Details of C. Raven at Conowingo

rick (rblom@blazie.com)
Mon, 2 Nov 1998 08:24:12 -0500 

        What follows is a copy of the notes submitted to the Maryland
records Committee at the request of secretary Phil Davis on the Common
Raven I saw at Conowingo Dam. The original notes, included in the text, are
brief because I whiffed on the bird, not remembering that it was a
committee review species until reminded by Phil.

Common Raven [Corvus corax] at Conowingo Dam on October 28, 1998.

        First seen by two birders from Pennsylvania, who spotted it
circling with vultures over the dam. I was unaware that Common Raven was an
MD/DCRC review bird at the time and failed to ask for notes from the
others. The bird circled for perhaps two minutes before detaching itself
from the small kettle and flying to the trees at the top of the hill near
the visitors center on the Harford County side of the dam. I was able to
watch it only briefly through the telescope before it took off and flew
over the water, rejoining the group of vultures for a minute before
breaking off and drifting down river and out of sight on the Cecil side. I
made short notes for myself after the bird was gone. A precise
transcription of those notes follows:

        "Large crow like bird. With Bvs [Black Vultures], about same size.
Tail longer, longer than BV, fanned, wedge shaped, center longer. Bill
large, heavy headed look. Wings broad to tip. Flapped slowly, somewhat
heavy, more Red-Tail like than crow. Sitting was size of BV, bill very
heavy. Did not call."

        Expanding slightly on the original notes, the bird was in view
altogether for about five minutes both sitting and soaring and flapping,
but mostly in flight. It was watched through Swarovski 10X42 binoculars and
a Swarovski AT-80 scope with a zoom lens set on about 30 power. Distances
ranged from less than 50 yards when passing overhead to more than 500 yards
when disappearing down river. The sky was mostly blue, the sun at right
angles to the bird or behind the observers.
        The bird was first spotted by one of the people from Pennsylvania
who commented, not having used binoculars yet, that there was a "large dark
hawk" with the vultures. When the three of us looked at it we could see
immediately that it was a crow-like bird and the size and shape caused me
to suggest Common Raven almost immediately. We watched it soaring for about
two minutes, agreeing in the identification. It appeared similar in size to
the 6-10 Black Vultures [Coragyps atratus] in the kettle. There were also
three Turkey Vultures [Cathartes aura] but they were slightly higher and
direct comparison was neither possible or, frankly bothered with. Other
than the size, the shape was the most striking feature. The tail was long,
especially compared with the Black Vultures. It was wedge-shaped, each tail
feather appearing slightly longer than the adjacent one starting at the
edge and working toward the center. It was not evenly rounded or slightly
squared like the tails of crows or most buteos. The bill appeared very
heavy, giving the bird a big-headed look, once again exaggerated by the
comparison with vultures. The wings were long, proportionately longer than
those of Black Vulture or of crows. They had very little taper at the end
and were reminiscent to the wing shape of a soaring Red-tailed Hawk [Buteo
jamaicensis], with at least four or five primaries emarginate. The view
when the bird was sitting was brief and only the upper half was visible.
The only impression acquired from the sitting bird was size, about the same
as a Black Vulture, although we were looking uphill and the bird was
sitting slightly higher in the tree than the vultures, and the large bill,
not seen in profile because the bird was facing partly toward us. Other
details, such as feathering on the face, were not seen.
        Going to and from the roost it was seen flapping. The motion was
hawk-like, heavy and deliberate, not the quicker, shallower, rowing-like
motion of crows. There seemed to be a very slight pause between flaps, not
evident in crows. It was last seen flying down river and disappearing
against or into the trees on the Cecil side. No effort was made to follow
the bird. There were about 50 crows present, both Fish [C. ossifragus] and
American [C. brachyrhynchos], but the bird was never seen in direct
comparison with them.
        I am not aware of any previous record of Common Raven at Conowingo
Dam, and it is my first for Harford and Cecil Counties. I have seen
hundreds and perhaps thousands of Common Ravens while living in California
and while traveling throughout the West and in England. I have also
observed them on numerous occasions in the Appalachians in Maryland,
Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Rick Blom
4318 Cowan Place
Belcamp, MD 21017
410-575-6086

"Everywhere I go I'm asked if the university stifles writers. My opinion is
that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a bestseller that could
have been prevented by a good teacher."  Flannery O'Connor

Rick Blom
rblom@blazie.com
4318 Cowan Place
Belcamp, Maryland 21017
(410)575-6086