Notes from a California Naturalist
With Easter, perhaps my favorite holiday, on the way and new life bursting out in bud and bloom all around us, I wanted to share a piece written last year, in celebration of spring and the offer of New Life made available to us all! When first composing this piece, I considered titling it "The Gospel of Nature." But I want to be clear from the beginning: If the Gospel is defined as the Good News…
Last year, Eric and I spent the month of June traveling through England and Scotland, visiting amazing historic sites, touring places connected with our favorite classic literature, rambling across the stunningly beautiful British countryside, and of course, birding. The last week of our trip was spent in Scotland, and I had the opportunity to see quite a few birds right in the heart of Edinburgh,…
While it's always fun to come across any indication of a beaver's presence in the landscape , without a doubt seeing one of these amazing creatures in the wild is much more exciting! Here in California's Central Valley, I've found those sightings to be rather rare - and therefore all the more special when they do occur. While I regularly come across signs of beaver activity , such as felled trees,…
Instantly recognizable by its prickly appearance and known for its [mistaken] reputation of throwing dangerous barbed quills toward would-be attackers, porcupines are perhaps simultaneously one of North America's most and least well-known mammals. How well do you actually know this large rodent of the forest? Read on to find out, and to learn the official term for baby porcupines (which is…
Last June, Eric and I had the opportunity to spend the month in the UK, taking in its incredible natural beauty and rich history. A few of our favorite days were spent in the Yorkshire Dales, where we enjoyed a cool, drizzly hike up onto bleak but beautiful Grassington Moor. Here, high above the verdant pastures, the rocky, heather-covered hills were wild and rugged, and the birds were both…
Earlier this January, we spent several days exploring the lush, ferny redwood groves and mossy Sitka spruce forests of northwestern California, and while hiking through this enchanting habitat, observing the plants, birds and other wildlife, it occurred to me that in a sense, winter in California's Humboldt and Del Norte counties is a little bit like summer in North America's vast boreal forests.…
While we began our trip across the UK last June in London, we certainly didn't stay there! Though the city offered a surprising amount of birds and other wildlife , and was a convenient base for a trip out to wetlands in the Thames estuary for even more encounters with nature, we were eager to travel north, where we would spend time rambling through the quiet countryside and impossibly picturesque…
Worldwide, wetlands are among the most species-rich habitats on our planet, home to a wealth of birds and other wildlife. Open water of varying depths, with emergent vegetation alongside mudflats bordered by diverse plant communities, including forest edge and grassland, typically make wetlands and adjacent habitat absolutely ideal homes for a high concentration of wildlife in a relatively small…
This past summer, Eric and I spent the month of June traveling in England and Scotland. And while the primary focus of the trip wasn't necessarily birds, I did manage to fit quite a bit of birding into the trip, seeing a grand total of 111 species, 71 of which were lifers! Check out the other places we visited after our initial stop in London! Rainham Marshes Wetland Birds Cotswolds Villages &…
One of my favorite groups of birds, and certainly one of the most entertaining to watch, is the woodpecker family. The Picidae family is represented in North America by twenty-two extant species, and as of last year, I have managed to see them all! (Although, I have not successfully photographed them all yet!) Acorn Woodpeckers on a granary tree, Pinnacles National Park Sixteen of these twenty-two…
Among all the wild critters likely to be encountered on any outdoor adventure in various habitats across North America, chipmunks and tree squirrels are surely among the most conspicuous. These small, precocious, fluffy-tailed members of the rodent family are largely diurnal and often quite bold, making themselves at home in picnic areas, campgrounds and backyards everywhere that suitable habitat…
Summer is upon us, and with any luck, that means vacation. For those of us who love nature and the great outdoors, that usually means traveling to visit North America's beautiful National and State Parks. And for the binocular-toting crowd in particular, an experience in the outdoors is not complete without a few memorable encounters with the wonderful wild animals that call these places home.…
It would not be difficult to convince me that there is something beautiful about every bird, but in my opinion, a handful of species that arrive in or pass through California's Great Central Valley during spring migration are particularly gorgeous. May is the magical month in the calendar of every North American birder, when spring migration reaches its peak and brilliantly colored migratory birds…
