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Monday, March 15, 2021

Raven series

  

Wow, was it windy in Bodega Bay today!  Northwest winds at something like 20-30 knots with gusts to 35 knots (~25-35 mph with gusts to ~40 mph).  I stepped out to take a quick photo to document the conditions and came across this Common Raven (Corvus corvax) with its feathers being ruffled by the wind. 

The raven flew to a more sheltered location and seemed to express a little weariness, as people often do, too, in these blustery conditions:

 

And then a second raven approached.  The first raven bowed its head, a position usually taken for allopreening (when one raven preens the other during pair bonding):

 

The preening continued for several minutes, with work on feathers around the head, neck, and bill:

 




 
I can't resist including two more.  Lots of interesting reflections highlighting their beautiful feathers:



 

3 comments:

Dan Gurney said...

I LOVE ravens. My wife and I walked around Bodega Harbor today. The wind was so gusty as so strong as to make walking difficult at times. Is this the pair of ravens who hang around Westside Park?

Jackie Sones said...

Hi, Dan,

Have you heard -- the USPS will be issuing a raven stamp this summer! Very cool design by a Tlingit/Athabascan artist from Juneau:

https://www.sealaskaheritage.org/node/1311

Good question about the ravens on Bodega Head -- I'm not sure, but I'm guessing they range fairly broadly. They're always up to something!

Jackie

Dan Gurney said...

I had not been aware of the new Raven stamp. Thanks for sharing this. I’m definitely going to get some of those. Great story behind the stamp.