Bird watch - meet Ramsgate’s ravens

Bird Watch

RAVENS

Writer

Keith Ross

Illustrator

Molly Pickle

If you’d like the chance to see the ravens and other wildlife, I do guided nature walks from Ramsgate to Pegwell Bay. Contact keithross1@hotmail.com for details.

Calling all Thanetians

Ramsgate resident and Level Eleven Studio owner Russ Pullen is photographing characters from across the Isle. Here he introduces his latest Ramsgate subject: Lance Oram

When I set out to shoot my Thanetians project, I quickly realised that quite a few of my friends met the criteria of “interesting”. (Some exceeded it by quite a margin.) Step forward Ramsgate-born “salty sea-dog” Lance Oram.

Lance has one of those jobs that requires a huge knowledge and skill, but is largely invisible to most of us. As one of the most experienced Channelswimming pilots operating in the country. From May to October, aboard In Ramsgate tourist advertising from the 1950s until now, the town’s logo is often depicted as a ram jumping over a gate. But this is not how Ramsgate got its name. The earliest reference is in the Kent Hundred Rolls of 1274-5 as “Ramisgate” or “Remmesgate” from the Anglo-Saxon “Hræfn’s geat”, or “Raven’s cliff gap”, later, from 1357, to be rendered as “Ramesgate”.

We certainly have lots of carrion crows along the coast. So why was the town, as well as Ravenscliff Gardens at Pegwell village, named after them? Two centuries ago ravens would have been common in the area, but sadly their range has been reduced to mainly the west and north of the UK. However over the years they have slowly been making a comeback, and for the past few years they can be seen and heard flying along our coast, passing over Ramsgate Harbour.

They are distinct from the common carrion crow by being larger (about the size of a buzzard) and having a bigger, chunkier beak. Another feature is the shape of their tail. The crow has a wedged-shaped tail whereas the raven’s tail is almost diamond-shaped. They also have a very distinctive ‘gronking’ call. Ravens pair for life so you often see them flying in pairs. They are very acrobatic flyers and can sometimes be seen briefly tumbling and flying upside down to evade being mobbed by crows and gulls.

One of my bird-watching highlights from a few years ago was seeing a raven perched on the old wooden remains of the Coast Guard tower in Ravenscliff Gardens in front of the Pegwell Hotel. The ravens had returned! Then while out on a walk I spotted a pair flying along the cliff top. One of them was carrying a twig in its beak. Could they be breeding in the area? By chance I spotted them setting up their nest in a newly installed peregrine box, and I began watching and filming them. They had four large hungry chicks to feed, so it came as a bit of a shock to bump into one of the newly fledged birds sitting on a branch close to the ground. I had to squeeze past it as it loudly gronked to the nearby parents. You really appreciate their size and large beak when you are just a few feet from them.

his 10-metre Dutch steel cruiser Sea Satin, he guides Channel swimmers across the world’s busiest shipping lane. Very slowly.

It is absolutely specialist work, requiring a deep understanding of the sea, her moods, tides, weather and, of course, vessel collision regulations. His skill dictates whether a swim is successful or not and his encyclopaedic knowledge of the Channel is of equal value to the Ramsgate Lifeboat, where he’s served as a skipper for 20 years with the same commitment. In his leisure time? Buy him a vodka and coke in the Churchill Tavern (when regulations allow) and you’ll find he has many a heroic story to tell. I grabbed this shot when he stepped into the studio last year, just back from another successful crossing, and knew I’d absolutely caught the photo I was after the moment I clicked the shutter.

The Thanetians charity exhibition will be held in September 2021 as part of the 200th anniversary celebrations for Ramsgate Royal Harbour.

If you know any interesting characters - or are one - from Thanet who would like to be involved, get in touch by email russ@level11.co.uk

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