Raven Boys

Nesting season here, so the players have changed. No sign of the courting couple--he who delicately picked up an egg and brought it to her a couple of yards away where they dined, leaving a mosaic of white and brown shells on the desert.
Once she took to the nest, one sloppy eater dined in place, leaving pieces of shell and a glutinous haze of egg white. I wonder, courtship over, if it was the same male or some young bachelor.
Two days ago, seeing five shining ravens swooping around my piece of New Mexico sky, I put out three eggs. I heard the whoosh of wings and some ravenish comments as soon as I went inside,walked down the hallway to my studio where through the glass door I saw winged shadows lofting. The eggs were gone.
Just for fun, I immediately placed two more eggs in the usual spot atop the rock fountain, and for the next hour, watched desire being overcome by confusion. These guys thought they had raided a nest, so much as they wanted those eggs, well, something wasn't right. Swooping in, slowing to look but not land and touch, they wove a loose tapestry of yearning. The eggs remained until the next morning--- a new dawn, a new raid.
The Audubon Wildlife Invitational, which includes one of my raven pieces, opens May 21 at the Randall Davey Audubon Center at the top of Upper Canyon RD.