Photo by Kristina Garcia
Who knew birds of prey had a thing for Starbucks? Kristina Garcia snapped a photo Monday afternoon of what she thought was a falcon hopping around the sidewalk and bushes outside the Starbucks on York Boulevard in Eagle Rock. Said Garcia:
I‘ve never seen one on the ground in the city before so it seemed like a rare event. At first I was worried he might be injured, but he flew up onto a wire after a couple of minutes. Maybe he was hunting little birds in the brush?
Jeff Chapman, director of the Audubon Center at Debs Park, said the bird was probably looking for something to eat but it is not a falcon:
Pretty sure this is a
Cooper’s Hawk …we do see them on the ground, and they are doing really well in urban areas. They do eat other birds, so probably hunting.
Or maybe it just got tired of waiting in line for a latte.
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Woman ticketed earlier this year for off-leash violation.
Several officers were out in Elysian Park this morning issuing tickets to dog owners had violated leash laws. A man named Robert spotted four police officers and park rangers – in and out of uniform – issuing tickets on the trail north of Academy Drive and near the Grace E. Simons parking lot.
Many dog owners were ticketed earlier this year in Elysian Park for walking their animals off-leash, including one person who was temporarily handcuffed and later released.
Photo by Anthony Manzano
The spider photos keep coming in. Anthony Manzano was on Mercury Avenue in the neighborhood he calls Rose Hills (The Eastsider calls it El Sereno) when he encountered what appears to be one of those big orb weavers that blogger Will Campbell mentioned in our last spider-spotting post. Manzano used a camera and a quarter to document what he saw:
I plan on returning and capturing better images to reveal the true sense of the size of this ‘Creature’. Living along side nature is something we cherish, but seeing this spider along with others calling Rose Hills home brings a real fright. Just in time for the creepy, ghoulish, spooky, hauntings here in the community.
Photo courtesy Lauren Crist
The Eastsider has been crawling with stories and photos of spiders recently, including the brown widows of Montecito Heights and a spider dangling over Silver Lake. Our most recent spider photo shown above comes courtesy of Lauren Crist of Garvana, who snapped a shot of the spider in silhoute against her back door light. Yes, it’s real, said Crist, who provides the details:
Roughly 1.5″ body. Legs made it bigger. It actually skittered away last night as I was taking photos of it. I’ve seen other types of large spiders in my backyard but nothing that “fat.”
Photo from UC Riverside
The brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, is not as well known as its cousin, the black widow. But the tan and black spider – which sometimes sports a streak or spot of orange – has rapidly spread across Southern California after first being spotted in Torrance in 2003. Now, the brown widows seem to have discovered Montecito Heights, where five residents needed to be treated for spider bites within the past month, according to a story in Patch. Roy Payan, who sits on the Arroyo Seco Neighoborhood Council, reported the spider bites during this week’s meeting. Here is how one man was bitten:
Once incident involved a man who was stricken by dizziness and nausea after bitten by a brown widow that was trapped inside his sock. Payan said that doctors were only able to determine the source of the man’s symptoms after locating the crushed spider inside the man’s sock.
Some studies have shown that brown widow venom may be as toxic as that of a black widow. But a brown widow bite may not be as dangerous “because the brown widow does not have or cannot inject as much venom” as a Black Widow, according to The Center for Invasive Species Research at UC Riverside.
Have you spotted a brown widow in your sock or underneath a patio chair? UC Riverside is collecting the spider egg sacs for a research project. Click here for details.
Coyote - to the right of Pampas grass - roams island at Echo Park Lake/Perry Daniel
Reports on Sunday morning of dead ducks, fish and a coyote stalking stranded geese in now nearly empty Echo Park Lake were followed up by sightings of the coyote on the lake’s island, which once served as an unofficial bird sanctuary. Perry Daniel, who lives by Echo Park Lake, explains what she saw Sunday afternoon:
Saw the coyote again yesterday afternoon on the island. The geese were still huddled on the lake bed. People were trying to coax them up towards the fence for food but I think they were too afraid to leave. Later in the evening the coyote was roaming around the park. Not sure how he got in. A bit of a Houdini this one.
