Ravens Complain on the Power Pole

Common ravens Corvus corax have become more common in Southern California.

One very hot afternoon we heard incessant throaty calling outside the window.
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These three were sitting on the power pole across the street.

106 degrees Fahrenheit
41 degrees Celsius

Check out the "Hot Dog" in the video.... 
 For more ravens and birds check out TheEarthMinute.com

The Earth Minute: Ruffled Feathers - What's That Bird?

Visit Homes High Above Palm Springs (woodpecker nests)
Walking the L.A. River - Glendale Narrows (black-necked stilt, American wigeon)
Band-tailed Pigeons Take over FeederWatch
 Experience Mamukala Wetlands at Dusk (magpie geese, pied heron, royal spoonbill, great egret, whistling kite, plumed whistling duck, bush hen) 

California Towhee Guarding a Chick

The California towhee (Melozone crissalis) may not be a colorful bird, but it's full of personality. 

A large member of the sparrow family, CA towhees are found throughout western California, a small area of Oregon, and down into Baja Mexico. They are truly residents of the California floristic zone. 

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A pair of CA towhees lives in our yard and raises their chicks here every year. This monogamous species doesn't waste a lot of energy on fancy feathering. Their relationship is based on displayful dancing and successful co-parenting.

The CA towhee's call sounds like the piercing "beep" of a smoke-detector alarm when it needs a battery replaced. The towhee uses that call to keep in contact with a distant mate or, in this case, to communicate to a chick: "Stay hidden!" The closer I got to the chick, the closer together the alarm calls.

CA towhees nest in chaparral and they urge their chicks out of the nest as soon as possible. Frequently, chicks are just barely feathered. The youngster will stay hidden or sit motionless on a small branch until a parent comes to feed it or move it. A fledgling bird may not have fallen out of a nest, its parent may have moved it out for its own safety. A nest can attract predators. 

This chick was so well hidden we didn't see it, but the action of the parents told us it was there. Take a moment to watch the birds around you. If you pay attention their behavior may surprise you. They are intelligent creatures with purposeful actions.

More Earth Minutes with birds:

Ruffled Feathers - What's That Bird
Bewick's Wrens Build a Nest 
LA River through Atwater
Walk the Beach at Malibu, CA
Birding Descanso Gardens
Bird on a Frozen Big Bear Lake 
Birds and Marine Mammals of CA Channel Islands 
Mamukala Wetland, Kakadu National Park Northern Australia
Sulphur-crested Cockatoos on the Defense 

Earth Minutes with Birds and other Wildlife 

Visit Each Week for a New Earth Minute 

Wildlife at The Glendale Narrows of the Los Angeles River

Los Angeles River at Glendale Narrows

Walking the Los Angeles River continues to surprise us. 

The curve of the River as it leaves the San Fernando Valley and heads toward the center of Los Angeles is called the Glendale Narrows.

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A small section has a natural bottom, rather than concrete, and the sweep of the curve, slows the water's flow. Together these aspects create another wildlife oasis.

black-necked stilts feeding in the River

As we walked with friends, we met a gentleman admiring the black-necked stilts. These tall black-and-white birds with pink legs are quite graphically beautiful. Our fellow birder turned out to be wildlife and landscape artist Andrew Peters who was opening an exhibit at the Autry Museum that afternoon as part of Masters of the American West 2016. He was visiting from Iowa and was stunned to find such diversity of bird life in the center of our metropolis. He took several photos of the stilts for a possible painting.

Downtown Los Angeles is now in view

We all agreed that the Los Angeles River is a treasure. Its a shame more people don't recognize the habitat it provides. 

Come down to the River and see for yourself. 

We're headed toward downtown and eventually Long Beach and the sea.

More Earth Minutes Walking the Los Angeles River
Discover the Headwaters of the Los Angeles River (least sandpipers, American crows) 
Walking the L.A. River - West San Fernando Valley (killdeer, mallards, American crows)
Discover L.A. River at Sepulveda Basin (red-tailed hawk, Canada geese, American wigeon)
Sepulveda Basin - An Earth Minute in One Spot (American coot, double-crested cormorant, song sparrow)

Discover a new Earth Minute weekly

Bird on a Frozen Big Bear Lake in CA

Grout Bay, Big Bear Lake, California and a frozen over lake

With California's Big Bear Lake nearly frozen over this January, ducks and other water birds clustered together in the one area free of ice. The flocks of birds attracted a predator.

