Early morning drizzle, (and icon ladies had got it right!).   Not much chance of a ramble today, and the sky is deep leaden grey.  Lowering, the poets call it.

Brrring Brinnng.  EE’s phone message do dah goes off.  Scares the life out of the unprepared.  Roll over pull-up doonah.

“It’s a message from Rockman’s the clothing shop,  they have a 40 % sale on today,” In most excited voice.  Pull-up doonah a little closer.

And there’s a Rockmans over at Point Cook, we could, well, take a look along the beach at Point Cook, then have lunch at the shopping centre, and I could go and save some money.

Doonah is now a ball around my head.

So, as you guessed. Clever reader that you are.  We went.

Well, the raindrops on the windscreen didn’ t seem to be diminishing, and had turned to a light drizzle by the time we parked.

Found some lovely, active Flame Robins in the first few minutes.  Yep, just as I figured.  Not much light.
We ventured to the beach area.  Low tide here, and most of the birds are well out beyond the end of the rock platform.

By morning tea time, we’d not seen much more than the usual suspects, and even the cormorants had abandoned the old jetty.  Open the thermos, and enjoy, at least it wasn’t bucketing with rain.

Cahhh Cahhhw Cawww, from along the beach.  A Little Raven was working among the exposed rocks and intent on telling somebody what was going on.  Into the second cuppa and the bird had worked right up to where we were sitting.  Then began the usual, is it a Little or an Australian Raven?

One of the most interesting calls these birds have is a really guttural purr. (I can’t think of a better word), and the hackles stick out when its made.   And soon a partner arrived on the rocks, and they began a fine old discussion.

But a black bird on a black backdrop, or a white background on a really porridge grey day is not going to get me pushing the shutter with any enthusiasm.

Till.

Both flew to the top of the old jetty.  And after a bit more discussion, the smaller of the two moved closer to the other, put its head down and.  The larger bird began to alopreen it.

We tend I suspect unfairly, to have a low regard for Ravens.  Well, they are black, likened — or associated — through our western culture with evil, hang around supermarket and food outlet rubbish bins, are a pest to all sorts of farmers and in large flocks are dangerous to small birds at nesting time.  And if I’m not mistaken, the bloke in the Ark, let out a Raven to check the conditions, and the Black bird did not come back. Another strike against it.  Yet of course, the Dove, always pictured as white, was the good guy.  I’ve checked the old texts, and there is no indication it was white.  But don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story

So to see these two birds engaged in some sort of pair bonding, (and they do, it seems, stay together for life) in such a tender way was really a highlight of the day.

And ‘we’ got to Rockmans, saved a bag of money, and had lunch.

Enjoy