Ravens in Winter

Rating:
Summary: Great book on observing nature, but not the best on ravens
Review:
As readers of his other books know, Bernd Heinrich is an outstanding observer of nature. He has retained his childlike curiosity, and enjoys poking around under rocks, climbing trees to look around, and conducting simple experiments in the woods to see what will happen.

He has long since grown up into a scientist and a teacher as well. As a result, he knows how to take notes, conduct a literature review, justify his conclusions, and convey information to readers.

In this book, he does all this very well in trying to figure out a puzzle of raven behavior. If you want to walk with him on an intellectual journey, this is a five-star book.

But . . . I wanted a book about ravens. Instead of the journey, I wanted the destination. There is a better book out there on ravens, and as it turns out, Bernd Heinrich wrote that one, too. If, like me, you want to know what we know about these remarkable, intelligent birds, read Heinrich's "Mind of the Raven" instead.

Rating:
Summary: Eight tons of meat, four Maine winters, and crowds of ravens
Review: "Ravens in Winter" is about solving a biological puzzle: "Do common ravens, 'Corvus corax,' actively disclose to strangers of their species the valuable and rare food bonanzas that one of them is lucky enough to find?"

In order to solve his self-discovered mystery, Bernd Heinrich spent four winters in the woods of Maine and Vermont, hauling eight tons of dead animals to bait stations in the midst of howling blizzards. All in the name of fun---I mean, science.

This is one of the best, most exuberant books I've ever read on how an academic field biologist actually solves a scientific conundrum. The only other book I can compare it with is Farley Mowat's "Never Cry Wolf." Mowat was dropped alone onto the frozen Canadian tundra, where he studied the ways of wolves. Heinrich spent his winters in a tiny tarpaper shack in the Maine wilderness, galumphing through thigh-deep snow with a hundred pounds of cow entrails slung over his back, in order to study the ways of ravens.

Maine Ravens are almost exclusively carrion eaters, so in order to lure them to his observation posts the author had to feed them. He also had to crawl out of his half-frozen sleeping bag (the tarpaper shack had no amenities such as central heating) at 5:30 in the morning in order to beat the ravens to their frozen breakfast, because they are such notoriously wary birds. One false move or sound from him would send them winging away from his bait, sometimes never to return.

Heinrich makes all this sound like wonderful good fun. He periodically lured his graduate students and friends up into the endless forest and through the blizzard to help him trap and band ravens.

I wish I had been one of his students. Ever since I became acquainted with ravens during a canoe trip through the Northwest Territories, I've been curious about these elusive and complex corvids. Heinrich's working diary more than satisfies that curiosity. The text of this book was derived from his field notes, and he doesn't omit any of his observations, or any of his hypotheses whether they led to dead ends or not---that was part of the fun.

After reading "Ravens in Winter," I wanted to go out and do my own field observations---except that I can't quite see myself crawling like Heinrich from privy to tarpaper shack in the midst of a snowstorm, so as not to disturb the ravens at their breakfast.

Now that crows have returned to Detroit (I never used to see them in the city when I was a kid), maybe ravens will be soon to follow. Then I can observe them from the comfort of my centrally-heated living room.

Rating:
Summary: Eight tons of meat, four Maine winters, and crowds of ravens
Review: "Ravens in Winter" is about solving a biological puzzle: "Do common ravens, 'Corvus corax,' actively disclose to strangers of their species the valuable and rare food bonanzas that one of them is lucky enough to find?"

In order to solve his self-discovered mystery, Bernd Heinrich spent four winters in the woods of Maine and Vermont, hauling eight tons of dead animals to bait stations in the midst of howling blizzards. All in the name of fun---I mean, science.

This is one of the best, most exuberant books I've ever read on how an academic field biologist actually solves a scientific conundrum. The only other book I can compare it with is Farley Mowat's "Never Cry Wolf." Mowat was dropped alone onto the frozen Canadian tundra, where he studied the ways of wolves. Heinrich spent his winters in a tiny tarpaper shack in the Maine wilderness, galumphing through thigh-deep snow with a hundred pounds of cow entrails slung over his back, in order to study the ways of ravens.