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immature harrier hawk beside prey

Harrier hawks typically prey on other birds. This day an American coot was its victim. However, in a cold winter environment, this meal meant survival for the immature harrier. 

The small area of open water was filled with mallards, ruddy ducks, northern shovelers, teal, grebes, common golden-eyes, buffleheads, CA gulls and mergansers.

mallards and ruddy ducks just feet from the harrier and coot

The other birds were more curious than frightened by the hawk. They seemed to understand that as long as the harrier was paying attention to the coot, they were not in any danger.

See more of the ice and winter in Big Bear, CA and the
New Year's Eve Torchlight Parade

See more Earth Minutes with birds and wildlife

Visit The Earth Minute each week 

for a new one minute view of the natural world.

Take a Winter Walk at Big Bear Lake, CA

Join us on a walk in the winter woods beside Big Bear Lake on New Year's Day.

The lake was frozen over. An inlet stream was a trail of ice. Yet, despite the freezing temperature, birds were out and about.


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Steller's jay

We spotted several elusive pygmy nuthatches (Sitta pygmaea) and a number of charismatic Steller's jays (Cyanocitta stelleri). 

It was Bodie's first experience with snow and ice. He was amazed to find it edible.

Did you take a minute today to experience the natural world around you?

Other Winter Earth Minutes
Torch Parade Big Bear New Year's Eve
Winter Walk at Lake Tahoe
Winter Birding at Descanco Gardens
Central Park, New York

Adventures with Bodie
Yellowstone Bison Jam 
Discover Headwater of LA River 
This Morning in a Habitat Garden 

Experience a new Earth Minute every week

Winter Birding Descanso Gardens, California

Walking through Descanso Gardens on a late December morning we saw nearly 2 dozen different species of birds.
It's a beautiful walk through classic gardens and native plants.
Here are a few of birds we got on camera!


 

Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus 

Allen's Hummingbird  Selasphorus sasin

White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys

Great Egret Ardea alba

 

Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Dr, 

La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, USA

 For more videos of gardens near Los Angeles, visit us at TheEarthMinute.com

Hidden Gardens of Los Angeles

#1 - Visit Orcutt Ranch Park
#2 - Visit Malibu Legacy Park
#3 - Visit Pierce College Botanical Garden
#4 - Visit Conejo Valley Botanical Garden 
#5 - Visit a Kelp Forest at CA Science Center  

 Happy New Year, 2016!

Find Your Earth Minute - Stop in One Place

The Earth Minute is all about taking a moment to connect with the world around you. Linger in one place for a few minutes and be amazed at the life around you.

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Looking for just a few minutes at one spot at Sepulveda Wildlife Basin we spotted:

• American coots
• song sparrow
• double-crested cormorant
• mosquito fish
• a true bug

You can find an Earth Minute anywhere, just stop and focus outside of yourself.

Green ant

More Earth Minutes with...
The tiny: Green Ants; Valley Carpenter Bee, Illinois Butterflies
The shy: Bewick’s wrens, Great Horned Owl Taking Shelter

The common: Western Fence Lizards, Los Angeles River
The unusual: Strange Art on an Australian Beach, Wind Across Mongolia, Encounter with a Lace Monitor, Trees Dreaming

Another Moment in One Place
More of Sepulveda Basin and the Los Angeles River 

Go Find Your Earth Minute

Discover The L.A. River at Sepulveda Basin

Los Angeles River west of Balboa Blvd.

As the Los Angeles River heads to the ocean, this is the first section that has a “soft” or natural bottom. Most of the concrete disappears and the River is allowed to strive for wildness.

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You can easily walk this section along a dirt road/path from Lake Balboa to the Sepulveda Dam. The flow of the river slows and vegetation provides habitat. We were surprised to find wetlands between one of the golf courses and the River. 

American wigeons and mallards

Birds abound here; we saw 42 species including the Canada geese, red-tailed hawk, American coots, American wigeons, mallards, snowy egrets, and a great blue heron highlighted in the video.

