Natural History Journal

Mount Shasta from the east; looking west, from Lava Beds National Monument (September, 2016) Mount Shasta, a large stratovolcano in Northern California, is the second-tallest volcano in the Cascade Range.  (Only Washington's Mount Rainier is taller.)  At 14,162 feet in elevation, 25 miles across at its base, and with a volume of 108 cubic miles, Mount Shasta reigns over its surroundings with a quiet presence and ominous beauty. Mount Shasta from Lava Beds National Monument (September, 2016).  Note that a portion of Sargent's Ridge is visible,  just barely standing out as a small, dark ridge on the left (south) flank of the volcano. Last week, I had the privilege of viewing Mount Shasta from the east, seeing a side of the mountain I'd not yet seen.  In past summers, I've spent time in the town of McCloud, soaking in views of snow-covered Mount Shasta from it's southern base.  But the first time I laid eyes on the mountain, while tra...

I mentioned that there would be a short series of geology posts coming up, but I can't seem to help myself: the plant life of Lava Beds National Monument is too enticing.  So first, before I get to the volcanoes, I will return to my first love: botany.  Trail to Big Painted Cave & Symbol Bridge, Lava Beds National Monument.  It may look deserty and uninviting to some people, but to me, it's a beautiful landscape, rich in diversity! Actually, botany is my second love; my first will always be zoology.  As a biology major with a zoology concentration, my very first science class in college was Introduction to Botany.  It didn't make too much sense at the time, but it didn't matter because I fell in love.  Throughout my college career, I took more botany and "plant classes" than any other subject.  So you'll have to bear with me: this blog will gravitate toward plants frequently. According to botanists ...

I recently returned from a trip to Northern California, the primary purpose of which was studying volcanoes.  All the fascinating geology of the Lava Beds area will make it into a post in the near future, but first, I wanted to share a few of the photos I took of this little guy, a Canyon Wren ( Catherpes mexicanus ), at Petroglyph Point. Canyon Wren ( Catherpes mexicanus ) Canyon Wrens are small Passerines, perching songbirds in the order Passeriformes.  Their barred tail sticks out in characteristic wren style, and their white throat is a prominent field mark.  They have a long, thin bill, designed for foraging for insects.  Canyon Wrens inhabit the dry mountains and canyon lands of western North America.  In California, they are found in a low-elevation ring around the Central Valley in rocky habitats, as well as east of the Sierra, in the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges of Southern California, an...

The first time I saw a Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus ) in the wild, I was literally shaking with excitement.  I was on a birding field trip at Merced National Wildlife Refuge one sunny February day, and had been in the field for several hours already, logging quite the impressive list of species (impressive for someone new to birding, that is).  I spotted a large nest of sticks in a leafless tree, and was in the middle of wondering aloud if it could be an owl's nest, when a large head and two ear tufts poked over the rim of twigs. My first glimpse of a Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus ) in the wild! Great Horned Owls nest early in the season, remodeling a nest that was built the previous year by another species, often a Red-Tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis ) or other hawk; they will also utilize nests built and abandoned by ravens or crows, herons, even tree squirrels.  Nests are typically located in trees, but may also be in...

So beloved was the Water Ouzel to John Muir, he devoted an entire chapter of his 1894 book The Mountains of California to describing its life history.  And the Water Ouzel, now more commonly called the American Dipper ( Cinclus mexicanus ) certainly is an enchanting and unique little bird, the only aquatic songbird in North America.  Not only does this bird sing a beautiful song, but it also dives in rapids and waterfalls, even in the cold of winter, and can be found in the Sierra Nevada year-round. Water Ouzel, or American Dipper ( Cinclus mexicanus ) in Arnot Creek, near the Clark Fork of the Stanislaus River I will let John Muir himself describe the Ouzel, as his description is superior to mine: "THE waterfalls of the Sierra are frequented by only one bird, --the Ouzel or Water Thrush ( Cinclus Mexicanus , Sw.). He is a singularly joyous and lovable little fellow, about the size of a robin, clad in a plain waterproof suit of bluish gray, wi...

It's September, and the season of glorious meadows of wildflowers has passed in the Sierra Nevada.  I was up around 3,500 feet a couple days ago, near Twain Harte, and most of the summer's wildflowers were far past their prime.  (However, the mountain dogwoods were just beginning to change color for the fall!) This post will be a quick review of some of my favorite summer wildflowers.  These photos were all taken on the western slopes of the Sierra, mostly in the Stanislaus National Forest near the Clark Fork of the Stanislaus River. Leichtlin's Mariposa Lily ( Calochortus leichtlinii )    Golden Brodiaea ( Triteleia ixioides )  Penstemon ( Penstemon sp .)  Penstemon ( Penstemon sp .)  Western Columbine ( Aquilegia formosa )  Mountain Pride ( Penstemon newberryi )  Erigeron sp . (or Aster sp . - I'm sorry to say I didn't look closely enough to get an ID at the time!)  Paintbrush ( Cast...

You wake before dawn, hike miles uphill through forests, scramble boulders and steps etched into granite on your journey up, up, up.  You glimpse the summit ahead, still far above.  Finding hand-holds in the rock, you climb; gathering your courage, take hold of a cable and tow yourself up a ridiculously steep slab of granite.  At last, after half a day's worth of sweat, several liters of water and a few packages of trail-mix, you have arrived: the glorious granite summit of a peak in the High Sierra.  You take a deep breath, savor the moment, begin to take in the view. And you are amazed by the sight before you: the lofty summit is populated by what look like giant ground squirrels.  The plump critters size you up at once and approach brazenly, eyeing your peanut butter sandwich. Yellow-bellied Marmot ( Marmota flaviventris ), at home in the High Sierra. These large rodents, weighin...