I like watching birds. It gives me great pleasure to record their comings and goings, to try to piece together aspects of their society, and thus come to understand their place in the world. On trips we make there are a few places I like to stop knowing the local bird population will be visible. The rest area at Government Camp, on the west side of the Cascade crest near Mt. Hood is one such place. And the ravens here are ever present.
We travel past this place at least once a year and always stop to see the birds. On our latest trip, we arrived in a snow flurry. To avoid the hassle of driving among impatient drivers in the snow we took our time over coffee and sandwiches, thinking that the snow would put off the birds. While we waited we chatted of ravens and their history.
Bernd Heinrich in his book Mind of the Raven wrote: “Fred Harrington from the University of Nova Scotia has shown that ravens can be attracted to wolf howls. They also come to gunshots where there is much hunting of large animals. The wolves’ howls before they go on the hunt are a signal that the birds learn to heed. Conversely, wolves may respond to certain raven vocalizations or behavior that indicates prey.” The raven-wolf association benefits wolves and ravens alike. At a kill site, the birds eat and appear more suspicious and alert to danger than are the wolves.
I find the symbiotic relationships between ravens and wolves intriguing. The birds lead the wolves to potential prey and the wolves leave the ravens some of the kill. I wonder, when the wolves return to the Oregon Cascades, will the ravens remember what it is to be a wolf-bird? Will the wolves remember what it is to be bird-dogs?
Ravens are also very adept scavengers. When the region was dominated by fish runs they, and likely their wolves, must have feasted on the vast numbers of salmon who made their way up-slope to spawn and die.
Researchers have found that ravens remember individuals that do them harm or good. However it seems those memories only last a month unless they are reinforced. Since we don’t visit this area that often it’s unlikely that they actually remember us. However the Government Camp ravens are very much in tune with handouts.
When the snow stopped we made open faced hors d’oeuvres for the ravens. My wife had a few cans of salmon flavored cat food her cats wouldn’t eat. Spread on top of deli slices from the day-old selection of our local Fred Meyer they would provide a nice raven snack.
Since they were salmon flavored we hoped the ravens would enjoy a throwback taste experience. Along with following wolves, ravens traditionally fed on dead salmon from along the shores of the rivers and streams in the area. The salmon cat food was likely fresher than a dead streamside salmon they likely found pre-contact, and the food is vitamin enhanced. I’m not sure that cat vitamins will help ravens.
I placed the delicacies on top of the snow bank at the edge of the parking lot. Even before I had set the third treat into the snow the first of the birds had landed behind me. They are careful to stay on my blind side while approaching. As I walked down the snow the early birds were collecting the treats and flying off to the forest across the street to eat or cache them.
The next wave was summoned by one perched atop a road sign. Very soon a dozen ravens had gathered. In the next photo the bird on the left is dominant, probably male. It exhibited its dominance by raising the feathers on top of its head, fluffing out its breast and posturing. The rest of the birds gave this one space, staying at least a yard away.
The bird on the far right returned from the forest with an unadorned slice of bread to get more salmon. Shortly after this photo it reached down into the crevasse in front of it to retrieve the salmon that it dislodged from its hors d’oeuvre.
Ravens plan ahead. We watched the birds apply different tactics to carrying multiple treats. It was easy for a bird to pick up a single slice of bread. However once the beak was full it was more challenging to pick up another. One stacked three slices on top of each other before flying off to the forest. Another found that it could carry four if it ate the salmon from them first. Yet another hopped from place to place eating the salmon bits knocked from the bread by frantic actions of the other birds.
Of the dozen birds attracted to our feast, I think three were dominant. I based my dominance observation on the behavior of the bird itself (posture) and the deference of the other birds. My dominance count is a bit ambiguous as it’s hard to discern individuals in the constant shuffle. Also, I was not able here to determine any dominance structure between the three; so I can’t say that there is a single dominant individual, or if some fraction of the three were more dominant than the rest.
I also watch crows. I feed our neighborhood crows and in return they gather when I come out of the house and will sometimes follow me around town while I’m walking the dogs. But they have yet to bring me gifts. I only see crow family interactions. Rarely will more than four individuals come into the yard at a time. I suspect that the birds have divided up the town and each family stays within its neighborhood until roosting time.
We observed the ravens for a bit over an hour before resuming our trip. Observations such as these deepen the beauty of our world. Take some time to watch the birds and animals you encounter in your daily rounds. You might be surprised at what you find, but over time you will develop a better sense and appreciation for our natural world and your part in it.