It’s currently mid-July here in Southwestern Colorado, and for the last month or so I’ve been seeing gangs of Ravens sitting on fences and Juniper snags. They seem to leave the nest in late May or June, then spend at least a couple of weeks flying around together, moving in loose family-flocks.
When they are fresh out of the nest, the fledglings have light pink patches in the corners of their mouths. Maybe those colors make it easier for the parents to put the pieces of meat in the correct places.
The fledgies also don’t fly very well at all. At best, they fly like toddlers on their first training wheels-free bicycle ride. Sometimes it seems as though they’ve finally gotten past the wobbly stage, but if a gust of wind comes up, or a they get caught in a thermal, then they’ll start to teeter and panic-weave in the air.
But they seem to know that they’re supposed to keep trying, and they get better quickly. Then they’ll spend a couple of months hanging around in gangs with their parents and nest mates – practicing their flying, begging from their parents, and just generally getting into trouble.
They are both fascinating and delightful to watch.
Anyway…here’s my proposal.
One thing that I think this country needs is another holiday. This holiday won’t favor any particular religious or political party…it’ll be for everyone. And I suspect it’ll be good for the economy.
It’ll be “Raven Fledge Day“, and will be in early June, three weeks before the Summer Solstice.
We’ll celebrate by having raucous fun and putting delicious chunks of meat into each others mouths. And maybe flying, I don’t know for sure yet.
I, for one, intend to celebrate it from here on out.
