One of the several UCLA ravens. They love the tall trees and tall buildings, and the acoustics that amplify their vocalizations across the historic center of campus.
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UCLA - Royce Hall Raven
23-Feb-07Fashion raven / fitheach fasanta
21-Feb-07The billboard reads “hip has found a home” but I’d call that “chic” wouldn’t you? Anyway it is about nesting season, so maybe this raven is considering a condo down the street. I’d been taking pictures of it for a few minutes, and it decided to take a closer look, flying in a circle over me at about 20 feet up, literally eyeing me up and down before returning to the billboard. The only other ravens I recall doing that live nearby in Runyon. Below, the same raven in a small pine a few yards from the billboard. It was awfully close to street level for a raven, and possibly the unusual behavior of human triggered some awareness that something strange or new was going on. It hopped three nervous neophobe hops on the billboard before flying over to take a look at me. They are used to humans paying them no notice at all here. A human actually peering at them and taking pictures has to be a novelty - something out of the ordinary in a very ordinary and predictable environment.
The Pesky Cousins - Crows in Los Angeles
20-Feb-07http://www.quixo.com/los_angeles_crows.htm
Crows love L.A. too. Nice interview with local ornithologist.
Where do ravens fit in? It occurred to me just now that before all the modern people showed up. C. brachyrynchos would not have been nearly as numerous in the region, and that ravens would have soared over the hills and valleys much as they still do, but without all their smaller cousins getting in the way, and probably not in quite so large numbers as today. But there is plenty of foraging for everyone.
They had found something to eat, but whatever it was could not be seen from any angle below. No vocalizing. Suspect later ravens were simply observing the early arrivals and joining the crowd - difficult to be an obscure raven on an LA rooftop. Six at most, and they didn’t really stay very long. Lots of jumping jacks.
Blogging ravens in Boulder Creek, CA
24-Jan-07No, the birds are not blogging, but a raven lover is. Video!
http://egretsnest.blogspot.com/2007/01/another-raven-good-day.htmlÂ
and if I stay home…
11-Jan-07Thursdays I don’t go to work until mid-day. Invariably, if I am in my apartment through the morning, ravens will turn up to fill Billy Wilder Square with their charming music and conversation. In this case it is often the same raven - that’s my opinion, of course, and not a professional one, but the calls of this particular bird are just atypical enough in tone and expression to be recognizable. So it was this Thursday, at around both nine and ten.
LaBrea popular with the smart set
10-Jan-07Wednesday morning founding me driving LaBrea south through Hollywood instead of my usual rat runs. LaBrea is actually a very good place to be in the morning if you’d like to see ravens. The first pair was hanging out near Pink’s, specifically on the large billboard just above that fine establishment. And unless they were setting airspeed records, a second pair had taken up posts in the same regard at LaBrea and Beverly. To complete the morning, a lone raven seemed to want to race me to Washington, but it was really just heading for a nearby streetlight. Given this sample and those of many other morning drives to work, Hollywood and related areas of LA would appear to be well populated with foraging ravens by 8 a.m.
Various locations
09-Jan-07Despite the furious windstorm in the Cajon Pass just before New Year’s, there they were, a pair of birds above the 210 at about 20 meters, managing to soarcle just to make sure I didn’t begin to believe that ravens stayed home during the Santa Ana Winds here. Ravens above the 210 along the Cajon wilderness and pass are pretty dependable.
Yesterday, a pair at LaBrea and Venice, alighting on telephone pole tops; and at least one deigning to land on the curb at LaBrea and Washington. Must’ve seen something very tempting.
Today, as I was waiting for a light at Mansfield and Melrose, a pair hove into view at rooftop height and glided to a stop on telephone poles behind some shops - above the alley that runs parallel to Melrose. They seem to favor both poles and alleys. I’ve got photos from the same alley at Poinsettia.
Del-reyvens househunting?
03-Jan-07I received word this afternoon that a pair of ravens was seen in HowardHughesland inspecting the site where, until a recent visit by window cleaners, a raven nest had been located. Perhaps they’ll try again their (if it is last season’s couple). The nest on the side of the former Furama hotel is still intact, but there is a lot of construction activity going on there, so it may not be as attractive, or may have belonged to a different couple.
This morning near Iron Moutain (see previous post) a raven sat atop a streetlight for several minutes making the croaking call. Yesterday I noted a raven on Orange, also near Iron Mountain - but that area is an easy one in which to find ravens, especially in the morning hours. If there is a pair that owns the area, it is not clear where they might be roosting when not breeding. If I had a slightly higher observation post, and some very strong binoculars, I might be able to investigate more thoroughly.
Home is where the heart is
07-Dec-06Mid-day, sunny, warm. Found myself southbound on Highland with an excellent view of the Iron Mountain facility. Just as I was reminding myself to watch for ravens, hoping to catch pre-breeding activity, a raven flew into view from the west. It circled ten or so times over Highland, on the side of the building where the nest is located. Then it glided away in front of the giant iPod sign, towards the rooftops of the media district - basically towards Orange and Santa Monica and environs, which is where I frequently see a raven or two while taking Orange out of Hollywood.