The Raven
May 14th 1264. The aftermath of the battle. Two thousand corpses lie strewn on the slopes and riverbanks around Lewes. Some view this as a victory; for others this is defeat. But for a large black bird who calmly watched the bloodshed from the sidelines, this scene of slaughter is an all-you-can-eat buffet. Democracy never tasted so good.
Smart birds, ravens. Way before 1264 they'd realised they needn't waste their energy killing to eat when other less intelligent species can do the dirty work for them. For centuries ravens exploited human's enthusiasm for resolving quarrels with clubs and swords. Ravenous ravens dined out at all the finest battlefields, burial grounds, gibbets and gallows.
Hanging around with corpses would get anyone a bad reputation but the ravens' reputation took on mythological proportions. Across the northern hemisphere the bird became respected and revered by many cultures as an omen of death, denizen of the afterlife, messenger of defeat. This sinister CV secured them a plethora of portentous appearances in everything from the Old Testament to Game of Thrones. The mere sight of a raven would strike fear in the heart of any man and we would dare not harm it. Today ravens feature in our folklore as the earthbound spirit of King Arthur and at the Tower of London the birds are still entrusted with the fate of the kingdom.
Yet aside from all these malevolent accolades we bestow on the raven it truly is a magnificent bird to watch. In its role as Britain's wickedest bird the raven certainly dresses the part in a costume of sleek glossy black feathers, shaggy 'beard' and stout dagger beak. In flight it commands the sky; wheeling on wide wings and uttering its guttural 'cronk cronk' call. Yet sometimes their behaviour is incongruous with their evil image. To see ravens rolling and tumbling through the air during their joyous display flight is like catching the grim reaper doing the hokey-cokey.
When not busy instilling fear in the population, ravens performed an important clean-up job ridding Britain's towns of rotting rubbish and the bird was protected by royal decree. But in the 17th century people's perceptions changed and for centuries the birds were persecuted. Ravens, and the old beliefs they represented, were exorcised from England. By 1895 they had vanished from Sussex.
Informed, tolerant attitudes have recently allowed ravens to return to Lewes. A few pairs breed on the chalk cliffs that skirt the town. In our comfortable world of surround sound and selfies there is something reassuringly sinister in watching a raven circling over Lewes High Street; a spectral souvenir of our brutal, primitive past. Lewes will never again be the site of a bloody revolutionary battle. But there's no harm in a few ravens hanging around. Just in case.
Originally posted May 2014, the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Lewes
Comments
I frequently see the ravens going to their nest high up in a hole in the cliff at the back of the chalk pit (coming down Malling Hill and looking towards Glynde), hear their hungry chicks, and see one of the parents seeing off an overhead buzzard. Makes my daily exercise more interesting!
13 May 2020 14:47:00
Good to hear Ravens are in Lewes. Much to our surprise we came across one on a nest in a pylon near Ansty on our daily exercise. Only seen in Hampshire and further north before.
Glad they are becoming more local but not sure about having the “cronk cronk” as an alarm clock though 😊
14 May 2020 13:42:00
Every week during the one hour bird watch I hope for some flying over the house, as it does happen quite often.
Alas, they always avoid us in that hour!!
15 May 2020 16:04:00
So, the ravens ate all the soldiers that died at the battle? Eek! The one in the picture looks so friendly and has it’s wings open in a sort of an embrace? It’s a great picture. It is amazing that different beliefs can change the favour of something so dramatically; protected by Royal decree to persecution and exile is a very dramatic reversal of fortune.
18 Jun 2020 23:02:00
I heard a strange bird call in a tall yew tree in Hamsey north of Lewes that sounded like a cross between a frog and a cuckoo with a chest complaint! When it flew it’s blackness largeness and long fingered wings struck me . Could this be a raven?
01 Aug 2020 11:11:00
Pair of ravens sighted while walking on the South Downs 24th Jan, 2021 2 miles north of Streat (as the raven flies).
24 Jan 2021 20:41:00
Saw a raven after parking at the Jill windmill, lunchtime yesterday
25 Apr 2021 19:42:00
A couple on the power lines close to the west course at East Sussex National Golf Club on Sunday 1 August 2021 about 1pm. Nice to hear them in an area which is, broadly, farmland and light wood land.
03 Aug 2021 06:33:00
A pair of ravens seen near Beachy head at Bullock Down Farm today.
01 Jan 2022 20:38:00
What I thought was a ‘giant crow’ answering description of Raven in three bird 🦅 ID books – but in Walberton, Arundel. Is that possible ? Adjacent farmland. Seeing off rooks and magpies easily – twice as big, huge wing span and feathered wing ‘fingers’ in flight !
10 Feb 2022 13:18:00
Two fine ravens settled for a while in the trees opposite our house across the river from Alfriston yesterday afternoon. They stayed briefly in trees towards the south, and then flew briefly to a large ash tree overlooking us: emitting their bass croaks almost continuously before flying off up the down towards Wilmington.
21 Apr 2022 09:25:10
2 large black birds are nesting high up in a tree near us in Eastbourne could they be ravens ?
20 May 2022 20:45:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Quite possibly
2 large black birds are nesting high up in a tree near us in Eastbourne could they be ravens ?
22 May 2022 16:16:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
They could be Ravens but this is less likely in an urban location. They could also be Crows, Jackdaws or Rooks. It's impossible to tell without more information. Here are some blogs that you might find helpful https://sussexwildlifetrust.or...
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org...
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org...
We had the pleasant company of a pair as we walked along the South Downs Way today. One kept flying ahead of us and sitting on the fence until we walked up to it. The other strutted through the fields. The first one landed between a pair of magpies and its only then you realise just how big they are.
05 Jun 2022 17:00:00
Saw a pair of ravens on the South Downs Way just north of Castle Hill NNR whilst walking with my daughter Tallulah today. She said ‘That’s a big crow!’ paused then excitedly ‘Is that a raven!’ Her first ever. Lovely.
02 Oct 2022 18:07:00
Last week we saw a pair of ravens and then a single raven today in Horsted Keynes, West Sussex. Not seen one before but they have a very distinctive call and are huge.
16 Feb 2023 14:10:00
I saw a huge crow fly out from the woods by Clayton train tunnel could this have been a Raven ?
21 Mar 2023 07:54:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Yes, it's possible.
I saw a huge crow fly out from the woods by Clayton train tunnel could this have been a Raven ?
21 Mar 2023 11:42:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Could be, they can be seen across much of Sussex
Heard a Raven ‘cronking’ in the trees behind Pett Level beach, late this afternoon. Nice to see hear one here, they are increasingly common where I live on the edge of the Peak District in East Cheshire
22 Sep 2023 19:47:00
Heard a raven today in woodland at Horsham.
25 Aug 2024 20:14:00
I saw at least one pair of Ravens not far
from Wadhurst train station a couple of weeks back. Their call is extremely distinctive and I recognised it in an instant. It may have just been been one pair talking to each other of they may have been others in the area but I certainly saw 2. Fascinating birds!
28 Oct 2024 12:57:00
I keep seeing a really large crow – like bird sitting on an old fence post just beyond the fence, right by the chalk cliff at Telscombe, then last week there were two. It has a big head and thick black beak- I think it must be a Raven. It is there in the mornings.
27 Apr 2025 14:25:00
Raven perched at the top of a cliff at Peacehaven this morning.
23 Mar 2026 19:55:00
I have seen the odd pair in the Buckmore Park area in Kent, and I have spotted and “heard” them in the Detling Show Ground location.
They are very noticeable when compared against crows or jackdaws.
29 Apr 2026 07:07:00