Stations of the raven.
If I win the lottery, or if any wealthy benefactors wanted to help me decorate the still-bare walls of my flat, there’s no doubt about acquiring the wonderful artworks I discovered this afternoon at Evon Zerbetz’s Web site. Zerbetz sees right into the heart of raven fancy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/2947506.stm
We don’t seem to have foxes in L.A. (although they have been seen - by myself among others - on the campus of the university at which I work, so that’s not wholly true) but we do have coyotes! In any case none of our ravens are kept with clipped wings in any historical buildings, [...]
Southbound on LaBrea, 11:30 a.m., passing the large Target store at the West Hollywood Gateway. Warm weather and clear skies.
Raven appeared 8 m. above the street in a curving, swooping approach to land, settling on the roof ledge of a building on the LA side, across from Target. A second raven joined it [...]
Overlooking a peaceful downtown and West LA from the heights of Runyon (do those hilltops have names?) there was little indication of the fires raging outside Malibu to the west, and outside my own hometown sixty miles to the east. The skies were so clear that I could see Mt. San Bernardino pretty easily [...]
I have little doubt ravens find the Endangered Species Act pretty irritating, because it leads to being radio-tagged, followed and experimented on by California biologists eager to save desert tortoises and terns… but the rest of us should take note of this from LA Audubon:
URGENT ACTION ALERT!
26 Sep 2005
TELL CONGRESS NOT TO GUT THE [...]
Biologists Crack Code of Chickadee Song
By Elise Kleeman
DISCOVER Vol. 26 No. 10 | October 2005 | Biology & Medicine
Who would have guessed that when a chickadee opens its tiny beak, it has a lot to say? Biologists studying the alarm calls of black-capped chickadees found the bird’s songs signal not only the presence but also [...]
Burbank (OK, not quite the Valley, but to a Woodite, everything beyond the Cahuenga Pass is Over There)
Heavy marine layer and cool. 9 a.m.
Sixth and Dartmouth. A picture perfect residential neighborhood. One raven on the sidewalk, one as sentry on streetlight. A third was observed later when they gathered in a nearby tree. Meeting their [...]
This was an attempt, obviously not so successful, to contrast the appearance and size of crows and ravens.
Cahuenga and Sunset.
Late morning, sunny and warming.
Waiting for the bus after a visit to Hollywood’s thriving Sunday morning farmer’s market (not to be confused with L.A.’s landmark Farmer’s Market at Fairfax and 3rd), I noticed raven one approach and circle the CNN building, finally settling in the understructure of a big satellite dish. Raven two [...]
Dashed out of the apt. this morning with just enough time to get to work. My car was down at the end of the block. High above Hollywood High School’s rooftop tennis courts, a crow sentinel was keeping up a regular caw-caw-caw. Often the crows forage on the sports field on quiet (as in weekend) [...]
