Ravens and golf balls

["mariko buszynski via Canberrabirds " <>]

 Similar things happen in Japan with carrion crows which are about the same size as an Australian Raven.  I  saw a documentary in which you hear a groan in a golf course and in the next scene you see a crow catching  a golf ball in the air and flying away.  It did not show what the bird did with it but I heard they sometimes keep it in the nest as a toy?

Mariko

On Wed, Apr 22, 2026 at 3:28 PM Alison Rowell via Canberrabirds <> wrote:

My field pack fills up with golf balls collected from survey sites near golf courses. Ravens often pick up the balls, I agree that they favour coloured balls and like them to be moving. Australian Ravens pick up golf balls from the Fairbairn golf course and drop them on the runway at Canberra Airport, I assume they bounce pleasingly. I have seen similar behaviour with other corvids at Uluru, a small flock picking up and dropping small rocks on The Rock, and chasing them as they bounced.

 

From: Canberrabirds <> On Behalf Of Geoffrey Dabb via Canberrabirds
Sent: Tuesday, 21 April 2026 3:55 PM
To: 'Nick Payne' <>; 'Canberra Birds' <m("lists.canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds");" target="_blank">>
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Ravens and golf balls

 

Yes, Nick, their area of operations include Royal Narrabundah as you say, the pitch and putt over the road, and the casual practice areas along Flinders Way, probably Federal.  It's hard to see a pattern  -  definitely prefer a coloured ball and I think one in play, and become more active as winter nesting season approaches.  I think the young learn from parents.

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Canberrabirds <> On Behalf Of Nick Payne via Canberrabirds
Sent: Tuesday, 21 April 2026 1:51 PM
To: Canberra Birds <>
Subject: [Canberrabirds] Ravens and golf balls

 

This morning we were dog walking along La Perouse St in Griffith when a golf ball suddenly thudded down onto the verge a few metres away, immediately followed by the Raven that had dropped it. It picked up the golf ball again and flew away across the road with it. I don't know where it had carried the ball from - the nearest golf course is the Canberra Public Golf Course a couple of kilometres away at the corner of Hindmarsh Drive and Jerrabomberra Avenue.

 

Nick Payne

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