Riverside Place: Katydids Have Ears On Their Front Legs

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, March 22, 2014.  Last week, we first identified this as a katydid, but issued a correction when an LA Zoo entomologist (reviewing the photo on an iPhone in bright sunlight) identified it as a juvenile grasshopper who'd just molted.

Then we received an email from Nathan Harness, biologist at the University of Missouri who studies katydids.  Harness confirmed it was a katydid with a number of scientific details, including those long antennae, but mostly that small dark oval on its front leg, which is its ear (see arrow in photo).  

From an evolutionary standpoint, what purpose does having ears on their legs serve?  It would seem to be a liability if they lose a leg in escaping a predator.

Harness replied:

"This is a good question. Insects have ears pretty much everywhere except their head. Some on their wings, abdomen, legs, lots of places. I'm not sure there is a good answer other than, "that's where they evolved." It's hard to ask why something didn't happen (why didn't they evolve on their heads?), because the answer simply could be that there wasn't a mutation or variation that let an ear evolve somewhere else- and for katydids there was some kind of mutation or variation that let an ear evolve on their foreleg (probably evolved on an ancestor of katydids...). Perhaps there was a good reason to keep the legs far apart- like directional hearing (that's what katydids use their ears for)

As far as why there isn't selection against ears on forelegs, I have never caught a katydid that didn't have both forelegs. And usually if a leg is gone, it's a hind leg. They drop their hind legs readily, like a lizard loosing it's tail." 

 

And for those of you who want confirmation on the ID:

"It's in the subfamily Phaneropterinea, we call them "pheneropterans" (phen sounding like "fin"). I know that because it's ear is exposed, not covered by cuticle, it's antennae are located in the right spot, and it's hindwings are longer than it's forewings."

Learn more about katydids, see perhaps the cutest little katydid, ever, by following Harness on Twitter: @nathan_harness.

 

Riverside Place: Ready For His Close-Up

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, March 27, 2014.  A visitor crawled into Vandiveer's studio yesterday.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, March 27, 2014.  He estimated the Alligator Lizard at 6-8" long.

Looking at California Herps, it is most likely a male San Diego Alligator Lizard, common to Southern California. 

Learn more about identify Alligator Lizards: California Herps 

Corralitas Drive: Rainwatch

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, March 12, 2014.  Hawks over Corralitas.

We're tracking rainfall totals in the Corralitas rain gauge:  We had a whopping rainstorm overnight Tues-Wed:

March 26, 2014: 0.1"
Season to date:  6.95"

Allesandro & Rosebud: Active Raptor Nest

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, March 24, 2014.  Both adult Red Tailed Hawks have been focused on the center of the nest lately.  Vlahakis said, " I have a feeling the eggs have been deposited."  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The eggs would likely hatch mid-April if they follow their usual schedule, even if we don't see the babies until the end of April.

Learn more about the nesting habits of Red Tailed Hawks on the Cornell University Red Tailed Hawk Cam FAQ.

Click here for all our 2012 Red Tailed Hawk nest videos.

Corralitas Drive: Hope You Got Out Early Today *Updated With Video

Photo: Esteban Gonzalez, March 25, 2014, 8:46 AM.  "Trapped...if you didn't get your car out. Woke up @ 7:30, moved my car across Allesandro and hoped everyone else got their car out too."

With only one means of access for the entire hill, on days like this, we appreciate the City expediting the process.
Video: Gary Vlahakis, March 25, 2014.  And this is the wide part of Corralitas Drive!

Corralitas Drive: Better Leave The Hill Early Tuesday

Photo: Esteban Gonzalez, March 23, 2014.  While it's great news that 2/3s of the hill is paved, the City left work Monday at the first narrow, blind corner coming up the hill.  Get out early Tuesday or you might not get your car out until late in the day.

Corralitas Drive: Trapped Atop The Hill

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, March 24, 2014. Oops, what do you mean you only have one means of access to your house and now you can't get out? (Click on photo to enlarge.)

This morning, I received a text from a neighbor that they were trapped at home.  The City was supposed to leave half the street unpaved so people could go up and down.  Unfortunately, they changed plans and paved the entire top of the cul-de-sac, leaving the homes atop the hill without access to the street.  One house, built in 1927, has no sidewalk access either.  Of course, neighbors believed the City when they said they'd be able to use half the street.  Both vehicles were parked in the garage. 

I'll speculate that because the cul-de-sac atop the hill is well below City standard size for cul-de-sacs, they had to pave the whole thing today. 

