Ravens are far from common, but are among my favorite birds. Some people associate them with death or bad omens, (Edgar Allan Poe, anyone?) but this is far from true. The presence of Ravens speaks of wilderness, as they tend to prefer the wilds. Their range extends throughout the West, the Northern Great Lakes, and most of Canada northward.
This spring I started seeing them soaring and doing aerial acrobatics above the meadow where I take the dog to run. They looked much like hawks, which first I thought they were, often being chased by smaller birds. Eventually they nested in the top of a pine in the forest. As we'd enter the woods the birds would set up a chorus of loud, guttural wonks (sounding deeper and more fluid than the caws of crows.) This continued as long as anyone was present, sounding loudly throughout the woods. Entering their territory one was put on warning: "These woods belong to us now!"
One day I ran into a fellow walker coming out of the woods as I entered.
"Those birds are really obnoxious," she said as we passed. "They won't shut up."
I smiled. "They probably have a nest," I said, thinking this might make her feel more kindly toward them.
I don't know if I succeeded, but I find the "obnoxious" sounds Ravens make far easier to take than the sounds of 2 cycle leaf blowers or cigarette boats on the bay.
In Old Norse mythology, Odin had two helping Ravens: Huginn (thought) and Muninn (desire.)