Teesmouth Bird Club

Firstly, thanks to Jamie for setting up this forum... hope it becomes useful.

Dave has given some useful pointers to Raven id which, as you would expect, are absolutely spot on.  I do think, however, that he has taken a rather over-cautious stance.  Many true Ravens will not fit all the diagnostic features he lists.

Whilst birding in Iceland, where Raven is the only corvid, I was struck by the fact that their large size and wedge shaped tail are often not apparent.  Many of the birds there would very easily be overlooked, especially in an open moorland situation where size and scale is hard to judge.  Similarly, their 'tumbling' diagnostic flight is actually quite a rare sight, compared to simple 'flying past' individuals.

I'm not wishing to open the world up to loads of random Raven claims but, there are many more subtle birds that might well still be genuine.  Their call is both distinctive and diagnostic, when learnt, and their wing shape, with the 'arm to hand' proportions, is of equal importance.

Ravens are spreading everywhere.  The elevation of moorland is a red herring... they breed in Liverpool city centre at sea level!  The reason they are so scarce on the NY Moors is almost certainly related to game keepers.  Their occurrence is to be expected and will no doubt become more frequent.

Hope this sparks a more sensible debate than the inappropriate one on the sightings forum

Stew.

I couldn't agree more regarding the gamekeeper situation, I wouldn't trust any of them and I work fairly closely with some !

Apparently a male Hen Harrier that was radio tagged, toured most of northern england recently with the land owners informed of it's presence.It managed very well until it got to Bransdale.The estate were told of it and within 24hrs it's radio signal was lost and it wasn't heard of again.I suppose it's radio signal could have failed to many causes but it seems to me a bit suspicious and could well explain the lack of Rough-legged Buzzard sightings at this former hotspot lately !