March 27th

Honestly - I was up by 5.30 a.m. - but when did I leave the house?

At 6.50 a.m.! 

Awww....

It is well-known that the more time one thinks one's got, the later one arrives where one needs to be!

It was again mild and dry, with watery sunshine. No raven calls when I got to the big field - but as I reached the middle, the quarry pair turned up. It seemed to me they were keen to get some food before the other lot arrived, and they did not call.

However,  I could see one of the young pair sitting on the top branch in a tree in the spinney - he was observing, and came down when I walked up to the enclosure. Then his companion arrived as well.

March 26th

Unfortunately, I only managed to leave the house at 6.55 a.m. ... in spite of a hint of a watery sun behind thin, grey clouds.

It was mild, with a touch of damp. 

Again, there were no raven calls when I entered Llandaff Fields.

Today, the quarry pair came flying in as I approached the enclosure in the big field. They started picking up the scraps, with their usual skittishness, and while they were doing so, I noticed two ravens, sitting on the top branch in two trees in the spinney, observing what whas happening, but not calling.

It took a few minutes before they came flying to the ground - it was the young pair.

Both pairs did not seem to want to hang about much today - in spite of Llandaff Fields being practically empty of dogs. So I got rid of the scraps pretty fast - they did eat them all - and went back home.

We'll see if I can manage an earlier start tomorrow ...

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.