Ravens in Hollywood

Posted by ravens at August 30th, 2009

Raven above BW Square picking at pigeon wing. Probably left over from Buteo breakfast, which would explain all the brachyrynchos alarm calls earlier.

Posted by ravens at July 3rd, 2009

This is one of my local ravens – seen day-long in the vicinty of Billy Wilder Square and the pines of Lanewood Ave. – being very vocal at 8:30 a.m. I have no clue what was going on; mostly from a perch in one of the pines, but also with a couple fly-overs to the same spot on a nearby building. Raven mysteries. Sounds almost like a chimp at times. I think it may have grabbed a piece of food from the tree before flying off to Sunset Blvd, but I’m not certain.Was there more food it wanted? Was it having trouble caching? Was it trying to call its partner? RavenLanewood

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Posted by ravens at June 11th, 2009

Billy Wilder Square ravens perched on Coors Light billboard above motel, grooming each other, preening and looking largely content.

Posted by ravens at June 5th, 2009

Two ravens at Long Beach & Washington aka furniture $ decorative arts district

Posted by ravens at May 30th, 2009

At Wilshire and Park View

Posted by ravens at May 28th, 2009

Two ravens high and bearing SE over Samohi

Posted by ravens at March 27th, 2009

The nest on the side of the world’s largest billboard is definitely open for business. These would be the ravens in Hollywood par excellence. Finding a place to observe them from will not be terribly easy. Sure, I could hang out with the local teenagers at the corner mini-mall, but I would rather the ravens be the center of attention, not the bird geek watching them. I don’t think Kodak fancies me perched on their roof, even if I am a customer. It’s too bad The Corner is not on the right corner. I could sit with my coffee, newspaper and telephoto lens for hours.

The other problem of course is that the ravens often fly about and around Iron Mountain, in and out of view. And the nest itself is so high that I’d have to be a block east or more to have a decent view.

In other news, an upscale hotel for dogs has opened in the building at the base of Iron Mountain. A veritable animal kingdom here. It’s rare the resident of Hollywood who does not keep animals, especially dogs, since you can accessorize with dogs in a way that’s just not possible with cats.

Posted by ravens at March 12th, 2009

Just ran across this site, and I’m off to investigate. Prof. Hartmut Walter should read this blog, though. Urban ravens are probably pretty rare in most cities (hm… more for the Seattle to-do list) but I don’t think I ‘d call them rare in Los Angeles.

Posted by ravens at March 7th, 2009

Almost all the nesting sites that I observed last year are back in use. I am collecting photos, and during a mini-vacation this coming week I hope to make a lot more observations. So far:

Blessed Sacrament Church: there are two nests, and ambivalent birds. On Oscar Sunday, they were adding small twigs to the nest on St. Thomas Aquinas. Both birds were doing this – (I am pretty sure that I’ve read in Heinrich that the building activity was divided by sex, but this didn’t seem to be the case with these birds. But the nests were mostly constructed, being left over from last season.) The following Sunday, two birds were adding soft material to the nest on top of St. Catherine of Siena. I’m not going to go so far as to assume these are the same birds, because I’ve also seen a lot of competition this year. This is one of the nests that produced at least one fledgling.

Iron Mountain: this Hollywood icon is now a site of contest. Last Friday I observed two birds visiting the nest (the highest above ground that I know of). Yesterday (also Friday) I observed one bird alighting on the nest, to be followed and chased away by another. Just before that incident, not far away (Fountain and Orange) I had seen two ravens in hot pursuit of a third, in the direction away from Iron Mountain. (I’m sure this building must have a proper name, I’ll have to find out what it is).

The Apple Street Ravens: at Fairfax and Apple, in a power line pylon. On my first visit I did not see a nest, but did find the pair of ravens foraging in the remains of a sub sandwich. Happily I had the camera with me. Driving past yesterday, I saw a nest in the pylon, on the opposite side from its location last year. This is near a drainage channel, the freeway, a large DWP sub station, and a small public park, but not many restaurants. Still, I suspect there is plenty of food. This is one of the nests that produced at least one fledgling.

The Del Ravens: I have seen a pair of ravens frequenting the billboard that was the site of last year’s nest. There is also a pair of ravens frequenting a nest on the side of a bank building halfway between Lincoln and Pershing. A pair of ravens also likes to sit on a billboard off the 90 freeway, overlooking some of the Ballona Wetlands, very close to Ballona Creek itself. Are they all the same ravens?

Billy Wilder Square: this week I observed a raven beneath a billboard here with a large twig in its beak, so once again there may be an effort on the part of yet another pair to do something with that location. This may be out of desperation due to the proximity to Blessed Sacrament, Runyon, and Iron Mountain. It may simply be that the Blessed Sacrament ravens are keeping all comers out of the Iron Mountain site.

Runyon Canyon: need to visit. The tree is very dense, and the nest is never actually visible.

Griffith Park: have not seen any nests or activity yet. The massive roost there may be a factor?

Baldwin Hills: stopped for cheap gas at Slauson and Labrea, and while I was filling the tank, a raven appeared overhead with a twig in its beak. Took photos. No idea where it went or where it may be living. Frequently see a pair of ravens there while on the way to work or back. Area is south of the zone in which the Apple Street ravens are nesting, and probably they share a border.

Posted by ravens at February 15th, 2009

When I saw ravens this January, I often saw one in hot pursuit of another, and not in a friendly way. I’m supposing that this is the time when the owners and would-be owners of breeding territories begin to assert themselves. And I notice from the dates on last year’s posts that we are on the threshold of nesting season. Even ravens celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Last year’s nesting observations went mostly unrecorded, so the first thing to do is review what happened and where. It was the first year that I happened to observe several active nests, and even fledglings. I also learned how quickly ravens can spot an animal that is watching them, and how quickly and energetically they will target that animal in an effort to chase it off.

Two sites were in large power pylons. Two were inside billboards – the double-faced ones that are common in LA, and probably used a lot for caching, too. One was on the facade of a church, where nests had been constructed on the shoulders of the statues of Saints Thomas Aquinas and Catherine of Siena. Only one of these nests was used. I am assuming the nest in the pine tree at the Wright house in Runyon Canyon is used every year, but it is impossible to actually see that one. The sites ranged from the LA River on the Valley side of the Santa Monica Mountains to a billboard on Lincoln Blvd. two miles or less north of LAX. The two pylon sites were also located very near freeways.

Former nesting sites in some of the areas were not used. The nest that is high on the side of Iron Mountain is still in place, but seems abandoned. There had been a nest on the upper floors of the Furama Hotel, but this was dislodged when it was renovated into its new incarnation as the Custom.

All sites, including trees, are anthropogenic. Native oaks do grow high on steep slopes of the Santa Monicas, and one would expect nesting in these. Vast tracts of LA probably harbor other nesting territories, if the known density is constant. Given the abundance of food here

Seemingly the ideal - at least 30m above the street (and the fast food joints) in the heart of Hollywood'd Media District.