Jan 21st

I had to take Madame to the vet today - she was so weak, she couldn't even walk upstairs last night. 

She was too weak to walk today, she just went to the garden once, stumbling.

Result so far: she has anaemia, the cause is not clear, so the vet sent her blood samples away for further investigations. 

We'll know by the weekend. 

Meanwhile: no exercise, and no medication for the next few days. 

While we go to and come back from the vet in a taxi, I walked there to pick her up. This walk takes me through Pontcanna Fields. I wanted to see if there were some ravens.  

Indeed I saw a couple, quite a way off, and one sitting in a huge sycamore. 

Now that we're back, all I can do is keep Madame safe, so she doesn't fall and get scared - and wait for the results.

Jan 20th

As predicted, we're having rain, which is icy cold, and it is already snowing a bit further East, in Wales and England.  

Earlier in the morning, Madame stepped into the back garden - and came straight back indoors, not happy with the weather. 

So I did not take her into Llandaff Fields: we only walked down the back lane and back again. She was so slow - it was all I wanted her to do - she does need exercise, even if its just an infinitesimal amount.

We did hear raven calls, earlier and far away, coming from Pontcanna Fields - and when we got back from our little walk, two ravens called from the rooftops as we walked along. 

I am not going out alone today to feed them, because I do not want to leave Madame on her own. 

Depending on how she does, and depending on the weather, we may venture out tomorrow, either together or me on my own.

The ravens might perhaps be more keen to come for their scraps when I miss feeding them for a day or so ...

Jan 19th

Madame had a better night, so we ventured out. It was grey and damp when we left at 7.35 a.m., and it was still darkish. 

The robins have started to sing around 6.30 a.m., in the dark, and the ravens have also started to call around that time.

There were no raven calls when we got into the first field. We walked straight to the ravens field, Madame on her lead. No ravens in sight on the way there - but once in the ravens field, two were sitting in the big sycamore, at the fence to the tennis courts, clearly visible amongst the bare branches. 

I had brought some scraps which I was going to throw into the enclosure, but they came down to the ground, so I fed them there and then.

It was the young pair. 

While one of them, as with the bold pair, aims to get more scraps than his companion, he only snaffles up three of them before he flies off to hide them. 

His companion takes just one before flying off as well.

We did not go to the enclosure - Archie (a nice, teenage whippet) turned up, trying to get some of the scraps, so we went back to the big field. 

The young pair followed in the usual way, and the quarry pair turned up as well. Both kept their distance, both got the rest of the scraps. 

We tried to go back home in a straight line - but Toby and Cookie (both Border Collies) were there, so we had a brief chat. Their owners saw how the four ravens walked behind me, to get the final little pieces, they thought it was hilarious!

Then Bas came, so that was the end of the outing. 

Depending on how Madame is doing overnight, and depending on the weather - it might rain, it might even snow - we'll decide tomorrow morning about going out.

Jan 18th

No ravens - Madame had a bad night, had to take her to the vet, first thing this morning. He's not doing anything yet - I'll have to observe Madame closely for the next few days. 

I'm upset, don't know how this will turn out.

Sorry.

Sunday, Jan 17th:

We did go out together this morning. No snow, no wind to speak off, no drizzle - and while not exactly balmy, it was not cold. We actually saw a hint of dawn.

Earlier, before we got out at 7.50 a.m., we had heard the ravens call as if totally outraged. To my great astonishment, some of the rubbish bags were being collected, thus disturbing the early morning ravens raid on the ripped food bags. I was told by a neighbour, who works nights, that he'd seen the tracks of urban foxes who'd ripped open those food bags.

Once in Llandaff Fields, we heard some raven calls from Pontcanna Fields, but did not see any ravens anywhere. 

We walked to the ravens field - Madame on her lead - and once there, two ravens swooped in from the trees at the back wall, the boundary to the allotments.

It was my bold pair! 

They landed and walked up to us, facing us frontally. again, the bold one scoffed as much as he could get before taking off to hide his food. His companion patiently waited - and then flew off to hide the two, never more than three, pieces of scraps she got. 

The bold raven easily takes four or five.

This time, he also, twice, did not fly to the far end of the ravens field, but made two and three holes - some surely decoy holes, as described by Bernd Heinrich - just a couple of yards away from me, not bothering to fly away.

The only time both started to get skittish was when they were in the enclosure and a single seagull (black-headed gull) kept circling quite low over us all. It went away after a few minutes, I did not throw any food while it was circling. 

The bold raven, separated from us by the enclosure fence, came to within a couple of feet of me - but Madame's collie stare, that close up, did disconcert him a bit.

We went back the 'more food' way, both following us, and the bold raven actually swooping to the ground under the trees next to the spinney and hopping after us, across the footpath!

Once there, while still feeding them, the quarry pair turned up. They kept well away, and didn't call today. I gave them scraps when the bold pair, separately, had gone to hide their scraps. So no dust-up between them today.

Worth noting: the companion of the bold raven fluffs up her head feathers when she is alone and the quarry pair is around.

As it will stay reasonably mild tomorrow, we'll try and go out again, depending on how Madame feels.