Roxborough Raven

by Scott McConnell

On the afternoon of April 18, 2015 I found a Common Raven perched and calling on one of the radio towers in Roxborough, just east of the Domino Lane/Fowler Street intersection. After about 20 minutes of perching and occasionally calling, it flew southwest across Domino Lane and behind Penn Distributors. I walked through the fields and came across presumably the same bird at the old incinerator just south of Penn Distributors, being harassed by a crow. I believe the raven may have been perched on the roof of the incinerator, and flew when I approached. The raven, with the crow in pursuit, flew off towards Umbria Street. It seems plausible that the ravens could attempt to nest on one of the towers in the area (they nested on top of a crane at State College), so it’s something for area birders to be aware of and keep an eye on. I took some distant, so-so photos, and made several recordings of the calls.