Ravens in Hollywood

Sekret project

ravens — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:49:51 +0000

The Billy Wilder Square ravens are still hard at work bringing twigs into the billboard above Mashti Malone’s. They’ve learned to fly into the bottom of it with a graceful arcing swoop. Impossible to see at all what exactly they are managing to contrive in there. The location doesn’t seem likely to be fledgling friendly.

Nesting 2010

ravens — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:58:10 +0000

No sooner do I mention the impending nesting season, then what do I see first thing out the door this morning? The Billy Wilder ravens building a nest in their favorite billboard – the one above the Mashti Malone ice cream store sign.

In the meantime, the bus has broken down next to Pink’s – sadly, too early for lunch. Ravens frequent this intersection, too. There’s one in a nearby palm tree just now.

Just in time for the nesting season

ravens — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:30:55 +0000

I know I should be blogging about caching behavior and the impending breeding season, but SurlyRamics has just produced these fantastic pieces.
http://tweetphoto.com/11547923

Public Art on Public Transportation

ravens — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:04:39 +0000

Nice to see this decorative motif on the Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley.

Ravens in Camelot

ravens — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:48:56 +0000

Who are we to argue?

“January 6 – 9, 2010: The original Renaissance Pleasure Faire will transform the Egyptian Theatre’s Courtyard into an Elizabethan Village with food, vendors, craft demos and entertainment from the time of King and Queens. Inside the King’s Palace (or should we say the Pharoah’s Palace) tales of knighthood, quests for riches, revenge and revelry, not to mention a smattering of faeries, serpents and ravens will unspool on the giant screen…”

Crow line

ravens — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:33:45 +0000

Have arrived at Greek Theatre to test data collection with GPS app. Will walk down to Los Feliz or crow, whichever comes first. Lovely sunny day like you can only have in LA in December.

The Crow Line

ravens — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:32:21 +0000

To most Angelenos, it must seem like crows range everywhere. They love the city and the way humans have made it so habitable for them. However, crows do not range into Griffith Park, and possibly other parts of the Santa Monica mountains. I’ve known this for a long time, but it wasn’t until my visit to Monterey – a place where ravens won’t be found, in spite of their proliferation in California generally – it wasn’t until that visit that I began to think it might be worth while to investigate and map the Crow Line (or the No Crow Line, if you prefer).

I have two things now that I didn’t have the last time it seemed like an interesting project: iPhone and binoculars. I’ve picked out a couple GPS apps to test, which have topo maps. I’ll start inside the no-crow zone and walk out until I find and note specimens of C. brachyrhynchos, repeating the route on different days to build up an accurate data picture of the boundary. After locating the line, more observations can be made to figure out how the line actually works.

Corvidiclature

ravens — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:17:23 +0000

All of a sudden have notice lots of non-avian ravens all over the place. The USS Raven of the Star Trek universe (TNG, I think – thanks to Celsius1414 for that one). Raven, the horse ridden by one of the police officers lately murdered in Washington. A small military drone system named Raven. In the film Independence Day, one of Will Smith’s fellow jet fighter pilots is nicknamed Raven. Or maybe it was Will Smith’s character.

Raven’s Eye View

ravens — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:16:40 +0000

At the Airship Ventures web site, a great view of one of LA’s primary raven habitats as the Eureka arrived today in the southland for another visit. I always wonder what ravens think of the various human machines they encounter. Not much, I’m sure, unless food is involved.

http://airshipventures.blogspot.com/2009/11/griffith-observatory.html

Awkward moment

ravens — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:15:14 +0000

Was recognized by local ravens when I made an early trip to Starbucks on a recent morning.