March 25th

Today, I managed to make it out of the house at 6.40 a.m. So it wasn't that much earlier - but as it was again a grey morning, slightly damp, mild, but without sun, that wasn't too bad, considering ...

There had been no calls, nor were there any as I got into the big field. Even at the top, past the enclosure, there were no calls, nor a raven to be seen.

Meanwhile, even the last handful of blackheaded seagulls have left and gone to their breeding grounds, so there were no huge flocks to scare the ravens off. The dog population also was exceedingly reduced this morning - just Jess, a young Border Collie, having a romp.

March 24th

This morning was still quite grey, with no sun and a very fine drizzle, but it was not foggy.

I left the house at 6.50 a.m., and found Llandaff Fields empty of dogs and ravens - except for Cally, who was just coming back from her walk.

The ground was quite muddy underfoot, thanks to the long bursts of rain we had yesterday. But it felt mild, compared to the previous days, weeks, and months ...!

I trudged up the big field, to the enclosure there, not expecting anything since there were no raven calls. 

Suddenly - a swoosh of wings, and the bold raven had come from the toddlers' playground, landing about four feet away from me. If he'd been human, he'd have said 'where's my food?'! His companion came a few minutes later, after I had thrown him scraps.

It was a bit unexpected, because today is again the weekly collection of food waste, but there had been no open bags in the street, so the ravens must have felt my scraps were better than nothing.

March 23rd

No rain as yet, this morning - but quite dense fog. And it was still cold, sufficiently so that I was still wearing gloves.

The bird songs early in the morning were much quieter, and there were no raven calls.

I left the house at 7.50 a.m., and as I got to the first field, there were ravens calling from behind my back - from the road. No more raven calls, however, once I got to the top of the big field, and not one raven was to be seen. I did throw some scraps into the enclosure in the big field, but no raven turned up.

Then, into the ravens field, I saw one lone raven poking the ground inside the enclosure there. I walked up, but the raven did not show any interest. I walked round the enclosure, throwing scraps, and the raven - I assume he was one of the young pair - kept his distance from me but did walk to pick up one or two of those scraps.

March 22nd

It is still quite chilly here, so I still needed my gloves when I left the house today at 6.45 a.m. 

It was the Spring Equinox yesterday, so the sun had already well risen - at 6.09 a.m., actually.

There were no ravens to be seen or heard as I walked up the big field to its top. I threw a few scraps into the enclosure there, but none came.

However, as I got to the spinney, one raven came swooping towards me, settling on a tree: one of the young pair. He came to the ground when I threw a couple of scraps, then his companion also came.

I walked on, to the enclosure, and they both flew past me, quite low and close, to get into the enclosure before me. There, they got a few more scraps as I walked round.

Sunday, March 21st

Tired, but woke up at the usual time - for Sunday, that is ...

It was cold, but dry and sunny. I went out about 7.10 a.m.

No ravens at all, at first - not surprising, since I was absent for a whole week.

At first, I threw some scraps into the enclosure at the big field - no ravens appeared.

Then, I walked towards the spinney, and one came flying to sit on a small tree, about five feet away. He followed me onto the ground as I walked on, throwing a few more scraps. There he was joined by his companion. It was the young pair, their behaviour, especially when I walked round the enclosure in the ravens field, made that very obvious. (See earlier notes about their behaviour, below).