Hello Everyone,

The Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II is pleased to announce the discovery
of a nesting pair of Common Ravens in Jefferson County, the first
confirmed nesting for Ohio in over 100 years!  With the loss of
forests in Ohio, ravens were extirpated as a nesting species by the
late 1800s, making this an important addition to the Atlas.

As many of you know, Scott Albaugh made a key discovery of Common
Ravens in Jefferson County back in the winter of 2006.  Follow up
searches proved that these birds were quite elusive.  In the summer of
2007, Scott came across three ravens flying together, again in
Jefferson County, but was unable to search for possible nesting
locations.  Considering the potential for nesting in this part of
Ohio, Scott's observations really got our wheels turning and we
consulted with him about areas in the county that might harbor nesting
ravens.

In mid-March of this year, we decided to search a few locations in
Jefferson County with hopes of finding ravens or suitable nest sites.
Little did we know that our first attempt would prove successful.  On
March 25th, Ethan Kistler accompanied Aaron Boone on this quest and at
the first scouted location, they encountered a very large corvid near
some interesting cliff-side habitat (a remnant of prior strip mining).
 This bird flew up and immediately started giving a distinctive low
"croaking" call as it circled repeatedly.  In disbelief, Aaron and
Ethan frantically started pulling out camera equipment and the
continued calls of the raven were accompanied by the "whirr" and
"beeps" of their cameras as they captured frame upon frame of not one
but TWO ravens circling and calling.  The ravens were extremely
agitated, suggesting that they were nesting in the area of cliff
habitat, which ravens frequently use for nesting.  Moments after the
initial encounter, a perfect dug-out ledge in the cliff face was
found, crammed with sticks and covered in whitewash.  Luckily, Aaron
had a spotting scope, which allowed brief glimpses of one nestling
"gaping" just above the rim of the nest.  After taking just a few more
pictures, Aaron and Ethan promptly left the area to minimize
disturbance to the birds.

Considering the proximity of nesting ravens in West Virginia and
Pennsylvania, ravens were expected to return to Ohio.  In addition,
aerial imagery of eastern Ohio suggests there are plenty of locations
with opportunities for nesting.  Strip mining has created all kinds of
nooks and crannies that could have perfect cliff ledge habitat.  In
Pennsylvania, raven nests have even been reported from gravel pits,
support beams of large highway signs, communications towers, and even
the Penn State University football stadium!  Thus, there is evidence
that this species is adapting to living near humans.

Could there be other areas in Ohio supporting nesting ravens?
Probably, but the only way we'll know for sure is if we get out in
eastern Ohio to look.  Who knows, you could be lucky.  In early April
of this year, a Common Raven was seen well and photographed in
Washington County.  And in the 1990s, a very reliable observation of
ravens came from Egypt Valley Wildlife Area (Belmont & Guernsey
counties), a reclaimed strip-mine grassland.  Have a look at Google
Maps (http://maps.google.com/) and other internet mapping resources.
For eastern Ohio, there's a large amount of available high-resolution
aerial imagery.  Strip-mined areas might be a great place to start
looking.  Any high-wall areas resulting from mining activities could
provide nesting habitat for ravens.  In addition, Ohio birders should
consider the possibility that ravens may nest on man-made structures,
as in Pennsylvania and other states.

For the time being, we have decided not to disclose the location of
the Jefferson County ravens.  The nest location is extremely sensitive
and considering the highly agitated behavior of the adults, we believe
that it would be inappropriate to disclose the exact location of these
birds; we trust that everyone will understand the reasoning behind our
decision.  At a later date, we expect to be able to direct interested
birders to the general vicinity of where the ravens were observed.

We do, however, encourage birders to visit eastern Ohio counties to
look for ravens and other nesting birds.  As of late-April, at least 4
(possibly 5) young ravens had fledged from the Jefferson County nest
and young birds may hang around the natal area for up to 6 weeks after
fledging.  Now may be the perfect time to get out and explore some of
those roads far removed from the beaten path!  In addition, much of
eastern and southeastern Ohio has sparse Atlas coverage, so please
consider adopting or spending a few hours in one or more Atlas
priority blocks to start building some much needed species lists.  For
more info on atlasing opportunities, please contact a Regional
Coordinator in the area and they will be able to direct you further.

Good birding everyone, and as always, please contact Atlas
Coordinators with any questions that you have about the Ohio Breeding
Bird Atlas II!


Aaron Boone & Paul Rodewald
Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II
www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/
[log in to unmask]
(614) 247-6458

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]