crayonsss's Journal

I participated in the Bioblitz, uploading 44 observations of 41 species, photographed between June 1-12, 2017. Most are commonly seen organisms that I've observed before in my hillside area, but I wanted them to be counted in this snapshot of life on Earth, this week in history.

23 of my species, 8 of which were not plants, were photographed in Walnut Canyon, on Haverhill Dr. The only new species for me there was Barn Owls, upon finding 2 feathers on the ground. There is a family of 3 in the neighborhood, apparently displacing the long-time resident GHO's, for a few weeks, although I still hear them hooting in the area sometimes, competing with the Barn Owl's raspy screeches and whistles. I have seen the Barn Owls through binoculars, at night, they do not have "ears" or "horns", and they fly on very long wings, but they are impossible for me to get good photos a distance in the dark.

21 species were recorded at my home on Division St, during the week, only 1 was a plant. 3 species here were new for me- Cliff Swallow, Mayflies, and Marine Blue Butterfly.

On the Summer Solstice, Wed, June 21, I visited Walnut Canyon at night- what a diffrent world it is in the dark! There were numerous small Orb-weavers, making their small orb webs in trees. I heard leaves rustling on a tree as something sizeable (Opossum?) made its way slowly down the trunk. I heard dry leaves, in spots all over the ground, all around me, cracking and rustling as something moved through them (rodents?). Most exciting, I saw the Great Horned Owl! Silhouetted on the end of a bare branch above me, above the Walnut Woodland full of rodents. The owl huh-hooted a few times, (or perhaps that was another owl a few trees away), mostly it made a near-barking sound, like "eeeeuUHp", every 20 seconds or so, as long as I was in the Woodland area. There was a much higher voice making that sound, repeated more rapidly, several yards away, but was quiet when I was near it. I imagine that was a young owl in a nest, because it did not change location as the adult owl (or owls) did.

A couple of times I heard footsteps of an animal, trotting away from me through dried leaves & grass. Once near the mammal den listed as an observation on May 21, 2017, second time while walking on the open hillside dirt road. Shortly after, I caught flashes of yellow-green eyeshine, about 100 yards away in the valley.

Standing alone on the dirt road, in the open hillside, in the dark, (or what passes for darkness in a city), I saw the edges of Walnut Canyon surrounded by houses with lights. I heard sounds of human voices, televisions, music, traffic, aircraft, and fireworks, from all over northeast LA. Rising above the hills to the south were the glittering tops of the tallest buildings in LA. All from this small, peaceful natural place in Los Angeles, where animals persist in their ancient, nightly struggles, without intervention from humans- for now.