The fish in the river with flashy silver sides were counted by agency biologists on December 1, 2015 and found to be introduced tilapia. While the tilapia provide food for native birds, they are not a native species. Biologists are hoping the potential El Niño will wash these rapidly increasing non-native fishes out of the river. See the article in the L.A. Times.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lariver-fish-el-nino-20151122-story.html

Native fish species were decimated when the River was cemented in the 1930s. Restoring the River means helping native fish reestablish populations. Wouldn’t it be a major success to have steelhead and salmon return to spawn in the Los Angeles River?

My favorite stretch of the River, just above the Sepulveda Dam

Discover more of the Los Angeles River:
L.A River Headwaters
Walking the L.A. River - San Fernando Valley

Up-close with a snowy egret
Sepulveda Wildlife Reserve

Visit TheEarthMinute.com weekly  

Celebrate a positive moment with the planet.

Take a Stroll Under the Oaks - November in Rocky Oaks Park

We took an early stroll the day before Thanksgiving, 2015 in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area through a little 200 acre gem of a park.

 
Rocky Oaks Park is a short drive away from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles.

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 Sunlight in the early morning plays through the oaks, pines, and rocks of the park.

Rocky Oaks Park is located in the 31500 block of Mulholland Highway west of the Kanan Road intersection. The entrance is on the north side of Mulholland Highway.

Take the Ventura Freeway (U.S. 101) to Kanan Road. South on Kanan Road to Mulholland Highway. Turn west (right) on Mulholland Highway and right again into the parking lot.

GPS Coordinates: N 34.0967 W -118.8141

Nice, well maintained trails.
Dogs allowed on leash.
Water available.
Meeting circle, ranger area under the oaks. 

 

See More in California!  Subscribe to TheEarthMinute.com

See these posts and Videos! 

Close-up with a Red Jumping Spider (California)

Visit Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park (endangered Channel Island fox)  

Yucca Blossoms on Angeles Crest Hwy  
Leaves on CA Native Plants Fight Drought
How Tall is a Redwood Tree?   

Band-tailed Pigeons take over Feederwatch!

Band-tailed pigeons (Patagioenas fasciata) are some of the larger  native birds we find in our backyard. 

Flocks of over 35 at a time have come to jostle each other and eat in shifts from our feeder.

 

 
They usually eat acorns, nuts and small fruit that grows wild in the neighborhood.

 

But they LOVE the shelled peanuts in the bottom of the feeder tray!!

Visit us at TheEarthMinute.com!  

And view more in Southern California:

Honey Bees in a Lemon Tree 

This Morning In a Habitat Yard 

Backyard Breakfast Buddies - Reptile Style 

Ring-necked Snake in the Garden

This Morning in a Habitat Yard 

Discover the Headwaters of the Los Angeles River

Do you know the L.A. River? Really?

Discover the River walkway from the Headwaters to DeSoto Ave.

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They say the river begins where Bell Creek and the Calabasas Arroyo combine. Since the 1940s that location has been fixed just north of the intersection of Owensmouth and Vanowen in Canoga Park. (Just a skip away from the Topanga Mall.)

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The sculpted 'V' of the waters coming together forms a jut of land that is topped with the Canoga Park High School sports field. From Owensmouth east, a foot path has been added along the River. Native plants provide habitat for butterflies and birds, while thin riffles of water flow over narrow sandbars on a cement stream bed. 

It's quite beautiful really: the lines of the bridges, sweeping fins of concrete, heron-themed gateways.  

During a walk from Owensmouth to DeSoto and back, I saw a variety of bird species, including yellow-rumped warblers, a pair of white-crowned sparrows, and a black phoebe. 

small group of migrating least sandpipers

 Least sandpipers (Calidris minutilla) were stopping to feed on watery insects. While, American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) played 'catch the stone' mid-air over the water.

There were views of the Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountains, where the water originates.

Benches built along the pathway offer respite for a thoughtful moment. Trash cans and dog waste stations are plentiful. Walk the north side of the River and the path will take you under Canoga Ave.

I'm excited to embrace the L.A. River as a place to visit, but this ideal is fragile. Neglect and trash can quickly mar the opportunity. Let's take ownership of our river. Use the plentiful trash cans and dog stations. We have a chance to recreate something soulful and living. Let's not allow apathy and ignorance to destroy this chance for a Walk by the River.

