For ravens, a home in the mountains means a daily commute
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7065846p-6970577c.html

Published: October 9, 2005
Last Modified: October 9, 2005 at 06:38 AM

Humans are not the only ones commuting to and from work in Anchorage.
Hundreds of ravens make the daily trip, at least in winter.

Groups of ravens fly in to the city each morning and disperse to favored
feeding spots. Some days, you may see them in fast-food parking lots, eating
the burgers and fries people drop or throw out. Once they're full, the birds
may just hang out and play in town for a few hours. Then they'll head back
to roost for the evening in the mountains surrounding Anchorage.

Depending on how far away they roost, ravens can make the trip in five to 30
minutes, said Rick Sinnott, an Anchorage wildlife biologist for the Alaska
Department of Fish and Game.

"You'll see strings of ravens flying over," Sinnott said. "There are several
thousand of them that seem to use the Anchorage metropolitan area."

Why do these big, black birds make the daily commute? Probably for some of
the same reasons humans buy houses on the Hillside. Even though ravens must
to come to town to make a living, it can be warmer on the Hillside during
winter temperature inversions.

Winter is the best time of year to watch ravens here. During summer, many
ravens disperse into the countryside, but around mid-October they head back
into populated areas to feed on garbage.

And once it starts to snow, the black birds are easy to see against the
white background.

If you have time to spend near tall buildings or bluffs, you may see them
playing in the breeze. Check the bluffs near Point Woronzof on a windy day.

Ravens will repeatedly fly into an updraft from the downwind side and go
soaring in the air in what amounts to an avian version of surfing, Sinnott
said.

They may also pick up a stick or chunk of ice and fly with it, then drop it
to see whether they can swoop down and catch the object before it hits the
ground. Another raven may swoop in and grab the object.

Ravens also appear to show off at times, plucking at the tail of a cat or a
chained dog. And when displaying dominance or trying to impress a female,
male ravens appear to "strut," with their long flank feathers drooping to
the ground.

Ravens are great communicators, with at least 30 calls, including the croak
we're most familiar with.

They also have a high-pitched "yell" they'll use if they need help getting
food. For instance, if a nesting pair is trying to keep a dead moose to
themselves and a single raven finds out about it, he'll repeatedly "yell" to
call other ravens.

If enough of them gather, they can overwhelm the nesting pair, preventing
the couple from hoarding.

Sinnott said there are stories from Inuit hunters of ravens using a similar
call to alert hunters to live animals. If the hunter can kill the big
animal, the birds know they will get some scraps.

Ravens eat both plants and animals, and although they're primarily
scavengers, they can catch their own food -- usually hares, voles and birds.
They have been observed pursuing pigeons and killing them with a blow to the
head with their beaks as they fly by.

Ravens live in Alaska year-round and can be found in more places in the
state than any other bird, from the North Slope to the Southeast.