KILLER INSTINCT
and 1834. Yet,
ironically, young ravens were
also taken from the nest and hand-reared for the pet trade because it was said they made such delightful and amusing companions – they are excellent mimics and have a huge repertoire of vocalisations, and are reputed to bond strongly with their human companions. Ravens are one of the earliest nesters and
often have young by the end of February. Being carrion feeders allows them to take full advantage of winter’s casualties. In some areas where the birds co-exist with wild goats, weak or dying kids also born early in the season frequently become prey. As many hill farmers will
testify, lambs too are a source of food,
leading to endless conflict between livestock farmers and our most controversial corvid. While Britain’s farming has benefited from
new agricultural improvement schemes, these have proved less favourable to the raven and, as fewer creatures die from bad husbandry practices, raven numbers fall further. Uplifting fallen stock to incinerators instead of burying them on the farm does little to help the raven’s cause either. The birds are thriving in some parts of the
country though they still suffer illicit persecu- tion. Following anecdotal evidence that they were preying on grouse eggs and chicks, in 2013
the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project fitted five young ravens with radio tags. The birds were then tracked and it was found that they did not stray far from a very small home range. Prey remains and pellets identified that the birds’ diet consisted largely of small mammals, invertebrates and wool. The rest was made up of small birds, reptiles and amphibians, rabbits and hares, and some grouse. This was part of a project to monitor grouse nests with cameras and other equipment. As 2013 proved to be an above-average season for grouse at Langholm, the findings were inconclusive. In North America, the collective name for
the raven is a ‘bazaar’, a ‘constable’ or, appro- priately, a ‘rant’ – while it still causes hackles to rise and considerable rants in some circles, many stalkers I know are fond of the ‘braw muckle corbie’ that follows them as they leave for a day on the hill. With its connections to the Norse god Odin, who had a pair of ravens on his shoulders, this is a bird that once hunted alongside the wolf in Scotland. Seton Gordon (1886-1977), one of our finest Highland natu- ralists, wrote: ‘The raven is at present day the emblem of good luck with stalkers because it appears when a deer is killed, and to hear the raven’s croak when setting out on a day’s stalking fills the hunter’s heart with joy.’
Top left: Ravens have made their home on craggy cliff tops. Top right: A large part of the raven’s diet is made up of carrion. Inset: The Norse god Odin is usually pictured with a raven on each shoulder.
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 143
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