“Raven was not thought of as a god. He was thought of as the transformer, the trickster. He was the being that changed things—sometimes quite by accident, sometimes on purpose.”
Christian White, Haida artist
In July of 2017 we traveled the width and length of Vancouver Island visiting my wife’s relatives. We flew into Vancouver and took the Naniamo ferry to the island. We visited Port Alberni, Gold River, Victoria and Port Hardy. In Port Hardy we had a traditional native dinner of half smoked salmon and boiled potatoes while my wife caught up with news from her brother and nephew.
Moses & Ginny at Port Hardy, Vancouver Island Chris Scooter Andrew shows off a carving at Port Hardy Salmon & boiled potato dinner
I shared some watermelon with one fearless bird.
The birds were quite comfortable with my presence which gave me an opportunity to observe how they differ from crows. They are much larger, have a longer thick beak and a ruffled feathers on their neck. They have some great vocalizations but not one of them every said “Nevermore”.
Raven gives me the eye Raven in Port Hardy, Vancouver Island 
Raven in Port Hardy, Vancouver Island
The ravens seemed to have a plan of action about an abandoned boarded up house. They spent a lot of time exploring the roof and potential openings. I wonder if they were thinking how it might make a great rookery if they could find a way in.
The Ravens of Port Hardy Ravens make plans about getting into an abandoned house
After this encounter I actually had a dream about a cloud of ravens. It inspired me to do some research about them. We have them in New Ipswich but I’ve only heard them and still have problems identifying them in flight. I’ve been putting out dog food on a stump to the great delight of the crows, but perhaps one day a raven will stop in and say hello.
There are some terrific books about ravens by Bernd Heinrich, a professor of biology at the University of Vermont, who divides his time between Vermont and the forests of western Maine. I highly recommend his “Ravens in Winter,” and “Mind of the Raven.” Heinrich has spent a LOT of time studying ravens and observing their behavior in the wild.