Maine Ravens are almost exclusively carrion eaters, so in order to lure them to his observation posts the author had to feed them. He also had to crawl out of his half-frozen sleeping bag (the tarpaper shack had no amenities such as central heating) at 5:30 in the morning in order to beat the ravens to their frozen breakfast, because they are such notoriously wary birds. One false move or sound from him would send them winging away from his bait, sometimes never to return.

Heinrich makes all this sound like wonderful good fun. He periodically lured his graduate students and friends up into the endless forest and through the blizzard to help him trap and band ravens.

I wish I had been one of his students. Ever since I became acquainted with ravens during a canoe trip through the Northwest Territories, I've been curious about these elusive and complex corvids. Heinrich's working diary more than satisfies that curiosity. The text of this book was derived from his field notes, and he doesn't omit any of his observations, or any of his hypotheses whether they led to dead ends or not---that was part of the fun.

After reading "Ravens in Winter," I wanted to go out and do my own field observations---except that I can't quite see myself crawling like Heinrich from privy to tarpaper shack in the midst of a snowstorm, so as not to disturb the ravens at their breakfast.

Now that crows have returned to Detroit (I never used to see them in the city when I was a kid), maybe ravens will be soon to follow. Then I can observe them from the comfort of my centrally-heated living room.

Rating:
Summary: Ravens + Lit. Review + Research + Journal + 1 Guy=Great Book
Review:

What a wonderful book! I have never given much thought to ravens...until now. I enjoy my birdfeeders and seeing the chickadees and cardinals come to feed but now I am seeking ravens! Taking a cue from Heinrich, I plan on picking up road kill and tossing it in my yard to see if these interesting creatures will descend in my yard!

Bernd Heinrich takes a research subject and makes it very entertaining. I enjoy nature and found his passion for the out-of-doors to be contagious. He dives in and at times secludes himself from the world of humans and fully gives of himself, (including living in unbelievable cold), all on his quest to find an answer to his question; Do ravens recruit other ravens to food?

The book is laid out as; part journal, part research paper and part review of literature. I found the latter two informative. Although I was tempted to skip over the short forays into the lit reviews, I am pleased that I took the extra time to read and develop a background into the nature of the raven. The journaling that Heinrich offers is both informative and very entertaining. This is where I began to find great humor, and through Heinrich's description of his actions to investigate and study the ravens, my interest grew in learning the outcome to his ultimate question.

Here's a quote that I think sums up this book:

"We then try to justify what we do by trying to make it sound as if it has some "useful" application. But, really, we do it because it is fun. Nature is entertainment-the greatest show on earth. And that is not trivial, because what is life, if it isn't fun? I think that the greatest contribution we could make would be to help make life more interesting." -from Ravens in Winter, page 221

This book is education and most of all...fun. I imagine most people who read this book walk away with a new desire to see ravens and with a new appreciation for them.

I think the mark of an enjoyable author is the desire that arises once the book is completed for more. I am planning on reading other books by Bernd Heinrich and hope you are too! Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Ravens + Lit. Review + Research + Journal + 1 Guy=Great Book
Review:

What a wonderful book! I have never given much thought to ravens...until now. I enjoy my birdfeeders and seeing the chickadees and cardinals come to feed but now I am seeking ravens! Taking a cue from Heinrich, I plan on picking up road kill and tossing it in my yard to see if these interesting creatures will descend in my yard!

Bernd Heinrich takes a research subject and makes it very entertaining. I enjoy nature and found his passion for the out-of-doors to be contagious. He dives in and at times secludes himself from the world of humans and fully gives of himself, (including living in unbelievable cold), all on his quest to find an answer to his question; Do ravens recruit other ravens to food?

The book is laid out as; part journal, part research paper and part review of literature. I found the latter two informative. Although I was tempted to skip over the short forays into the lit reviews, I am pleased that I took the extra time to read and develop a background into the nature of the raven. The journaling that Heinrich offers is both informative and very entertaining. This is where I began to find great humor, and through Heinrich's description of his actions to investigate and study the ravens, my interest grew in learning the outcome to his ultimate question.