Hopefully they street will be done faster this way.

Repaving Corralitas Drive: The Joys Of Hillside Living

Photos: Gary Vlahakis, March 24, 2014.  It seems like all the heavy equipment was up atop Corralitas Drive this morning.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Trucks, pavers, steamrollers, sweepers & lots of workers seemed to be working all over the street.

Residents of the log cabins could take the Corralitas public Staircase to get to & from their  homes.  However there is only a sidewalk on one side of the street.  Folks on the even side of the street had a more challenging time getting in & out today (if they did not leave early).

Paving equipment as big as a house, somehow made it up & around the corners on Corralitas.

Corralitas Drive: Paver Arrived Yesterday

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, March 23, 2014.  In what is shaping up to be the fastest repaving ever of Corralitas Drive, we hope this is the new model of efficiency for the City and not just an anomaly because of the nesting raptors.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Riverside Place: KatydidJuvenile Grasshopper* Katydid**

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, March 22, 2014.  Vandiveer caught sight of this Katydid creature, looking like an alien from a horror movie, while it was grasping two dismembered insect legs in a bush in his yard. 

I'm not sure if we're seeing predation or molting. Either way it's a terrific shot.  Especially since in my only encounter with a Katydid, it was already dead.

*CORRECTION 3-22-14: No sooner had I posted the original, than I got an update from Vandiveer who was visiting the Los Angeles Zoo. He showed the photo to an entomologist, who said it was a juvenile grasshopper who had just molted.

**CORRECTION 3-30-14: It's a Katydid.  See post 3-30-14 for complete update.  It's no surprise the LA Zoo entomologist was at a disadvantage, she was looking at Vandiveer's photo on his iPhone in bright sunlight.   

Corralitas Drive: Celebrate The Vernal Equinox With Spring Cleaning

Photos: Gary Vlahakis, March 20, 2014. You'll get a better idea of the amount of dust in the air from the videos posted earlier.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

In case you missed it, the Vernal Equinox was at 9:57 AM, PDT.

This is the rear view of the same machine seen in the first photo.  While it may appear they're paving at the same time, they're just watering the street in a vain attempt to keep the dust under control while they dig up 2" of asphalt. 

It looks like the previous slurry sealing overflowed onto the curbs. 

One neighbor emailed, "They are grinding away in our cul de sac this morning. The cats are finding it disturbing. They are both on the couch with me, staring at me, looking up to the street, then meowing at me. Apparently, they want me to do something about it."

Neighbors might not want to be parked so close to the edge of their driveways when they start paving.

UPDATE Nesting Raptors: This morning, I got a call from a Dept of Street Services Supervisor at the behest of City Council District 13.  They should be wrapping up work on Corralitas Drive early next week so the City can be out before the eggs hatch.  Noise is the more critical issue with nesting raptors once the babies hatch.

Allesandro Way: Resurfacing

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, March 19, 2014.  You may remember Allesandro Way also experienced mysterious core sample drillings that were perplexing neighbors back in February. 

Corralitas Drive: Hope You Closed Your Windows Before Going To Work Today

Videos: Three Corralitas Neighbors, March 20, 2014.  The City is scraping 2" of asphalt off Corralitas Drive before they resurface it.  Who needs AQMD Rule 403?  (AQMD Rule 403 limits fugitive dust.)  Good times.

Rosebud Ave: Grinding Machine & Hawk Nest*

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, March 19, 2014.  Neighbors questioned why they couldn't park on Rosebud during resurfacing of Corralitas Drive. This heavy equipment would be why.  (Click on photo to enlarge.) 

Sunday, we finally captured photographic proof of the Red Tailed Hawks in  the nest again this year.  CalTrans won't work within 1000' of an active raptor nest.  The City of Los Angeles apparently doesn't have a similar rule.  Fish & Game won't take action unless eggs or chicks have been harmed.  

*UPDATE, March 20, 2014: A supervisor from the City Dept of Street Services called me this morning, after City Council District 13 forwarded information regarding the nesting raptors.  They expect to have work on Corralitas completed by early next week, so the noise will not affect the chicks once they hatch (in a few weeks). 

Riverside Place: Grasshopper!

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, March 15, 2014.  There's some pretty incredible detail (shot with an iPhone) in that 4 - 5" long grasshopper.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract: Hawk In Nest

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, March 16, 2014.  Bird's eye view of the Red Tailed Hawk in the nest at corner of Allesandro & Rosebud in the Northbound 2 Freeway parkway.  (Click on photo to enlarge.) 

