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Showing posts from May 15, 2011

Birdwatching In O'Melveny Park: Who Knew?

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"There's a raven," one birder calls out early into our walk. We've been here almost twenty minutes, but we've barely made it out of the parking lot, because there's already so much to see. "No, that's a crow," corrects another. "Ravens have the diamond-shaped tail." Already, I've learned something: the difference between a crow and a raven. Nevermore will I mistake the two. As the monthly Audubon Society bird walk moves deeper into O'Melveny Park, the number of species sightings mounts, as do the number of arguments, but these are quickly settled by the group's leader, Carolyn Oppenheimer. "A Goldfinch! Lawrence's!" exclaims an excited man, pointing to a tree just off the pathway. "No, that's a Lesser Goldfinch," Oppenheimer corrects, staring into her scope. "You have to be careful with the Lesser." Everyone carries binoculars and a small notepad, jotting down species they've