Here's a quote that I think sums up this book:

"We then try to justify what we do by trying to make it sound as if it has some "useful" application. But, really, we do it because it is fun. Nature is entertainment-the greatest show on earth. And that is not trivial, because what is life, if it isn't fun? I think that the greatest contribution we could make would be to help make life more interesting." -from Ravens in Winter, page 221

This book is education and most of all...fun. I imagine most people who read this book walk away with a new desire to see ravens and with a new appreciation for them.

I think the mark of an enjoyable author is the desire that arises once the book is completed for more. I am planning on reading other books by Bernd Heinrich and hope you are too! Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Ravens in Winter- an excellent book!
Review: Bernd Heinrich is one of the most dedicated scientific observers that I have read. Ravens have always held a fascination for me, and it is wonderful that Heinrich has taken the pains to not only study them, but to put his extensive observations and experiences into an entertaining, readable form. As a teacher, I can refer students to his book as a record of the "right" way to conduct an impartial scientific test. Ravens in Winter is destined to be the ultimate authority on the behavior of Corvus Corax, our common raven.

Rating:
Summary: Ravens in Winter- an excellent book!
Review: Bernd Heinrich is one of the most dedicated scientific observers that I have read. Ravens have always held a fascination for me, and it is wonderful that Heinrich has taken the pains to not only study them, but to put his extensive observations and experiences into an entertaining, readable form. As a teacher, I can refer students to his book as a record of the "right" way to conduct an impartial scientific test. Ravens in Winter is destined to be the ultimate authority on the behavior of Corvus Corax, our common raven.

Rating:
Summary: "And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting..."
Review: Edgar Allan Poe was a fan of Corvus corax and most definitely so is Bernd Heinrich, although as a good scientist, he doesn't romanticize and anthropomorphize the bird as Poe does. RAVENS IN WINTER is a scientific study of the behavior of Ravens in western Maine that took place over the course of a few winters in the mid 1980's. It is more than that; it's about "solving a riddle". Do Ravens "actively disclose to strangers of their species the valuable and rare food bonanzas that one of them is lucky enough to find? If so, how do they do it, and why?"

I don't know of any other such detailed studies on Ravens, except for other work that Heinrich himself has done. The author takes us through discussions on members of Corvidae (the crow family), Ravens in mythology, their intelligence, courting and display, nesting, calls, and all other matters dealing with the birds behavior. Heinrichs' illustrations of "eared", "fuzzy-headed", and "strutting" displays shows not only his artistic skills but that he is also very patient. The subtle details come only with spending a lot of time in quiet observation.

Heinrich does solve his riddle and Ravens do indeed share their food, or in the language of the study "they actively recruit". As to why, this involves the difference in behavior by juvenile birds as against adult pairs. It's juveniles that call others to the food and Heinrich offers his theory. "They are gregarious, joining other juveniles to roost and feast with, and to find an attractive mate. An unmated Raven finding food invites eligible singles to join him (or her?) at the feast, thereby not only gaining or maintaining access to the food, but possibly also increasing its status and demonstrating fitness as a future provider..." As Heinrich goes on to say it's a system clothed in "intricate detail and subtlety". It's only appropriate then that those words are most fitting in describing the book itself.

Rating:
Summary: The scientific method in action
Review: I listened to this book on tape a few years ago, and have found that it is one of those books that has really stuck with me. I plan to purchase it now and save it for my kids to read. It is the best example I've ever experienced of the scientific method put into action.

The author is absolutely committed, throughout his research, to the use of logic and evidence to reach conclusions. If an observed result is not logical, he tries to find the hole in it, and devises another test. If his theories are not verified by observation, he finds the hole in his thinking. He is never bound by either conventional thinking or even by his own theories. All that matters is getting it right.

Most of our exposure to the scientific method looks backwards at supporting facts from seemingly obvious conclusions. This book really takes you through the hard work (physically and mentally) and frustration of reaching the solution.

I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: very good book
Review: if you are interested in this book, Buy it