[bird] L.A.

There are amazing things in the sky above Los Angeles.

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Rip up your lawn, get paid

Who knew that the DWP has a program that will pay L.A. residents to rip up their lawns as a way to save water. Sounds to us like a great opportunity to create some native bird habitat.

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When 'Winged Rats' Were a Tourist Attraction: The Los Angeles Pigeon Ranch

Such a great story from KCET about Los Angeles' long-forgotten Pigeon Ranch. Pigeons are much-maligned, but they have their role.

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California Least Terns coming through

Now's the time when the California Least Terns start migrating through. We should be seeing them on our beaches now. Seen any?

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Great hike and herp trip from the Audubon Starr Ranch Sanctuary

It's not too late if you want to sign up for the desert hike and "herping" trip (looking for reptiles) this Saturday at Audubon's Starr Ranch Sanctuary in Orange County. We will go to the Coxcomb Mountains and the Sheephole Wilderness Area in search of desert reptiles and to enjoy springtime in the desert. If you are interested or want more info, please contact Scott at [email protected] or call 949-858-0309. Cost is $50 per person (transportation not provided)

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Totally cool workshop in field photography being offered by L.A. Audubon April 27

Sign up now, because this one's going to fill up fast. It's awesome and doesn't cost much.

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Not really about birds, but certainly about L.A.

We've scoured this thing for birds, but can't find any. But, man, this might be the best video about L.A. we've ever seen. And it's a skateboard video.

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With a name like that, it must be an L.A. bird

There are a lot of great bird names out there, but the California Thrasher has to be one of the best. Sure, it's got California in it, but that second word is so ... X Games or something. When I hear that name, I immediately think of some kid banging a skateboard against a flight of stairs, over and over.

The California Thrasher is a bird of California -- except for some birds in northern Baja. It's a great example of how a bird doesn't need fancy colors to impress -- one look at that decurved bill and you know this bird is special.

So where does that name come from. It's really simple, actually, just its habit of thrashing around the ground looking for insects under the leaves and twigs. And it's got a terrific song.

It loves the chaparral of California's coast and foothills. A quick glance at eBird for the first part of this year shows that it really loves the Santa Monica Mountains and all the other mountains surrounding the basin. The big question is whether there are any birds in the basin. There must be, but you don't see any listed in eBird. But does that mean no birds, or no eBirders?

(photo by Dawn Beattie)

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Thanks for joining us at the Audubon Bird Bar on Feb. 21

Big thanks to everyone who came out to the Audubon Bird Bar on Feb. 21. We had a great time and met a lot of new friends. A special thanks goes out to Susan and Dan Gottlieb and the staff at the G2 Gallery for all their efforts to make this a special night.

We took a lot of pictures that night. Here are 10:

From left, Audubon California's Brigid McCormack, Daniel Fink, and Audubon California's Jeff Chapman.

G2 Gallery owner, and Audubon California Boardmember, Susan Gottlieb with a friend.

All smiles at the Audubon Center at Debs Park table.

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Carefully moving forward again at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Preserve

Workers with the Army Corps of Engineers yesterday shut down the bulldozers at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Preserve when they encountered a birds nest. They've really come a long way since the holidays, when they plowed up acres of natural habitat without telling anyone beforehand. You may recall that it was that action that drew a harsh rebuke from the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society. Since then, after much discussion, the Army Corps has admitted its error and worked out an arrangement with conservationists to move forward in a way that will remove non-native habitat from the area while restoring the good stuff.

Photo: Would you believe this used to be a pond? Courtesy San Fernando Valley Audubon Society.

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Used fishing line is a big danger for birds

We were strolling on the Belmont Pier in Long Beach a few weeks ago and snapped this photo of a container for used fishing line. Given the harm that monofilament line can cause birds, it’s great to see people stepping up to get this danger out of the environment. 

Monofilament fishing line is amazingly strong stuff that causes all kinds of problems for birds and wildlife. We give little thought to what happens to that line when it snaps on a rock and gets left behind, but discarded fishing line easily gets wrapped around beaks, wings, and feet, causing amputation and death. To protect birds and other creatures, always take all line with you when you leave.

Audubon's Kern River Preserve website has a lot more information about the dangers that discarded fishing line presents. The text is specific to the Kern River area, but the information is nearly universal. There are some scary pictures of what happens to birds when they encounter fishing line.

[tiffanythai-deactivated20150725]

Fly away with me @natali3chen #girls #friends #girlfriends #wings #losangeles #downtownla #graffiti #fun #instadaily #instamood #instagood #iloveher

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Birds matter to us in ways we rarely understand.

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Hey Silver Lake hipster -- now's your chance to impress your friends with some bird knowledge

Our colleague Jeff Chapman (who runs the Audubon Center at Debs Park), has a cool blog post on the local Patch about the birds you're likely to see in Northeast L.A. this winter.

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Did you know that Santa Monica Bay Audubon helped save Mono Lake?

Back in the 1970s, conservationists were trying to find a way to protect Mono Lake from being drained by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Ultimately, it was the Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society that formed the Mono Lake Committee. It was this committee that ultimately partnered with the National Audubon Society to file suit to save the lake. It took about 20 years, but the effort prevailed. Thankfully. (photo by Michael Gäbler).

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Meet legendary raptor guy Pete Bloom at Debs Park

Decades ago, Pete Bloom captured the last wild California Condor for captive breeding -- and thus helped save this marvelous species from extinction. Over the years, he has established himself as one of the nation's leading raptor field experts. Los Angeles Audubon will be welcoming Bloom to talk about the immigration patterns of Red-tailed Hawks and Red-shouldered Hawks on Feb. 13 at the Audubon Center at Debs Park. This is a great one -- don't miss it. Here's more information.

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Finding the incredible birds of Los Angeles

One author's story of a year-long journey of finding the beautiful and life-changing birds of Los Angeles.

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That's right. The big fella gets a star. (photo by Wilson Loo)