Lately I’ve noticed a lot of larger birds on street lamps (mostly by the highway). It started with this one owl by my high school, and has continued with more owls and some hawks. They’re big and beautiful and I only wish I could stop for a picture! It makes me wonder if something has changed lately to make them come out more. Perhaps their habitats aren’t what they used to be? Or they’ve learned to pick up the hobby of car-watching?

I am intrigued and I wish I knew a naturalist or someone who follows wild bird patterns. They could probably shed some light on the situation, since I feel like these birds should be deep in a forest or high in the skies, not sitting on a lamp post overlooking the I-5. At the very least, wouldn’t they take shelter in the branches of a tree? Even with the rain lately, I’ve seen them out and about, sitting atop their metal perches in the cooling rain. If I was them, I’d be in a tree trying to stay dry, not out in the midst of the downpour.

Oh, and I came home to find one of our lawn chairs torn apart one day. Looks like one of those birds could have done it. What’s up with the migration into human territory? I thought there was plenty of greenery and trees for them in the mountains by La Canada. Instead they’re coming out to places with sparse tree growth and high concentrations of human activity. Weird.