Over the past month there has been a very curious and approachable raven
around my neighborhood. It appears at random and walks around on the ground,
poking into places and investigating all manner of nooks and crannies. It
does not get too concerned with people, kids on bikes or even dogs on
leashes and is often on the ground. This morning I saw it outside my
kitchen window as it sat on top of our metal patio table and peered into the
hole in the center where an umbrella would go. Later in the afternoon one
of the squad of baby bunnies was eating dandelions in the front garden while
I sat at the before mentioned table. The Raven landed at the edge of the
path and walked a few steps towards the bunny at the edge of the path. Zip,
little bunny disappeared into the thicket. To my surprise, the Raven stayed
put for several minutes and finally the little bunnies head peeked out of
the plants and shortly later it hopped back to where it had been before.
The Raven tilted its head back and forth but made no other movement. After a
bit the bunny hopped directly towards the Raven which surprised the bird and
it jumped up and sort of backwards. Zip...Bunny was gone again. This time
the wait was much shorter as the bunny reappeared and calmly chowed down on
a dandelion then hopped into the garden bed. The Raven poked around a bit
with its bill, but not moving and the bunnies back end did a bit of
vibrating like it was tensing to run back to cover and the raven stopped its
motion, tilting its head again back the forth. Little bunny had enough
excitement for the moment and zipped back to cover, and did not come back
out. After a couple of minutes the raven hopped over to where the bunny had
been going in and out, ducking down its head to peer into the thicket. It
then hopped over to the other side of the yard and flew away.

After dinner tonight I saw the Raven back in the garden picking through a
weed pile down by the pond and, to my surprise, the bunny, or one of its
littermates, was very close by the same weed pile, also picking through and
eating. They were within 15 inches of each other. Unfortunately a
neighbors dog spooked both of them and they both are gone for now. So since
Ravens are so smart, is this a clever ploy by the Raven to prey on the bunny
by slowly earning its trust, or is it really just being companionable? I
wished I could have watched the two of them more, as it appeared that the
raven was pulling apart the pile so the bunny could get to stuff....But
maybe not, might have just been idle curiosity, or searching for its own
food, which the bunny found advantageous. Either way, I hope they come
back and play tomorrow. Between the baby bunnies, baby Douglas squirrels
and Townsends chipmunks there is never a dull moment.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
Snohomish County