Discover more walks with wildlife around Los Angeles
Hidden Gardens of L.A.

Other Rivers and Streams:
Hike Limekiln Canyon Park, CA (Pacific tree frog, western fence lizard) 
Malibu Creek - Feel the Cool in Malibu Creek State Park, CA 
Arroyo Seco - Angeles National Forest
Discover Fern Canyon, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, CA  
The Voices of a River - (Lamoille Canyon, Ruby Mountains, Nevada)
Floating the Outlet Stream - Squanga Lake, Yukon, Canada (arctic grayling)
Take a Cruise on the Yellow Water, Kakadu, Australia (birds & saltwater crocodile)

Visit weekly for a New Earth Minute.

   

Water for Hot Summer Bees

Provide Backyard Water for Hot Summer Bees!

A birdbath is an important stopover place 
for water-stressed birds and bees.

In dry Southern California, fresh water is at a premium. 

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Listen to the bees thank you for the water! 
 

 

for more California EarthMinute videos, visit us at 
TheEarthMinute.com - and Subscribe!

Visit Homes High Above Palm Springs!

Visit Some Wood Homes High Above Palm Springs!

 Mount San Jacinto State Park is over 8,000 feet high above the desert of Palm Springs, California.

 Take the tram up to look at where some little folk live!

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hmmn - some little mammal's home..

 a rat?. 

 ... home for a woodpecker in a log!

 .... home for another unknown woodpecker!

 

 Mount San Jacinto State park!  Over a Mile and a half up from the toasty desert floor -  and a world away!

 For more California Adventures, visit us at 

TheEarthMinute.com

Arroyo Seco - Angeles National Forest - a little water for a thirsty world

Switzer Picnic Area in Angeles National Forest has a beautiful hiking path (Gabrieleno trail) along the tree lined stream bed of the Arroyo Seco. 

The Arroyo Seco or "dry stream" is an important watershed in southern California.

Although this stream can be seasonal, the plant and animal community it supports needs the moisture under the rocky bed all through the year.

Listen to the stream on the last week of spring.

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A good place to bird, too!

Fee: Adventure Pass required for vehicles.

Elevation: 3,300 feet

From the 210 Freeway exit at Angeles Crest Highway (Hwy 2) and head north about 9.5 miles to the picnic area on the right.

"While on a trail or in and around campgrounds and picnic areas, dogs must be kept on a leash. In addition, your dog must wear a collar with current tags at all times, as state and county laws apply on National Forest System lands."

 

For more wild spots near Los Angeles, visit us here  at 

TheEarthMinute.com

 

Walk Mulholland Hwy, Santa Monica Mts, CA

Looking for easy hiking terrain and great views of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley? 

Mulholland Drive / Hwy is a famous road in Los Angeles. It winds its way from the Hollywood Hills overlooking downtown, along the ridge of the Santa Monica Mountains and eventually to the sea near Leo Carrillo Beach. But a section has never been paved and is maintained as a fire-fighting access road. The wide dirt road is closed to vehicles and makes for easy walking with fantastic views.

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Walk the southern end of Mulholland's unpaved section with us in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. 

Take in the colors of the chaparral hillsides. Keep your eyes open for wildlife, especially birds. And be amazed by the spring wildflowers even in a drought year.

Golden stars (Boomeria crocea) are a native California chaparral wildflower, most closely related to lilies. The small amount of rain we had this spring was enough to encourage these ephemeral blooms to send up a flower stalk.

Other chaparral wildflowers: coyote mint, buckwheat, bush monkey flower, and more.

The manroot or wild cucumber (Marah fabaceus) is one of California's few native vines. It produces lemon-sized prickly seed pods that dry and burst open to spread the seed. The entire vine dies back, but the root lives on underground. Sometimes reaching the size of a person. It's a perfect adaptation for survival in a land of summer drought.

The dirt road is open to people, dogs, and horses. Rattlesnakes can be present. For the safety of dogs and wildlife, PLEASE keep dogs on a leash.

Side trails abound, be alert for mountain lions.

More Hiking in the Los Angeles Area
More California Wildlife

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