Saturday, June 16, 2018

SOME RAVEN-OUS BIRDS

There are at least six ravens that live at the Tower of London.

There's an old superstition that says if they ever leave, the British monarchy and subsequently Britain will fall.

But modern historians say that's merely a figment of someone's imagination.

Regardless, the flight wings on one side are clipped to keep the ravens from flying away.

Other than that the birds are well cared for by a Ravenmaster and the Yeoman Warders.


All of which brings me to the true story, not legend, of the StoneRidge ravens.


The photos come from the true resident of the house, my friend StoneRidge Lori.

It is the bird bath in front of her house that seems to attract them.


The "bubbler" really seems to fascinate them.


One of the rascals decided it was a floating raft and decided to go for a ride on it.


The other one dipped a toe in the water to see what the temperature was.


Lori says she has to clean the birdbath frequently because the ravens bring their food there, apparently to wash it.

So she finds all or parts of mice or lizards and on the day when the trash dumpsters are set out for pickup it can be whatever the ravens have scavenged.

One day she said she looked out and there were two large pieces of french bread in the birdbath ravens' restaurant.

This guy seems to be saying, "Hey, what happened to my breakfast/lunch/dinner.


Is that what he's saying?

Or is he just laughing at the silly humans who are entertained by a bubbler in a birdbath.


We shall never know for sure.

Nevermore.

(Tower of London raven photo by Historical Royal Palaces.  All other photos by L. Lewis.)

9 comments:

  1. And smart enough to leave if you irritate them.

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  2. Great post. Lori's photos and story of the StoneRidge Ravens are terrific. We have some old Ravens who live up here on the ridge top. They've been here a long time.

    We saw the real "Beef Eaters" of the Tower of London when we went to observe the Ceremony of the Key. Tom Clancy wrote about the 400 year old nightly ritual in one of his books, and it is pretty much as he described it. We were guests of a Yeoman Warder who took us on a tour of the Tower and we saw the "apartments" where the named Ravens live. They actually keep their genealogy. The named birds are also guards--keeping watch where the crown jewels are stored. Each of the named birds are fed a lovely cut of fresh beef each day, hence the "Beef Eaters."

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  3. My dad had a pet raven on the farm in South Dakota. It stole anything with bling . . . jewelry being its favorite shiny thing. My dad had to climb the tree and check their nest for missing property! I have certainly got my entertainment from first the parents and now the juveniles. Loved the London connection. My gang seems more like Hell's Angels than Beef Eaters. I'm not sure the Queen's jewels would be save with this lot!

    Thanks for stopping by Bruce! Anytime you are in the hood do so.

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  4. I love this post! thanks! ;-)

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  5. A good book that features a Raven is "A Fine and Private Place" by Peter Beagle. I recommend it highly, you'll finish it in an evening.

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  6. I'd rather have ravens than the messy ol' pigeons we have in OUR birdbath!

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  7. Intelligent, adaptive, which is what makes them fascinating and bothersome together. Kinda like humans, really.

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  8. So smart!

    https://www.facebook.com/ScienceNaturePage/videos/1314636422001946/

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