The first ever documented nesting of Common Ravens in New York City ended successfully, with all three nestlings becoming fledglings.  The happy change in status from nest-bound birds to flappy free fliers occurred over the last week, with the birds leaving the nest on May 31 and walking along the water tower support on which their nest was built and gradually branching out from there.  Yesterday morning, June 7, was the first day that no ravens were detected at the nest site, despite my assiduous efforts.

A parent myself now, and proud of each and every new action my son takes, I can’t help but wonder if inside the minds of Corvus corax parents there isn’t some pride as well.  After all, raising kids anywhere is hard enough, and successfully raising kids out-of-doors in New York City on a diet of scavenged food can’t be the least bit easy.

Below is the last decent shot I got of any of the ravens; in it a freshly-fledged youngster begs for food from an adult while one of the fledgling’s siblings watches from the nest.

I can only hope that the ravens return to nest again next year, as they reportedly did last year and they obviously did this year…after all, who can resist nesting ravens?

For those who want to see some better images of the youngsters go check out Fotoportmann.

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.