Great Horned Owl

When we lived in Granada Hills, there was a great horned owl that regularly perched in a big pine tree on the property. Once during the daytime I saw a young hawk in the same tree, screaming at the owl in fear or fury. The owl just sat there, apparently unperturbed, while the hawk gradually backed away and eventually flew off. Usually, though, the owl was only seen at night; we'd spot it in silhouette when it landed in the tree. Sometimes we'd hear its calls and the responses from a more distant bird.

But in ten years in West Hills, we've had neither sight nor sound of an owl, until last night. I woke up around 3:30 am to repeated calls. If there were any replies, I couldn't hear them.

This area provides a good living for birds of prey. There are rabbits, rats, mice, lizards, and small birds of all kinds. We see hawks every day, and on a few occasions, kestrels. I'm sure there have been owls here all along, but they have managed to remain unknown until now.

At WhatBird, you can search for "great horned owl" and find out exactly how they sound.

Things I Don't Write

This morning on the way to a fast-food breakfast I saw an apparently homeless man lying by the side of the road, passed out next to the plastic bag that held his extra-large beer can. I could have snapped his picture and then used it to illustrate a blog post about the problems of homelessness, alcoholism, or just the good fortune that last night's temperature in the Valley did not drop below freezing. But I just couldn't bring myself to take that picture. There are plenty of people who become prize-winning photo-journalists based on their willingness to exploit report on other people's misery. My distaste for doing that is doubtless one of the factors that doom me to blog obscurity. Oh well.

 

The Beginning of the End?

A few weeks ago some of these signs appeared along one of the sections of Topanga Canyon Blvd. that has been plagued by those horrible parked billboards for the past few years. This is a step in the right direction. That block can now be cleaned by the street sweepers, residents can park there, drivers have a clear view, and the visual blight is gone. But nearby blocks are still available, so it's not surprising that some sections now have more signs than ever. Perhaps the most annoying for many is the sign for a porn shop that has been parked in front of a church.

In the meantime, Saul Daniels in his Chatsworth Patch blog informs us that new legislation will allow the city of Los Angeles to regulate these monstrosities and perhaps get them off the streets for good, without having to post these silly signs everywhere.

I've never understood why these were allowed at all. Other kinds of advertising signs are regulated. For example, the Bureau of Street Services often lets us know how much they want to eliminate all the garage sale and lost dog signs that are posted in neighborhoods. While those signs may not be pretty, most people aren't greatly bothered by them, and they don't cause the kind of hazards and inconveniences that the billboards on wheels do.

Rats!

We may not see them, but they are there. The Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus), also known as the sewer rat, brown rat, etc., thrives in and around human habitats. This one was seen foraging among the fallen birdseed under one of our feeders. It looked fat and healthy. But beware: Rats and squirrels are among the many animals linked to plague, rabies and other nasty diseases here in South California.