Nevermore Lenore

This blog is yet another bird story.

Back in April and May the federal power company hired Liberty to remove a few raven nests. Initially they said 3 raven nests were on power towers. They said the ravens were causing shorts in the system.

So I went out and met with their biologist and linemen and we proceeded to remove the nests. Now, I am never a fan of plain ole' nest removals. I believe that you should either attempt a nest relocation or leave the nest and wait for the babies to grow up and fly away (if it is safe).

This company wanted the nests gone because they were accusing the ravens of shitting on the coils which was causing the shorts.

What the lines look like

So we took the babies and the eggs. Always, this is difficult on me, due to the fact that these birds are good parents and react when humans come and take away their young. I feel so horrible, like the bad guy, and it is hard not to cry sometimes. But this is my job, and for the most part, it is necessary in order to keep these birds safe. In this case though, I had my doubts about that. This seemed a little unnecessary. Some of the linemen did not agree with it either. They said the equipment was clean so the birds were not the problem. Well the big wigs did not seem to care. As the babies and the nests came down, the crew placed pigeon spikes and reflectors up in the same spot. We warmed the crews that the spikes do not work. Actually they help the nest stick better and birds love them. No one seemed to listen or care what we were saying. We talked and talked about moving the nests to a platform in the same tower, just away from the equipment. It all fell on deaf ears.

So we took the eggs and babies back to Liberty.

Liberty does wonderful things for wildlife. We are the second chance they would otherwise not get. But there are some things that we are just not good at, and raising ravens is one of them. For whatever reason these birds prove to be difficult to keep alive at a young age. The parents would not keep all 6 babies alive either, but we have endless food and warmth so we should have a better shot at it. Nope! We lost many of that first group we took in. Each death was a toll on me as I was the one who stole them away from the parents, stole them away from the chance to be wild and free. I hated this company for making me feel this way.

So a month goes by and the company calls again. Great! They say they have up to 12 raven nests to take. Oh my god, you can not be serious. I tell them this will need to happen over 2 days. It is now May and hot and we can not expose these babies to long days in the heat and long hours without food. I rallied for those birds in hopes to move the date further and further back. But, eventually, the time came.

We even went as far as contacting US Fish and Wildlife, to see if they could take back the permits. I explained that this did not seem right that so many nests needed to be removed because they could not figure out where the short was coming from. But government is kind to government and the deed was done.

Some of the new nests were pairs that renested and were trying again. Even a nest or 2 showed up on the pigeon spikes (told you so). One by one we took them down. The older the babies, the more the parents carried on. I nearly broke down on the site. It was all I could do to keep my shit together. After all the work was done we had taken 51 raven kids away from their homes. 51!

I cried at the dinner table. I sobbed and sobbed over those babies, the parents, the ones that will not survive. I just could not stand it emotionally.

We had to hand feed the babies for a long time. Ravens take forever to grow. Every hour we had to feed them. The smallest ones lived in the office with us and I felt that is my duty to take care of these birds. I would get little real work done as I was constantly feeding and cleaning these babies. And, like before, some died. I took it very personal, as if I killed them myself. I let them down, I let the parents down.

Hatchling ravens

Eventually they got big and strong and we were able to put them outside to flap their wings and socialize and learn to be ravens.

We had 27 survive out of the 51. That number saddens me but I know we did everything we could.

Older ravens being feed outside (gotta wear cammo so they don't imprint)

On Sunday Brian, Jan, Joe and I drove back to the very site we took those birds away from and released 14 of them. The area is so great for the birds. The food is plentiful and there is water nearby, and, well, that is their home.

Ravens are smart, really really smart birds. I swear, the ravens in our truck knew they were home. They were quiet the whole ride there (1.5 hrs) and when were about 15 minutes away they started to really carry on. It just seemed like they knew they were going home.

We parked our trucks and placed the crates on the roofs. These birds have known nothing but Liberty their whole lives. It was so exciting to be able to put them back out there. The birds all hid in the back of the carriers scared and unsure. We opened the doors and with a little coaxing, they all flew away. Soaring and gliding and flying farther than they had ever in their whole lives. My heart smiled that day as I reclaimed some of that guilt I've been living with.

In the end we charged that company $68,000 for our time in the field and for the care of each and every bird. But I know that is nothing to them. To me and to Liberty it's food to feed 100s of birds so they can have a second chance again.

Fly free little ravens and happy hunting!

-Nina