may 4

Hey - I’m in Altadena, California, the land of multi-million dollar homes situated precariously on denuded crumbling granite mountain slopes prone to fire and mudslides, but owned by people with enough wealth to rebuild when the inevitable finally occurs. Like any lower-key, long-term resident, I find each new example of architectural ridiculousness highly offensive. There is a new citadel, jutting out from a large clearing (might save them from a small fire, but certainly weakens the hillside further), on an incline that everyone else has always had the sense to stay away from. It makes me mad. Maybe I should start a pool to bet on how long the latest houses will last.

This is a new drawing of Eaton Canyon. It’s obviously not very far along. Fortunately the new McMansion is not visible.

Birds from Eaton Canyon so far:

Mallard (2, flyovers)
Red-tailed Hawk
California Quail
Mourning Dove
Band-tailed Pigeon
Red-crowned Parrot
Anna’s Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird
Selasphorus Sp. (there are so many in the canyon right now, and Rufous Hummingbirds migrate through. I will find one, yes, I will, but have not positively identified one yet)
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall’s Woodpecker (2)
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)
Scrub Jay
American Crow
Swallow Sp. (Tachycinata, peripheral flyby)
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
Bewick’s Wren
House Wren
Wrentit
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern Mockingbird
California Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Nashville Warbler
Black-headed Grosbeak
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Song Sparrow
House Finch (invasion levels)
Lesser Goldfinch (numerous)
American Goldfinch (1)

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 04th, 2008 at 9:29pm and is filed under California, Lists, Drawings, Birds, Landscape. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.