More urban bluebirds

I was surprised to see a little group of Western Bluebirds in the Hancock Park neighborhood of L.A. today, working a strip of lawn below sycamores planted as street trees. These birds were near Highland Ave. and W. 3rd St.; the nearest I'd seen them to here in the past had been in the athletic fields along Fairfax in the Baldwin Hills (so. of I-10), at the big park/golf course south of Pico at Motor, and east of here in picnic areas on the east side of Griffith Park, where they are common nesters.

Misc. eastside sightings

Driving home from Whittier on the afternoon of 11/27, I headed up Rosemead Blvd. and had 10 Am. White Pelicans flying northeast into the Legg Lake area. There was a little flock of Tricolored Blackbirds joining the coots, grackles and domestic ducks being thrown bread at the parking lot to Legg Lake on the east side of Rosemead, and a flock of 10+ Cassin's Kingbirds coming into a dusk roost along the Pachmayr shooting range entrance rd. on the west side.

A dark raptor cruising west, low over the 60 Fwy. near Atlantic, turned out to be a very dark (young?) Peregrine Falcon. I'm not sure I've seen a Peregrine between downtown and Whittier Narrows.

Grand Hope Park birding expedition

I had a meeting downtown yesterday, so birded tiny "Grand Hope Park" (2.5 acres, est. 1992?), which is sort of the courtyard/entrance at FIDM (Fashion Inst.) along Hope St. near Olympic.

There's virtually no habitat, just a few planted trees (incl. small sycamores and a couple coast live oaks), and aside from a flock of House Sparrows, had Allen's Hummingbird, Black Phoebe, Northern Mockingbird and Yellow-rumped Warbler - a true urban assortment. There are some fruit-bearing vines on arbors, so it could be worth a look later in the winter.

Red Crossbill over apt.

I had a calling crossbill over the new apt. (near Wilshire and Beverly Dr.) on Saturday morning. There have been a few reports from the desert, but maybe none on the coast.