California: The Place I Call Home

Within day-tripping distance of some of California's most breathtaking natural wonders, including the Sierra Nevada to the east and the rocky central coast to the west, and only a day's drive from redwood forests to the north and vast deserts to the south, lies the Great Central Valley.  

 My home.

Restored native grassland, San Joaquin National Wildlife Refuge
Here, in the center of the San Joaquin Valley, we are surrounded by towns and farmland, planted on arid land traversed by a small handful of rivers that flow through seriously reduced riparian habitat.  What once was a thriving mosaic of grassland, oak savannah and vast seasonal wetlands supporting throngs of migrating waterfowl and herds of pronghorn antelope and Tule elk, is now largely agricultural land supporting an enormous almond crop, interspersed with alfalfa and corn for silage.

Evidence of beaver (Castor canadensis) along the Tuolumne River
        

 But there is still an abundance of natural beauty here, beyond the pavement of cities and careful cultivation of fields; and even within cities and farms there may be found a surprising amount of life, ready to be discovered by the curious and patient naturalist. 

Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) in riparian forest remnant along the Tuolumne River 
Though my adventures as a naturalist have and will continue to take me to beautiful places near and far, I have a special fondness for this incredible place we call California's Great Central Valley. 

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