V20 N4

Bird Droppings
Dispatches from the nation’s birdwatching capital… by Seymore Thanu
Do you hear a raven? Maybe. Once
extirpated as a breeder in New
Jersey, this iconic bird of wilderness
regions has returned and is nesting
in portions of northern Cape
May and Cumberland Counties. Larger than
American and Fish Crow, our most common
corvids, the birds are distinguished by their
vocal array that includes growls, chortles and
“caw” notes. At close range and from below,
the raven’s wedge-shaped tail is distinctive.
The return of the raven can be attributed
to the reforestation of New Jersey and proliferation
of road-killed deer. Unlike Peregrine
Falcons, ravens enjoyed no artificial reintroduction
effort. The birds just naturally
expanded as New Jersey’s logged over environs
restored themselves. First discovered nesting
on the Kittatinny Ridge in Northwestern NJ
in the 1970s, by 2000 the birds were established
near the Tuckahoe River and a pair
has famously bred on the Hoboken bluffs
since the 1990s which should surprise no-one.
Breeding from the Arctic to the Sahara Desert,
these hardy corvids are year-round residents
in Arctic-native villages and are quick to
build their bulky stick nests on any elevated
structures, including the radars of abandoned
DEW-line sites. In the lower48, telecommunication
towers seem to be prized nesting
locations. In Cumberland County the birds
seem drawn to abandoned or lightly used
sand processing towers. It is only a matter of
time before the old submarine watch tower
astride Sunset Blvd catches a raven’s eye.
My current interest in ravens stems from
the abundance of ravens where I am currently
vacationing. Drawn to the pistachio
trees budding here on the Central Coast of
California, I’ve seen 150 birds in a soaring
kettle (or flock). My friend Ted Swem of
Fairbanks, AK advises that birds use the heat
cast off by the power plant in Anchorage to
gain altitude before setting their wings and
gliding to roost. In our many cross-country
drives, I’ve discovered that ravens are the
most abundant bird in the west. At desert rest
areas along Interstate 40 you can count on just
two species, the hardy raven and ubiquitous
House Sparrow, an introduced desert finch
that has taken North America by storm.
So, what’s my point? Nature’s capacity
to adapt. From ravens to House Sparrows
if there is a niche to be filled, there is a bird
species poised to exploit it. House Sparrows
today, ravens tomorrow. Get ready the natural
world is changing and we in Cape May have a
ring-side seat.
March 3, 2022 EXIT ZERO Page 37