I enjoyed photographing this molting, shaggy immature Common Raven yesterday morning while I was high in the Wasatch Mountains.
Molting immature Common Raven portrait – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 2000, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Oddly, I was in Summit County and the young raven was in Morgan County when I took this portrait. I had just crossed the county line when I turned around to take images of the ravens I found there. There was one adult and three young Common Ravens in that area. The adult wouldn’t cooperate and kept moving away from me, but this immature raven stuck around.
The immature Common Raven is undergoing a molt which is why it looks so shaggy. The other young ravens that were nearby looked this raggedy too.
Aesthetically, this probably isn’t the most appealing photo of an immature Common Raven that I have ever taken, but it accurately shows the phase the young raven was going through. The short head and facial feathers make the young ravens bill look even larger.
Earlier in the morning while I was driving up into the mountains, I saw a pair of Common Ravens snuggled next to each other on a tree branch. I cursed my bad luck at the time because there wasn’t any way for me to safely stop and photograph those ravens on the narrow, winding road. Instead, I was able to take images of this young raven.
In just a short period of time this immature Common Raven will look less shaggy and more appealing to other people.
Me?
I really like this portrait because it shows what molt actually looks like in these large corvids up close.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Common Raven photos plus facts and information about this species.
Don’t all teens dress like that? Great pic. Thanks Mia.
Definitely a bad feather day – in usually lovely (to my eyes) birds.
I love this! It looks like adolescent humans do when they hit the stage where their noses have outgrown their faces. It takes them several months for the face to catch up. It’s endearing.