The ravens are back

October 5, 2016

I saw very little of the ravens over the summer. I think they were so many tourists with tasty food that they didn’t need me, thank you so very much. Now that it’s getting colder there are fewer ham sandwiches and almond biscuits to be had. Yesterday, my bag of cat food was back in demand. First they ate from my hands, as usual, and flew off. Then one came…

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Desperately Seeking Sheila

RAvens enjoying cat biscuits at the Roque de Los Muchachos. Photo credit: Sheila Crosby
December 18, 2015

We had a good one today. I was tour guiding at the Roque, and for some reason the mobile phone tower wasn’t working, which was a pity because two of my group were driving round and round the observatory trying to find me. They managed to call Ana Garcia, who was trying to work out where the heck they were from their verbal descriptions. Eventually they described the impassible barrier…

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Thieving Ravens!

A raven getting curious about Sheila Crosby's books, Roque de Los Muchachos, La Palma
October 4, 2015

On Saturday I was in the Roque car park selling books from the boot of my car, when the ravens turned up, begging for food. That’s why I keep cat food in the car, specially for them. Then they got curious about the boot of my car and the books. I started to get a bit nervous when s/ze took an interest in my pot of change. That’s the black…

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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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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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