Nesting on the Cliffs of Silo

 

The Lynk Street nest

A friend was kind enough to alert us to the presence of a Common Raven nest on a silo at another friend's farm earlier this spring. (Thanks Bill!)

We were able to document and photograph the nest, thus confirming that ravens were breeding in that atlas block.

A few days later out on Lynk Street, we passed another, similar silo. "Stop!" I called out urgently to my official driver. I remembered that for the past two years we have seen a raven hanging around that farm yard, perching in weird places, all year round including the dead of winter.

Sure enough there was a nest at the top of the silo ladder. This week Kris and I found chicks there begging eagerly to be fed.

That led me to remember the ravens we found feeding fledglings out on Pavlus Road late last summer....right next to yet another silo. I checked that one and sure enough a pair of them were hanging around it, but it is too far from the road for me to discern whether there is a nest on the ladder or not.

But I'll betcha there is.

Still more thought on the subject and I remembered a pair of ravens playing in the wild winter winds atop the ladders and structures at the mill where we buy our cow feed. Wonder if they are nesting somewhere among those structures as well.

It is interesting to me that out of three breeding pairs we have documented in Montgomery County every single one was either nesting on or closely associated with an empty farm silo. 

You can bet we will be peering at silo ladders as we wander around counting birds this spring.