Vlahakis thinks this is the female.  She is enormous.  Females are typically larger than the males of the species. 

Read a good Q&A about the Cornell University nesting Red Tails.

Corralitas Drive: Hawkwatch

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, March 12, 2014.  Definitely a Red Tailed Hawk.  Vlahakis comments, "The chest and underwing is AMAZING on this one.  Plus amazing how efficiently the talons are stowed."  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

 

For the past few years, Vlahakis has had the best view of the nest at the corner of Rosebud & Allesandro.  He's gotten to know "our hawks" by sight.  The adults have been renovating the nest again.  While waiting for the chicks to arrive this year, he noticed the one in the photo above, wasn't right...

 

"Nest still empty but I spied this one sitting in same tree but on a branch 15' above the nest.  By the time I switched from binocs to camera it was off.  It is not one of ours from that nest.  Our female has dark chest and the male has the one or two EXTRA red feathers on his right side tail."

 

Through the years many have asked, "How did you ever find the nest?"

Related: Red Tailed Hawk learning how to hunt in my backyard
 

Adelbert Wildflower Preserve?

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, March 11, 2014.  Looks like the shade conditions on Adelbert helped keep the soil moist enough to sprout a few native wildflowers for the art project, Wildflowering LA.  If you look closely, you can see native Miner's Lettuce at the base of the sign.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

This particular garden on private property always has terrific native plants. Hopefully, enough plants will produce seeds to create a more lush landscape with the next El Nino year.  

Drought did not exactly cooperate with Wildflowering LA.

Historic Landmarks: Why Not Paint The Historic Pumphouse In Bright Colors Too?

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, March 10, 2014.  Just because the Red Car Viaduct Footings aren't pristine like the historic DWP pumphouse across Fletcher, doesn't make them less of a historic cultural landmark.  (Click on photo to enlarge.) 

Because of the viaduct footings' historic landmark status, it now becomes an expensive project to restore the footings.  Not all of the footings the artist chose to paint were tagged with graffiti. 

Red Car Property: Dumping Finally Picked Up

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, March 10, 2013.  It took an "order to comply" from the City Dept. of Building & Safety to compel the Red Car Property owner to haul off the giant pile of computers that had been there since at least January.  (Click on photos to enlarge.) 

Guess the concrete rubble wasn't included in the order to comply. 

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, March 10, 2014.  Similarly, the pile of glass and office chair parts were finally hauled away too.  All that remains is smattering of glass dust. 

Lawless Lot C: Trash Chute & Bin Remain

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, October March 10, 2014.  Lawless Lot C continues to live up to its name.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Word has it the Red Car Property owner did not give permission for the property owner above to use the Red Car Property for the trash chute or bin.  Building & Safety permits seem to be lacking too.

Large trucks that haven't moved in years are also still parked further north in the photo.

Riverside Drive: Getting Attention From Silver Lake Neighborhood Council

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July14, 2013.  People tend to forget that Riverside Drive is a designated Secondary Highway in addition to being a designated "Scenic Highway" in the Silver Lake Echo Park Elysian Valley Community Plan.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council's Public Safety Committee has Riverside Drive between Fletcher & Allesandro on their agenda (among other things):

Tuesday March 11, 2014

6:30-8-30 PM

The Living Room

3531 Sunset Blvd

Los Angeles 90026

Click here for agenda

 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 14, 2013.  When they built the 2 & 5 Freeways, they didn't expect people to continue using the sidewalks in the area, despite the presence of Allesandro Elementary School a few hundred feet down the street from this sign. 

Corralitas Public Staircase: Neighbor Shovels Mud, Questions Hillside Stability

Photos: Corralitas Neighbor, March 4, 2014.   One incredibly fit Corralitas neighbor sent these photos and the following email:

"Just moved hundreds of yards of wet dirt off the stairs. Noticed that, if not fixed we will lose the use of these stairs. Will the city take any action to save these stairs?"

Yes, that's a question we've asked many times, as have all the neighbors who use the Corralitas Public Staircase regularly.  But first, we'd like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the neighbor who got a great functional workout moving all that mud from the public staircase - BRAVO! 

The Corralitas Public Staircase has been around since at least 1922. In 1961, the lower 2 levels were realigned & got handrails, when the 2 Freeway was built.

 

The Corralitas Public Staircase is #16 in most need of repairs on the 2003, Citywide list of 222 public staircases.  The list was spearheaded by our City Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell while working as deputy for then City Councilmember (now Mayor) Eric Garcetti in CD13.   

