Hooded Oriole's Nest (RIP)

 

I came upon this sad scene yesterday in the yard.  I wasn't sure who it had belonged to, but after a quick look online, it was clear it was built by the industrious Hooded Oriole, who I have never actually seen in our yard. 

The ants were making quick work of the abandoned, tiny eggs, and I let them do their thing while I poked and prodded at the incredibly well built sock nest.  Upon peering in deeper, I could see more eggs inside. From what I've seen online, it looks like these nests usually hang vertically, but the placement of the eggs and the structure of the nest make me wonder if it rested horizontally.  

 While this abode and family is no longer, I hope the birds try again, perhaps in a tree less infested with squirrels prone to knocking things around.   

Murmuration

These videos of starlings have been blowing my mind all day.  I want to find some way to make hang them on my wall, so that when I need a break or to be momentarily mesmerized, I can gaze into the swell and swoop of their dance.

I suggest watching them without sound.

Found via Kottke.

Good signs

Someone in LA found a charming way to make us all look up from the sidewalk. 

Photo by Keith Johnson, found via Larchmont Buzz.

Tulum II

Just got my film back.  Even the ones where my camera went off accidentally look dreamy.

Ok, now I'll get on the bandwagon and get Christmassy. 

Desert nest

Everything can seem a little harsher in the desert.  I did not escape this scene unscathed, but got a very large, thorny burr stuck in my foot.  Upon pulling it out, it then stuck into my finger.  That bird knew just what it was doing building its fortress there.

Vaux Swifts

It's that time of year again, when the vaux swifts put on a show in downtown LA.  I took this video of them last year.   According the Audubon Center at Debs Park, this is the week to go -- they've been seeing large numbers of swifts over the LA River during the day.  For more info on when and where to see this stunning sight, please visit their site.

Getting swept up

I cleaned the porch this weekend, sweeping up months of Los Angeles particulate matter, oak leaves, cobwebs, and this beauty.  I'd been hearing the mourning doves lately, preening in the branches above, and am glad one decided to drop this small treasure. 

It's been a quiet and still summer, and I've enjoyed many moments of nada.  Moving into fall (although with no physical signs of it yet), I'm preparing myself to work hard with a heavier courseload and new job responsibilities, but hold on to these momentary breaks.  That means less talking, more walking, and focusing on each sweep of air that passes through me. 

Urban wildlife

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has a new, beautiful garden designed by Mia Leher.  One of the coolest features is the series of critter cams set up about the place -- photos and videos capture the other world of birds, opossums, squirrels and the occasional cat. 

 For more, visit the museum's Flickr page here.  Found via L.A. at Home.

The secret world of wild LA

After feeding her young, she spots the intruder and flashes her red throat in warning!


Video from [sic].

One week ago

Bits of a birthday: new flowers, new friends (past and present), and, well, a strawberry cake.

Know your neighbors

Cedar Waxwings

Got a surprise visit today in the Black Walnut tree -- a flock of whistling cedar waxwings.

The cedar waxwings visit LA in the winter, moving through and eating our winter fruit, especially toyon berries.  I have no idea what they were eating in my yard, or if they were just resting their wings.  I'll never get tired of seeing their bandit faces and watercolor feathers.  They are welcome back anytime.

I wish I could say the photo above is my own, but I borrowed it from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Crow at play

I realize that videos of animals are a slippery slope (pun not intended at first, but I like it so it stays), but I promise no kitten videos will be appearing.

This is so fascinating -- is this bird 'playing'?  Crows are known to use tools to get food, and are some of the smartest birds.  Is it just Russian birds that sled?

Whatever the scientific story is here, the simple story makes me smile.

Found via Gizmodo.

Nesting

Lovely new pillows featuring one of my favorite cranes and some other bird friends from West Elm.  I'm not normally one for 'throw pillows', but might make an exception for these!

Owly Cohort

No longer lonesome on his shelf, this Snowy Owl, found abandoned in a charity shop in Hampshire, now has some friendly neighbors visiting from the middle of England.  That is, at least, until they get sent off to greet another friend in the post.  His ornery look, I'm afraid, is here to stay.

Owl print card by John Dilnot from Ancient Indsustries.

Prized Birds

I bought some antique medals several years back on a trip to Edinburgh, and have since been collecting them.  They make great pendants, and are usually engraved with the name of the winner, the date, and whatever the competition was.  I don't know what these medals were for, as the ebay listing doesn't show the backside.  Prettiest bird?  Homeliest Pigeon?  They're pretty pricey these days -- I got my old ones for 15 quid, a far cry from the $200+ these are asking.  Maybe if there was one with a friendly owl on it, I'd be willing to cough up that much.

Visitors in the Night

It was a year ago that my lovely grandmother had the stroke that pretty much was the end for her.  While she hung on for another week, she had one foot in the other world during that time.

Back in college, one of my mom's friends told me that when her grandmother was older, she made sure to ask her to send some kind of sign after she had died.  I think she asked for butterflies.  I don't know if she ever saw the flock of butterflies that was meant to signal her passing into a different realm, but the thought stuck with me.

When my other granny died, she spoke through the night and through the distance between the hospital and her home.  My grandad heard her call out, and wandered the apartment looking for her before he realized what had happened.

I'm not sure about what world we have this overlap with, but I do believe that our spirits separate from our physical selves.  Where they go or what they can inhabit is still a glorious mystery to me.

A few nights ago we had a visitor.  It was the coldest night yet here in LA, somewhere in the mid-40s and the neighborhood was surprisingly quiet.  We heard a loud and warm series of hoo's out in the night.  After walking to the front yard and craning our necks we could see a lump of something at the top of the very tall cypress tree.  As his head turned, the moonlight caught his white collar, and with binoculars we could faintly make out his little horns.

I'm not trying to insinuate that the spirit of my grandmother sent this owl on the anniversary of her stroke, but experiences with the wild can feel like encounters with another world.   In urban L.A., where we more often hear gunshots than owls, we truly felt like our presence was graced. 

Photo above by The Firefly Forest.

Sometimes I forget how tropical L.A. is.  Then I find a parrot feather in the yard, and walk past sunlit bird of paradise leaves and it hits me.

Funny fact, bird of paradise is the Official Flower of the City of Los Angeles, but is native to South Africa.

Vaux Swifts

(your screen is not dirty ... click on images to enlarge and see the tiny birds)

I cannot accurately describe how beautiful these birds were on Friday night.  I arrived downtown just as the clouds were starting to turn pink, and even from a couple of streets over, I could see the tiny specks in the sky I knew to be the swifts.  Once I got to the top of the parking garage, there was a crowd of people with necks craned, all watching the sky.  At first the birds looked like swarms of gnats, they were so tiny and high up.  As the light diminished and the clouds turned from butter to pink to gray, the swifts formed a more cohesive group.  Right before sunset they formed their finale and swirled into a funnel before dropping into the chimney for the night.  As I said, I cannot capture this with words.  I took some video but haven't figured out how to upload it yet.  But if you're in L.A., this event happens every night until they move south.  For more info, visit the Audubon Center's page.

Tonight!

Tonight I am going to see the Birds Over Broadway.    Each year the Vaux Swifts migrate through downtown Los Angeles, setting up home in this chimney, swimming and swirling through the air before funneling into their temporary house.  The best viewing point is apparently from the top of the adjacent parking garage.  I've never seen it before, but after seeing this video, I can't stop thinking about it. 

Photos above by Martha Benedict.