Spark of Inspiration

Many writers have a raven in their story. I’ve always wanted to see a raven up close. I hear and see them, but never close enough for a photo.

SURPRISE – I was just in Ireland for a visit. I was in Bray, a coastal town in North County Wicklow. When I got off the train, I started walking along the shore. As I enjoyed the fresh air and the sound of the waves, this bird came right before me. I was QUICK to get the photo. I finally saw my raven up close. However, a voice inside my head said, “Maybe that’s not a raven, better look it up.”

What would we do without Google. In my search, I discovered that there are three birds that are very similar: the rook, the raven and the crow. I found this great article with photos/descriptions of each bird on Woodland Trust, article: “Rook, Crow or Raven? How to tell the difference” by Sally Bevin.

The article was enlightening. These bird are indeed so similar. In fact, I still do not know which bird this is. I think it might be a rook, because of the grey beak. Hard for me to tell. I noticed in the article that the rook has a beautiful indigo blue color of feathers, which this bird appears to have on his head.

Need help.

Any bird specialists out there? What do you think? Which bird is this?