Latest News and Updates from Audubon in California
California Condor. Photo: Scott Frier/USFWS
Audubon California's Samantha Arthur took this photo of Tricolored Blackbird chicks in a nest in Tulare County. With a declinging species like this, every chick is incredibly valuable. Learn how we're working to protect this rare species, and how you can help.
Crows in D from Conner Griffith on Vimeo.
Here's the thinking behind this, according to its maker, Connor Griffith: Crow flight patterns are echoed at a thirtieth of a second to create a loopable waveform that corresponds to a tone. The waveform was measured at 27 crows across one tenth of a second. The animation plays at 12fps (2.25 seconds per 27 birds) and is 22.5 times slower than the rate of the comparable frequency. The median crow waveform was “tuned” to D4 and from there, the other crow waveforms were measured. Different wave shapes (sine, saw) were loosely based on flight pattern shape, which was a result of the speed of the crow and the angle and proximity of the crow to the camera. Got that?
Insect and disease infestation are hitting Southern California trees hard, says the Los Angeles Times. So hard, that it could totally remake the the natural landscape of the area.
Our own Samantha Arthur caught video of this large colony of about 3,000 Tricolored Blackbirds in Sacramento County over the past weekend. These birds are in a patch of blackberry off I-50, and the birds fly over the highway to forage in the foothill grasslands. Right now the birds are nest building and breeding. The males are singing and the colony is very active. Soon they will quiet down and incubate eggs.
Our staff is out in the field with a variety of partners looking to protect Tricolored Blackbird colonies.
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