Ravens and balls, again

[Martin Butterfield <>]

At Carwoola I not infrequently found golf balls - from memory all white (or black and white after 17/2/2017) around our block or on the verge of Whiskers Creek Rd.  We were approximately 11 km from Royal Queanbeyan.  I could not persuade any of our neighbours to confess to playing this game but it seems hard to believe Ravens would schlep a ball that far.  I did see a Raven carrying a ball over Kellys Swamp (1.6km fromDuntroon or 2.7km from Narabundah).

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/

On Wed, 31 Jul 2019 at 20:08, Terry Munro <> wrote:

I play lawn bowls & remember a Raven trying to pick up a bowls jack. It couldn't pick the jack up because they are a bit larger than a golf ball with a smooth slippery surface. The Raven pushed the jack around the green for about 20 meters before giving up much to the amusement of those watching from the clubhouse.

Terry Munro

On Wed, 31 Jul 2019 at 6:52 PM, shorty <> wrote:

Interesting that you both state coloured balls are the preferred ball for the Ravens. Over the last 5 of so Years my local Ravens have mostly bought White balls back to my place with the odd Yellow ball.

They try so hard to crack them open with their beak that i assume they think they are eggs? They even try soaking them in my Birdbath to soften them and when this fails they bury them.

Shorty

Virus-free. www.avg.com

On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 1:11 PM <> wrote:

The management of Fairbairn golf course also reports that coloured balls are more popular than white ones with Australian Ravens, and that they lurk in wait for them. Balls are sometimes dropped on the runway at the adjacent Canberra Airport, perhaps in an attempt to break them open. I also often come across golf balls of all colours in the bush far from any golf course or practice range and assume that ravens are the bearers of these. Foxes will also gnaw on them, whether before or after they have been transported by ravens I know not.

Alison

 

From: Geoffrey Dabb <>
Sent: Wednesday, 31 July 2019 11:46 AM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Ravens and balls, again

 

The usual conversation in the golf shop about whether ravens target orange balls or ‘will take any ball’. Notwithstanding I got a box of new Callaway bright orange matte finish. Yesterday at Royal Narrabundah at the very first hole a raven flew directly down and took the first (virgin) Callaway orange matte finish back to its pine tree.  Thereafter an ordinary white ball was used without incident. I don’t know about all Canberra courses but Narrabundah and Duntroon are particularly bad for this sort of thing.  I believe a small number of orange-fixated resident ravens are the main problem.  Certainly white balls are taken occasionally.