The Meadowlands Blog

The Ravens of Laurel Hill: An Update

 
  We checked on the Common Raven family at Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus this morning at 10 a.m., and we are happy to report that all four nestlings are fully fledged and flying near the cliffs,
   At one point, we saw the entire family of six ravens flying.
  If you visit and don't see the ravens, that doesn't mean they are gone. A similar visit on Thursday morning came up empty.
   Earlier raven posts are here.
    

Everybody's Raven...

 
    ... about this morning's First Sunday of the Month nature walk at Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus.
   Twenty birders got great views of the entire family of nesting Common Ravens, plus dozens of other birds, a Green Darner or two, and at least three butterfly species. 
   Full report later this week.

Laurel Hill Raven Update: Three Hatchlings!

 

    Ray Duffy just called with some nifty Earth Day news: The Common Ravens nesting at Laurel Hill have at least three young ones. (Thanks, Ray!)

Answering a Raven Question

  

   Julie McCall wrote in last week to ask if any previous Common Raven nests at Laurel Hill had been successful, and the answer is yes.
   Last year, for example, two young ravens successfully left the nest  in early May-- though they still received food from Mom and Dad. (Photo is above, a couple of links are here and here.  (Thanks for asking!)

Laurel Hill Raven Update

 
    After we got word that Common Ravens had been seen on Disposal Road three days in a row this week, we thought we had better check on the nest just below the cliff at Laurel Hill in Secaucus.
   Bottom line: All appears well. We saw one raven on the nest (above). We know, it's a little to hard to see a raven in the shade,  but we try...
   The other raven was perched in the tree below the nest. It was kind enough to fly past -- probably on its way to Disposal Road.
   To top things off, we had a Peregrine Falcon (above left) fly overhead.
   Neat place, that Laurel Hill.

   Tomorrow: Kearny Osprey Update.

 

Laurel Hill Raven Update

   The Common Ravens at Laurel Hill in Secaucus have been tending to at least two ravenettes in their nest.

    In the photo above, Pop is flying down the cliff to get some food he stashed on a rock below the nest. 

    Earlier this week,  we saw two young but large Common Ravens flapping their wings in the nest, preparing for their first flights. They will be flying any day now.
    Previous posts on the Laurel Hill Ravens here.

Raven vs. Redtail

   Recently, when a Red-tailed Hawk approached Laurel Hill, where Common Ravens are nesting, the male raven flew out to meet the Redtail and read it the riot act until the hawk was well beyond the nest.
   In the shot above, you can get a sense of just how large a bird a raven is.
   Click "Continue reading ..." below to see other photos in the sequence.

The Ravens of Laurel Hill

   For at least the third year in a row -- and in recent memory -- Common Ravens are nesting in a cliff at Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus.
   You can see the nest clearly from the athletic fields at the foot of the massive hill, and with a pair of binoculars, you can get good views of the ravens as they come and go,
   But other birds abound as well. On a recent trip, we also saw a Peregrine Falcon, an Osprey, two Redtails and five Turkey Vultures -- and that was just that raptors.
   The ravens' nest has gotten much larger in the past month, and there is hope that some Ravenettes will emerge in a couple of weeks.
   More on the amazingly intelligent Common Raven here. Previous posts on Common Ravens here.

Coming soon: A Common raven duels with a Redtail.

Secaucus: Raven's Nest

    We checked on the Common Raven's nest at Laurel Hill County Park earlier week. 

    We did not see any Common Ravens, though recent sightings have been reported.    

   But we did notice the nest is a lot more built-up than when we checked last month. 

    Thankfully, the snow is gone, too.

    Here's the link to earlier post. More on Common Ravens here.

Raven's nest, Secaucus

   Once upon a midday dreary, when we wandered weak and weary ...
   We came across this Raven's nest at Hudson County Park at Laurel Hill.
   As birder Ray Duffy has posted, two Ravens have been seen in that vicinity earlier this month:  "At Laurel Hill Park, I finally got the pair of Common Ravens. I'm going to assume they are the breeding pair because they were both hanging close to each other and I'm certain it looked like they were preening the back of each other's heads as they picked at the snow for food."

    Don Torino also reports seeing a Common Raven -- on Sunday on Valley Brook Avenue in Lyndhurst.

    An earlier post on Ravens is here.
    As for the bad Raven poetry, nevermore.

NORTH ARLINGTON: Ravens

    NJMC naturalist Michael Newhouse saw this bird and its buddy on transmission towers near the Carillon on Disposal Road in North Arlington, and gave us a call.
   In previous years a pair of ravens has nested on Laurel Hill in Secaucus.   More on ravens here.