Don't know what you've got till it's gone. Rookeries

[Dave]

Sorry, it's Ravens at the Tower of London. They are bigger than Rooks.

 

[HareBrain]

Sorry, it's Ravens at the Tower of London. They are bigger than Rooks.

I was going to say.

Actually ravens are doing quite well, and have spread along the south coast in the last thirty years or so, having been absent for over a century. This is great for me as they are one of my favourite birds: they have very varied vocalisations, and can be very acrobatic (such as barrel-rolling!) when displaying. I saw a group of about eight on the Downs last winter, and a pair are (or were) nesting at the top of a Wellingtonia in the Bishop's Palace Gardens at Chichester Cathedral.

 

[Pyan]

In London there are also those famous Rooks at the Tower of London, which if they leave means the end of the monarchy or some such thing.

The Tower birds are ravens - they're actually looked after by a Yeoman Warder (or 'Beefeater') called the Ravenmaster - a title straight out of the best fantasy novels...

Tower Ravens

Edit - sorry, the page hadn't updated.

 

[Dave]

I know. I've corrected myself in a later post already. It was late. I'm not 100% well.

There is a Crow outside my window now going crazy. This is unusual as we don't usually see them in the garden. He's been around for an hour flying between chimneys and cawing loudly.

 

[Pyan]

We've a young family of magpies doing the same thing - the juveniles scatter themselves 20-30m apart on trees, sheds and rooftops and incessantly shout at each other and their parents very loudly.

 

[Orcadian]

Many people cannot distinguish between rooks and carrion crows, so it is lovely to see so many people who know rooks and welcome their presence.

 

[Danny McG]

the top of a Wellingtonia

Once again I had to Google!
(It's only a big fat tree)

 

[HareBrain]

Once again I had to Google!
(It's only a big fat tree)

And now you'll be bombarded by adverts for Wellington boots on every webpage.

 

[hitmouse]

Tree felling has played a significant part too. Councils around here seem to have had a tree felling mania this past few years. Especially the very tall deciduous type that rooks love to nest atop. The heads of the valleys road scheme seems to have cleared way beyond what was needed.
There are multiple points like this They say they will replant but the fact is a whole ecosystem has been wiped out, Cynically lobbing a few saplings in won't restore it.
View attachment 118959
credit Google maps

To be fair, a lot of what has been cleared, especially from Hirwaun to the north of Merthyr and Dowlais Top, are mature conifers in plantations, with limited ecological and aesthetic value, which would have been felled in due course anyway. Replanting those with mixed broadleafs is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Astro Pen]

To be fair, a lot of what has been cleared, especially from Hirwaun to the north of Merthyr and Dowlais Top, are mature conifers in plantations, with limited ecological and aesthetic value, which would have been felled in due course anyway. Replanting those with mixed broadleafs is not necessarily a bad thing.

A random screen grab on the way up from Hirwaun suggests otherwise.
Though agree that at higher altitudes it is conifers,
(Not looking for an argument, just what I observed when work started )

 

[hitmouse]

View attachment 119007

A random screen grab on the way up from Hirwaun suggests otherwise.
Though agree that at higher altitudes it is conifers,
(Not looking for an argument, just what I observed when work started )

Fair enough. I have an abiding impression of felled confers driving east on the approach to that Jehovah’s Witnesses rest home.

 

[Astro Pen]

Fair enough. I have an abiding impression of felled confers driving east on the approach to that Jehovah’s Witnesses rest home.

Yes, definitely a huge swathe of conifers were felled up there. Enough to change the skyline. They did cover this hill top. Now just a couple of pines in the distance.

 

[Montero]

We have a couple of sitka at our place and crows nest in one or the other most years.