Unfortunately, even during the real estate boom years, when the City was flush with money, there was no money allocated with the City budget for staircase repair & maintenance.  The City places responsibility for maintenance on the adjacent property owners, as they do with sidewalks.  It seems a bit onerous since there are larger grading & structural issues with public staircases, than with ordinary sidewalks in front of people's homes.  (The City can't decide who's responsible for paying for City sidewalk repair right now anyway.)

Further complicating matters, the City also considers the public staircases as "streets."  Which would seem even more absurd since you can't drive on them. The City budget for street repair includes nothing for public staircases.  The City does not expect the adjacent homeowners to pave or repair the City streets.  Does the City expect homeowners to do structural repairs on the City public staircases?  If so, then why was the Corralitas Public Staircase not repaired during construction of the adjacent houses? 

In December 2009, the City did a partial repair to one landing on the Corralitas Public Staircase.  Apparently, the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council paid for it.  However, it failed to address the more important structural issues.  According to the 2003 survey, 40' of concrete needed replacing in addition to structural repair.   It was like putting a bandaid on broken leg.

So again, a big thank you to the neighbor who cleared the dirt and mud from the 6-story, Corralitas Public Staircase so the rest of us could continue to use it.  We'd also like to encourage other neighbors to pull the weeds as they sprout in the staircase, before the dirt hardens up again.  The castor bean seedlings will be sprouting by the weekend - pull them as soon as you see them - so they don't damage the staircase further.  

Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract: Red Tailed Hawks Renovating Nest On 2 Freeway

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, March 4, 2014.  The pair of Red Tailed Hawks have been repairing their nest at the corner of Allesandro & Rosebud, in the northbound 2 Freeway parkway.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

It is mating season, so the hawks are working on the nest. Red Tails will reuse the same nest year after year.  

 Vlahakis says "I haven't caught anyone [i.e. hawks] there yet, but work has obviously been done.  Saw the female on a telephone pole on Lake View yesterday talking up a storm." 

Allesandro St & Oak Glen: Coyote

Photo: Esteban Gonzalez, March 2, 2014, around 2 AM.  Look closely & you'll see the coyote on the right, near the first car.

Lake View Ave: COYOTE ALERT! Coyotes Kill Orange Cat On Silver Lake Ave Public Staircase

Photo: Amy Seidenwurm, March 3, 2014, 7:43AM.  Two coyotes are eating an orange tabby cat beneath the tree adjacent to the Silver Lake Ave Public Staircase,between Lake View Ave & Silver Ridge.

Another neighbor witnessed the scene a few moments earlier:

"Warning, if you're a cat lover and know the loose cats in the neighborhood, this may be upsetting...

On my morning run today, at approximately  7:30 AM, I was passing by the Silver Lake Ave. stairs and saw two coyotes just up the hill from Lake View Ave. eating an orange cat.  The cat was quite large...they were having trouble carrying it up the hill, but stopped to consume it about halfway up the vacant lot facing Lake View Ave. (on the left as you ascend the stairs).

I had been out walking my dog shortly before that, and a passerby in a car warned me that there was a coyote near the corner of Lake View and Silver Ridge (just in front of my house at 22XX Silver Ridge), so they apparently worked their way northward on Lake View Ave., hunting."

Warning, you may find the next photo upsetting, but I want people to see what a gruesome death it is for a cat to fall prey to coyotes.  If you don't want your cat to be a meal for a coyote, keep them indoors.
 
Photo: Amy Seidenwurm, March 3, 2014.  The coyote on the right looks young.  It also looks a lot like the one seen at the rear of a house on Lake View last week. 

Across the City, drought has coyotes looking in backyards for food more than usual right now.  Learn more about what you can do to make your yard less attractive to them : LA City Animal Services

Corralitas Dr: "Mud As Far As The Eye Can See"

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, March 1, 2014.  Corralitas Neighbor said, "Never thought I'd miss the castor plants but this mudscape is really ugly.  Hopefully the rains will bring something green back."  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

"Holy Crap! I Think Buckets Are Being Dumped From The Sky!" Rainfall Totals

Video: Jonathan Vandiveer, February 28, 2014.  New water feature shot during one of yesterday's downpours that dropped 7/10" in a half hour on the Red Car Neighborhood.

We're tracking rainfall totals in the Corralitas rain gauge:

Fri, Feb 28 - Sat, Mar 1, 2014, 5:30PM: 4.5"
Season to date: 6.85"