Observations by mgronwold

I walked around the neighborhood and noticed that the chrysalids, larvae, and newly-emerged butterfly were all located on the east side of the street, and, on west-facing walls of residential homes. I did not observe any on the opposite (west) side of the street (east-facing walls).

Two House Finches visit my 5th-floor "gardens" in downtown Los Angeles regularly (this time of year, usually once or twice each day). They have built a nest, along with many other house finches, in the apartment building next door. They visit my garden to eat seeds and things, and also to collect items for their new nest. A video of the pair is located here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/4Q9wfNRzMYzMN5g46.

Unfortunately, they are very "skittish" so I tend to photograph/videotape them through my lace curtains, hence the less-than-great visibility of the two finches in that video and the photos. The audio is captured from the video.

I counted 21 Monarch (Danaus plexippus) eggs on one milkweed plant today. Yesterday I observed at least 2 Monarch laying eggs on that plant, but there could have been more, since it is difficult to distinguish between different butterflies. However, I saw two at one time, so I know there were at least two.

Very large Black Witch. It appeared to have a wingspan of about 5 1/2 inches, and was discovered flying around inside the house. As soon as the lights were turned off inside, the moth started flying around.