Nesting Raptor Survey, Year 2 is gearing up for the Griffith Park Study
In our second year (2018) we hope to expand the survey into the Pasadena/Arroyo Seco area and also move northwest to the central Santa Monica Mtns./San Fernando Valley west of the 405 Fwy., including the Sepulveda Basin. 2018 Raptor Survey Powerpoint Presentation

If you are interested in being a part of the survey this year please send us the following:
RSVP to one of the workshops listed below griffithparkraptors@gmail.com
Indicate if you would like the same nest as last season
Any changes in volunteer preference or contact information
If you’re a new volunteer, you must bring a completed volunteer form to your training session
A volunteer application can be obtained by sending email to: griffithparkraptors@gmail.com
We appreciate your patience and participation in the Griffith Park Raptor Survey!

First training session takes place on Saturday January 27th from 10 AM – 1 PM
Griffith Park Visitor Center and Auditorium (4730 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
There is free parking in Crystal Springs Picnic area

The second training session takes place on Saturday February 10th from 10AM – 1PM
Griffith Park Visitor Center and Auditorium (4730 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
There is free parking in Crystal Springs Picnic area

Late Jan./Feb.
Volunteer training, led by Dan Cooper and Courtney Aiken; nest-searching, including re-visiting known nest sites from 2017, begins park-wide/region-wide.
March: Volunteers will be deployed to monitor nests as they are confirmed/discovered; new nests
continue to be located, and basic data taken on substrate/tree species, topography, etc.
April-June: Volunteers continue to monitor nesting activity, as the first fledglings begin to emerge and leave the nest by the end of June.
July: Volunteer party; report-writing.

Background: Griffith Park, including the Los Angeles River channel, is home to about 150 regularly-occurring bird species.

Cooper Ecological Monitoring, Inc. conducted intensive fieldwork following the May 2007 wildfire, documenting nearly 100 species in the park (exclusive of the L.A. River). Raptors are of particular interest since they tend to use the same nests or nesting sites year after year, and are of high interest to both the public and to conservationists. Because they vary in their tolerance to disturbance, they made good indicators of ecosystem health.

In the first survey year (2017) we documented 49 active raptor nests within c. 10 km of Griffith Park, including 22 Red-tailed Hawks, 17 Cooper’s Hawks, and 5 Red-shouldered Hawks and Great Horned Owls. We were unable to locate any nests of the American Kestrel, though a probable territory was noted in the Elysian Valley near the former Taylor Yards railway yard.

In addition, we received two reports of likely nesting by Western Screech-owl, at the Los Angeles Zoo (in a palm tree), and in Mt. Washington (nesting in a roof).