Bird watching has become a favorite pastime of ours since moving to the Hollywood Hills. Our little yard has been graced by feisty hummingbirds, loud mockingbirds, yellow orioles and many others but when we saw these ominous dark creatures in the distance we knew they were special. Hawks? Eagles? Condors? We thought there was no chance they could be Condors in this fairly populated area of the Hollywood Hills. But these beasts were far too large to be hawks or eagles. Without seeing their faces we were left guessing.
One day they came back to perch atop the highest point in the neighborhood, an unsightly power line post about a half mile away. As the sun warmed them they stretched their HUGE wings and put on a show for us! Finally, they showed their faces, and thanks to a telephoto lens, we were able to see their bald pink heads! Confirmation! They really are California Condors. A pair of apparently a very small population of about 160 wild Condors! We felt really honored to have seen them and hope this means their population is growing.
Hey just wanted to let you know I've loved reading through your entire blog. A google search for move to LA yielded your blog and I've spent my free time over the last three days going through it and following your links. I'm a recent college graduate living in Idaho and I found a PhD program at USC that really appeals to me. My wife and I are looking for a safe, but not too expensive area to live that would be close to USC. Any ideas? Hope you are both doing well. The blog seemed to end abruptly so I hope you still check it from time to time and plan on continuing it.
Thanks!
-Scott
Sorry to disappoint you, but those are turkey vultures. You might want to get a bird book. I recommend the Sibley guide. Cool blog, though!