Thirsty Ravens

Raven drinking water from a bottle top with the telescopes of the Roque de Los Muchachos behind
September 9, 2015

After tour guiding yesterday I went up to the Roque hoping for a chat with the ravens. They turned up all right, but they didn’t seem as interested as usual in the biscuits on offer. It turned out that they were really thirsty. I was rather surprised, because birds have such good kidneys that they need very little water. In any case, there’s a water tap with a little pool…

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Feeding Ravens at the Roque

Sheila Crosby feeding cat biscuits to a cheeky raven, Roque de Los Muchachos
May 23, 2015

  This morning the ravens came to say hello to my group of tourists. To begin with they’d eat food I left for them, then they moved on to eating out of my hand, and now they’ll jump onto my arm or shoulder, if I make it worth their while. Jose Luis Rodrigo Alonso took this great photo of the cheekier one on my arm, helping himself from the box…

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Summer

  It must be summer. The plain swifts (Apus unicolor) are back at the Roque de Los Muchachos. These birds are native to the Canary Islands and Madiera, but some overwinter in North Africa. I don’t know where these ones disappear to in winter, but it’s always nice to see them back, zipping acrobatically around the telescopes.

April 12, 2015
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Chatting to Carmelo the raven

Sheila holding Carmelo the raven and her book 'The Seer's Stone' at the Roque de Los Muchachos
March 3, 2015

              This morning when I finished work I went up to the Roque itself to relax and admire the view. Helen Loth kindly agreed to take a photo of me with my book and the telescopes.                     While we were doing that, Carmelo the raven came to say “Hello”. Well no, he really came to…

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The Partridge Family on La Palma

I’ve seen lots more partridges near the Roque de Los Muchachos than last year. They mostly seem to live in the higher reaches of the pine forest, where they wander out onto the road sometimes. Earlier in the summer, I often saw families which all disappeared into the bushes before I could get my camera out. That makes it all the nicer to have caught this family before they flew…

September 9, 2014
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This morning

June 20, 2014

I didn’t feel like getting up early this morning, but I had two groups of tourists at the Roque, so needs must. And the drive up was all sparkly with dew and early sunlight. I finished work at 1 pm, and went up to the viewpoint right at the top in hopes of meeting my friend Carmelo, the raven for a chat. He wasn’t there, but another raven was (I…

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