On the dry, desolate, rocky slopes of remote desert regions across the western U.S. there lives a bird known to some as... the "devil bird." To others, it is more properly known as the Chukar. And aren't they cheeky little critters! If a Chukar could give cheek... The Chukar's name derives from its unique call, a sort of clucking sound that suggests its near kinship to other game birds, including…
When first composing this piece, I considered titling it "The Gospel of Nature." But I want to be clear from the beginning: If the Gospel is defined as the Good News about the offer of salvation from sin and death, by grace through faith in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no gospel apart from that which is revealed in God's Word, the Bible. The Bible, God's…
Tucked away in the southeastern corner of California is an ecosystem like no other: the vast Mojave Desert. While it may not look like much to passing motorists, the arid Mojave Desert is brimming with wildlife. Birds, mammals, reptiles, insects: It's all here, thriving against the odds in an undeniably harsh environment. Cold winters bring snow flurries to high elevations as temperatures drop…
Spring is upon us, and for most birders and naturalists in North America that means one very special thing: Nesting season has arrived! Wildflowers are blooming, trees are leafing out and mammals are raising young as well, making this one of the most exciting and beautiful seasons for nature study. And if there is one nature find that brings delight to young and old alike, it is the discovery of a…
You've heard about our state bird, the California Quail . You know about our state flower, the California Poppy , and perhaps you're aware that we have not one but two state trees, the Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia. Maybe you even know that our state rock, Serpentine, is green (not gold - that's the state mineral) and that our state mammal, the Grizzly Bear, has been extinct in California since…
As a group, mammals are surprisingly diverse. While all mammals breathe air, have fur or hair, and give birth to live young, they vary significantly in their habitats and modes of transportation. While most walk or hop while moving about on land, some fly and others swim, some spending most or all of their lives in water! While some of these aquatic mammals spend a good deal of time on land at the…
Mammals are among the most exciting types of wildlife to see, but also some of the most difficult. Far less numerous than birds and often exhibiting secretive or nocturnal habits, many groups of mammals are rarely encountered in the wild. Observant naturalists are far more likely to encounter signs of a mammal's presence than the mammal itself, the most obvious of which are tracks, scat and fur.…
Tree Swallows are, in my opinion, one of our most beautiful birds, with their pure white undersides and iridescent blue heads and backs. As aerial insectivores that feed almost exclusively on flying insects, Tree Swallows are a great boon to have in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, like many other aerial insectivores, their numbers are in decline . As secondary cavity nesters, Tree Swallows'…
In a state known for its incredible biodiversity , one county stands above the rest in terms of sheer number of species: San Diego County. Tucked in the southwestern corner of California and bordered by two extremes - the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Colorado Desert to the east - San Diego county encompasses a wide range of habitats. And within those diverse habitats live more species of…
The other day, while exploring one of the remaining patches of wetlands around my county, I came across a furry little critter that was a complete surprise for me: an American Mink! Contentedly going about his (or her) business at the edge of the wetland, staying under the dense cover of an old clump of willows, the mink slipped out of sight before I was able to get a photograph. But this mink…
Not all blackbirds are black birds. And not all black birds are blackbirds. Confused yet? You're not alone. Distinguishing a blackbird from a mere black-colored bird involves more than just grammatical pedanticism: it's a matter of taxonomy. Red-winged Blackbird (California bi-colored subspecies) Taxonomy may be defined as the systematic classification of living organisms into groups based on…
American Robins are one of the most common and recognizable birds across the North American continent. They may also be one of our most beloved. Their largeish size, distinctive coloration, beautiful song and tendency to favor the open grassy habitat of lawns and parks all contribute to the American Robin's happy status as a bird that even non-birders know and appreciate. Robins are at home in…