Ravens Steal Cat Food

Avalon has a lot of feral cats; some people see it as a curse, others like having them around. People get hot under the collar about the issue. This afternoon we went for a walk up the hill, and on the way we stopped up above a condo complex where we can usually look way down a steep bank and see a half-dozen or more cats by a shed and big storm pipe/sewer drain. No cats. Not a single one.

We walked up to an overlook near the Inn on Mount Ada, took in the gorgeous view, then headed back down the hill. On our way home, we noticed a friend walking out toward the cat spot with a small bucket in hand. It was filled with dry cat food. In just a minute or two, cats were coming out of the woodwork, or the bushes to be more exact, until there were at least a half-dozen kitties.

Then we heard a raven squawking and spotted it flying through the trees. It landed on a tree branch above the cat-feeding station and started making a different sounding call. Moments later another raven arrived. They dropped down to the shed’s roof. They hopped down to the edge. The cats scattered. Then one raven landed on a flat board sprinkled with cat food. It tipped its’ head to the side and started gulping down the dry cat food.

A minute later it took off and the other raven replaced it. A hurried meal, then that raven flew away and the cats finally got to feed. We watched for a moment, and then headed home. We hadn’t gone far when Arthur spotted two more cats way down below us in the bushes. It took us a minute to see that they were . . . ah, making more feral cats.

Raven envy

We live on a steep hillside--it's about 250 steps to the shoreline--so I kind of envy the ravens when they take off and glide downtown in a matter of moments. When the Santa Anna winds blow and there are red flag warnings for LA, here on Catalina Island you'll see ravens soaring, diving, doing barrel rolls and generally dancing on the wind. They're vocal birds, and when they land nearby like this pair on a power pole, we hear them squawking, quorking, and making all sorts of wild guttural sounds. Sometimes we can see them opening their bills and making quick clicking and clacking calls while they ruff up their feathers. They've got to be talking; it's just a language people don't understand.