approach to the ravens field again, to see if the two young pairs are willing to share the food in the ravens field. 

And Madame seems to be up for a slightly longer walk ...!

Sunday, Dec 13th

Another dry and cold day. Raven calls as usual, well before we left the house, coming from Pontcanna Fields, with other corvid calls mixed in. 

We left at 7.40 a.m. - well, its Sunday, after all ...

It was still dawn, but the sunrise was not especially spectacular. 

There were no ravens in Llandaff Fields, but we heard their calls, coming from the same direction as those we hear from the back of the house. Then one raven appeared from that direction, flying over the toddlers' playground and settling on a tree at the boundary to the bowling green. 

As we got into the ravens field, at first there were none there. Then, one pair turned up, coming from the Horse Chestnut Avenue. It was my young pair again. They now venture closer, to within a yard and a half, when we are in the open field. It was noticeable today, especially on the way back. Having Madame on or off the lead doesn't seem to make any difference.

Mind - Madame is now very good at sitting next to me, waiting for her rewards. Sometimes she gets up and stares at the ravens - more to see if they pick up the scraps than to give chase. Her Collie-stare doesn't seem to bother the ravens much - well, they're not sheep, are they!

I have no idea why these two ravens seem to dislike the enclosure. They do fly into it, and do pick up the scraps, but always from a much greater distance. One of them always makes a hole in the middle of the enclosure, to hide his scraps.

We went back the 'more-food' way, and the young pair again followed us, first walking behind us, then swooping into a tree before swooping down onto the big field beyond the footpath.

As I was giving them more scraps, right on cue the other young pair turned up, again coming from the side of the old quarries. They are more shy and do keep further away. All picked up scraps without much competing. Then all four of them made a few croaks, fluffing themselves up. That got them more scraps.

Turning my back on them - yes, here was my third pair, with my bold raven. They had come from Pontcanna Fields, and waited patiently quite some distance away from that young lot. 

Their behaviour, and the boldness of my raven, were clear indications of who they were! 

It is amazing to see how close he hops - less than a yard!

When all food had gone, we regained the footpath, and while the young ravens flew away to the quarry side and to the ravens field respectively, my bold one flew onto a tree at the footpath to watch us go. 

We didn't get his lovely soft calls today because a GoldenLlab turned up, Benji. He is a softie, but looks like a big teddy bear - so the raven flew away.

All in all a good start to Sunday - ravens happy, Madame happy, getting a tiny bit better, me happy.

Note to self: must take more food with me!

Dec 12th

It was a cold morning again, but dry. The North-Easterly wind, which had been forecast, was barely noticeable when we left the house at 7.30 a.m. The sky was a dark grey, with the sunrise looking like someone was rolling up the sky from the East, like a curtain.

We had been hearing raven calls earlier, as in the last few days, so it was no surprise when we saw not one single raven all the way to the ravens field. 

Then two came, the young pair again. 

Interestingly, they did not appear to be too fussed with Madame being around, off the lead, when they were in the open field, and walked to about 2 yards within me and Madame. They got some scraps there, then we went up to the enclosure, where I gave them some more.

For some reason, they are much more wary when they are inside the enclosure, still preferring to keep to the site opposite from where I throw the scraps. They flew up to sit on the fence posts when we left to go back home, the 'more-food'-way. One of them croaked a few times, fluffing himself up.

Then, they followed us by swooping into the big trees bordering the footpath between the ravens field and the big field. From there, they swooped down onto the ground.

While I was throwing them more scraps, two more ravens came, from the direction of the old quarries. These were however not my bold raven, but the other young pair. The four of them walked a bit up to us, to withig three yards, and got more scraps. 

Then I saw another pair, quite a bit away, closer to the playground. I walked up to them, but couldn't make out if this was my bold lot. I think so - they picked up the scraps in no time.

As I turned my back on them, I saw that two of the other four were flapping wings at each other, a bit like a fight. Then both of those fighting ravens assumed the begging position of the juveniles, bowing to each other, fluffed up. 

We were a good ten yards away by then - so I don't know what made them do it - nor do I know what that means! The other two ravens of that lot did not get involved.

Walking back home on the footpath, the pair which had come last flew into a tree a bit ahead of us, and one of them made a few beautiful, soft, croaking calls when we were right underneath that tree. He got one of Madame's kernels as reward!

Madame likes being off the lead - she gets lots of rewards for not chasing teh ravens, and she seems to have made the first tiny steps towards getting better.

Having all six ravens around again was wonderful.

Tomorrow will be cold again, and as today, dog walkers will be out much later, so we and the ravens may have the park to ourselves, for a little bit, as we did today.

Dec 11th

It was quite cold, but dry, when we left the house at 7.30. The rising sun had started to give the sky in the East a glowing tinge, and there was a thin mist just above the ground in Llandaff Fields. Of course, it was not full daylight yet. Later, the sky turned a yellowy-pink: quite beautiful.

We had heard raven calls earlier, again from much further away, so again I was not sure which pair to expect.

As we went up to the top of the big field - not one raven anywhere, and no calls. Into the ravens field, and there was not one raven either. 

I was a bit disappointed, but then Bas came whizzing round the spinney, barking joyfully. That might well have kept the ravens in the trees. 

Bas and Madame had a jolly good romp - it was so funny to watch them scratch the dead leaves over their markings, as the other one tried to mark the same spot! Then both rolled on the cold grass - Madame only once, briefly, unlike her usual self, and Bas made a huge performance of it, rolling full stretch for a good couple of yards.

Finally, two ravens did come down to the ground - keeping well away of all these dog shenanigans. I threw some scraps when the dogs were otherwise engaged, and the ravens did pick those up. It was my young pair, but I can't be 100% certain as they were too far away.

Then Bas chased them, and they both flapped off into the enclosure. I did feed them there, but as more dogs turned up, bouncing and barking, they flew off. Who can blame them ...!

We went home - not one raven following us. The combination of Madame, Bas, Karen and me must have been a bit disconcerting. I couldn't go back today, to try and feed them again, as we had this appointment with the vet.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better - for Madame and for the ravens.

Dec 10th

We left the house at 7.45 a.m. It was dry, after some more rain in the night - but it was not as cold as it was a week ago. There was a very thin morning mist over Llandaff Fields, but no frost on the grass. The sun was breaking through the thin clouds.

Earlier, we had heard raven calls in the distance, coming from deep inside Pontcanna Fields. So it did not surprise me to find no ravens when we walked up the footpath along the big field.

At the spinney, one raven called loudly. He sat on a tree inside the spinney. Then the other raven came from the horse chestnut avenue, and the first raven flew onto a smalelr tree at the spinney boundary. It felt as if they'd covered both possible approaches!

The usual feeding routine, both on the ravens field and then in the enclosure, showed that this was again my young pair. Thanks to the much better light I'd already noticed the 'Roman nose' of the first raven - so their behaviour while feeding was a confirmation of this physical 'recognition' feature of the one raven.

We walked back the 'no-more-food' way. This time, they did not follow us at all, in spite of the absence of any other dogs, and in spite of Madame being on the lead.

We didn't see any other ravens, nor did we hear any other raven calls. So unlike a week ago, the other two pairs had not turned up anywhere.

There will be an early start tomorrow, we'll be out in semi-darkness. That is because of an early-morning appointment with the vet for poor Madame. It will be interesting to see which pair, and how many pairs, will turn up!