Daniel also got an explanation from construction inspectors and biologists about the dead fish spotted floating in the remaining water. She was told more than 3,000 fish were transported to MacArthur Park but conditions on the muddy lake bottom were too treacherous to permit a rescue of the remaining fish. Click on the link below to find out how the fish made their way to MacArthur Park.
[Read More…]
Photo from Elysian Heights resident
An Elysian Heights resident living near Baxter and Alvardo streets snapped the above photo of the rather large and unusual bird that visited his hilly backyard earlier today and on Sunday. He wondered if it could it be a rare California Condor. “I wish i got a shot of it in flight … it was majestic,” he said via email. The bird pictured above does have the distinctive – and kind of ugly – bald, red head that are common to rare California Condors. However, in this case, the bird appears to be a rather common turkey vulture, said Jeff Chapman with the Audubon Center at Debs Park. Said Chapman:
A condor would be exciting and very unusual to see in the basin … but this appears to be a juvenile turkey vulture. Still cool to see, but common to the LA area.
Hermon
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Photo by Jan Tik/Flickr
Poodles and chihuahuas need not apply. Los Angeles International Charter High School, home of the Bulldogs, has put out the word that it is seeking a suitable canine mascot that is comfortable with screaming crowds and cheerleaders. Wendi Riser, author of the All Things Hermon newsletter, describes what the school is looking for:
Know of a bulldog that was meant for greater glory? How about being an official high school mascot? L.A. International Charter High School (the Bulldogs), in Hermon, is looking for just that — one ruggedly handsome “bully” to serve as their official mascot. The cheerleading squad would love to have him join them for Tuesday-Thursday games throughout the year, from approximately 3 p.m. to 5 P.M. and even pep rallies every last Monday of the month around 2 p.m.
Bulldog owners are asked to call a Paola, the Hermon school’s cheerleading coach at (323) 257-1499.
Photos by Martin Cox
One of Echo Park Lake’s domestic geese wasted no time to test the small amount of water that began flowing into one of the temporary ponds that will be created during the $64 million clean up and draining of Echo Park Lake. The ponds will provide water for permanent and migratory birds once the lake is drained. Photographer Martin Cox* snapped the above photo on Wednesday afternoon as a domestic goose waded in the new pool located on the northeast corner off park. Said Cox:
They [construction workers] laid out the sandbag edges a few days ago, and today put down that grey liner down and began filling it. The first bird waded in about 4pm for a quick dip.
More pools will be built near the boathouse and on the island.
* Cox is an Eastsider advertiser
Photos by Deeana Duran
When Deanna Duran moved to Echo Park seven years ago, a kitten named Flash was part of her new home. Recently, however, Flash went missing and Deana and her boyfriend launched a search, posting flyers on telephone poles and notices on the web. That search ended last week with the gruesome discovery that a neighborhood had found Flash’s leg in the middle of the street. Duran and her neighbors near Avalon Street and Preston Avenue assume Flash fell prey to a coyote. After noticing numerous other missing cat and dog flyers nearby, Duran wants to warn her neighbors to take extra care of their small pets:
I‘ve lived in this neighborhood about 7 years and have never seen so many “missing posters” around. After talking to some people around here people have seen up to 5 coyotes roaming around at night looking for prey- our cats! I myself have seen 3 right in front of my house. We talked to the wild life ranger at Lacy street animal shelter and he did confirm indeed there is a problem with coyotes on our area and has instructed us what to do.
I am sure that these little animals are being victimized by the coyotes, like our cat Flash. We are really sad that he is gone and want to raise an awareness to the neighborhood that they need to keep their cats and little dogs safe. Also if they do see coyotes they should do something to scare them away. Clack pots and pans together or make a loud noise to scare them, and most importantly they should report the sighting of them. I just found out that there may be a pack of 5 living right up our street on Preston and Ewing. We are going to call Lacey street tomorrow to see if they can send someone over to scope it out.
Something similar happened to the folks that live over on Baxter on the other side of Glendale Blvd. near the reservoir and the neighbors all got together and did what they could to scare them away and it worked.
Click here for advice from the L.A. Department of Animal Services on how to protect your pets from coyotes.
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