Spent a bit of time this morning chasing ravens with my telephoto around LaBrea and Sunset. First from my apartment window, then at much closer range. They moved from one side of the street to the other, and then flew off separately, the second after some delay and interesting vocalizing (more of a coo than a quork). They ended up over at the billboard noted last Saturday, and dropped off it before I could reach the area. Once I made it over to Alta Vista and Sunset, there were a few large crows foraging, and I mistook them for the birds I was after. Only after using up the last of my shots did I notice that the ravens were in the date palms above my head.
All of this should be illustrated in detail as soon as I get the film developed. The photo below is from a test shot taken a couple days earlier, but it looks up at Runyon Canyon, where at least one pair seems to be in residence. Anyway the Santa Monicas are chock-a-block with ravens, who often come down to the flats. Maybe it’s the great ice cream at Mashti’s that attracts them.
Conditions: partly cloudy and cool.
