Comments on: Chris Skaife, Master Raven Keeper at the Tower of London, & Merlin the Raven

By: Larry Roberts

Larry Roberts — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 21:16:29 +0000

Hi Chris, I am in the US and just saw your special on Smithsonian Channel and thoroughly enjoyed how you care for the ravens. Keep up the good work!

By: Ivy Wallflower

Ivy Wallflower — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 02:17:00 +0000

I’m in Australia, my life is as such that work is not required of me; I start at 5:00 AM – 6:30 AM, depending when the Birds wake up, then I keep watch over them from Cats unti 5:30 PM when I bring them inside and spend an hour with them before I put them to bed.

I did not buy Birds, wild Birds came to me for help when injured.

I guess my waning faith in people made me invest emotionally in the Birds and now people have to work around their routine for time with me.

As Keeper Of Ravens, my lifestyle would only change insofar as I would be employed, so I would be getting paid insread of incurring expenses.

I was born for it.

I’d have to bring four Birds with me though.

By: Mark Weeks

Mark Weeks — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 18:33:16 +0000

Myself and my wife along with our two boys Harry and Jack travelled from notts by train for the weekend and visited the tower. We were honoured to have Chris guide us around considering he is the raven master. He was very informative and very ammusing. All round good guy. Couldnt of asked for more. All the best. Team Weeks.

By: Phillip Storey

Phillip Storey — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 03:18:43 +0000

Ll live in northern Maine USA and ravens are a part of life here. These are very elusive birds in the wild and the older they get the less trust they have. I have a hard time getting them to eat the bread and food scraps I put out for them due to their shyness. I have grown to love these animals and spend lots of time thinking about them on a daily basis. I hear them more than see them most of the time. They talk to each other and call out to find each other. The vocabulary is incredibly complex and because I live in a very quiet environment, I hear the subtle sounds they speak that very few people have heard. Like someone mentioned in a previous comment, professor Bernd Heinrich of the university of Vermont is the foremost expert of Raven behavior. I have the honor of being able to correspond with him and he is so good about getting back to me. His books, Ravens in winter and The mind of the Raven are a must read.

By: Stephen Llewellyn

Stephen Llewellyn — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 14:04:54 +0000

Tremendous post! As a bird lover myself I find Ravenmaster Scaife’s attachment to his charges really quite moving. An informative and fun read. Thank you!

By: Linda from the US

Linda from the US — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 02:30:20 +0000

When going to the Tower, I was immediately drawn to the Ravens. Beautiful birds, and large birds! They are larger than I imagined. We have a group of crows that hang around are yard, and start crowing in the afternoon for their peanuts..love it.

By: Roy Lindquist

Roy Lindquist — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 07:17:55 +0000

Thanks for sharing this wonderful article!

RoyL in Norway

By: cathlain murray

cathlain murray — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 01:53:29 +0000

That was fascinating. I can see why anyone would be enamoured! Thank you

By: Jacqueline Read

Jacqueline Read — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 18:21:28 +0000

I visited the Tower of London approx. 2 weeks ago and heard about Merlina, a girl raven whom I spotted on the lawn afterwards. She actually came to me and took a couple of nuts from my hand and buried them for later. I later realized that I was forbidden to do this. Anyway, she was such a beautiful raven I reached out to touch her and she gave me a little nip on the finger, which of course didn’t hurt. I felt so privileged that she came to me and it will be a hi-lite of my trip!

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 15:49:05 +0000

I visited in September and Chris was our tour guide very knowledgable and very witty too and seemed to like
To scare the little people Chris also had an alias Kevin which
I found amusing