Natural History Journal

Mono Lake, an otherworldly spot east of the Sierra Nevada in California's Great Basin desert, is such a fascinating place in so many ways, I could spend days reading and writing about it.  The geological history of the area is rich: Mono Lake, a salty inland sea with no outlet, sits in a fault basin and was formed from the melting of glaciers during the last ice age.  The glacial history written in the bordering mountains and the volcanic history seen in nearby craters, Mammoth Mountain, the Long Valley Caldera, and islands in Mono Lake itself are all worthy topics of study in their own right.  And the lake's famed tufa towers certainly deserve the spotlight in an article of their own, as do my beloved plants - in this case, those plants that have evolved to tolerate not only harsh desert conditions, but extreme salinity and alkaline soils as well!  The wonders are new every morning at Mono Lake!   Shoreline at Mono Lake's South Tufa Area   Political struggles su

A week or two ago, while hiking in the Wawona area of Yosemite National Park (taking in the glorious fall colors and hoping beyond hope to see a Great Gray Owl), I came across a dried up stalk of Woodland Pinedrops ( Pterospora andromedea ) growing on the forest floor.  I'm sure most people would have walked right on by, but of course I was thrilled!  I stopped to take a bunch of photos (Eric wondered, I'm sure, what all the fuss was about over something so seemingly unspectacular) and once home, decided it was time to introduce you to a few of California's magnificent monotropes! Dried stalk of Pinedrops - unassumingly beautiful! Pinedrops are a lesser-known cousin of the showy Snow Plant ( Sarcodes sanguinea ), both of which are included in the heath family, Ericaceae.  Other plants in this family include California's 40+ manzanita species, John Muir's beloved Cassiope, the abundant Salal of the Pacific Northwest, and common favorites like rhododendrons, b

With delicate chocolate-brown heads and characteristically pointed tails, the Northern Pintail ( Anas acuta ) is the duck species I consider to be the most elegant.  Northern Pintails assemble in freshwater wetlands across the Great Central Valley during the winter months, and are usually one of the first species to arrive in great numbers, perhaps second only to  Northern Shovelers .  Northern Pintails are quite common birds across North America, Europe and Asia and there's a good chance that you will encounter them on any trip to a Central Valley wetland or wildlife refuge between October and March.  (Though they do reside in the valley year-round and a few even breed here - I'm not sure where! - their numbers are highest in the winter when augmented by migrants from the far north.) The summer breeding range of the Northern Pintail covers much of Canada (especially in the west) and Alaska, as well as northerly states such as Montana and the Dakotas.  Their preferred habi

The Painted Lady ( Vanessa cardui ) is quite the cosmopolitan butterfly.  Found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica, it is considered by some to be the world's most widely distributed butterfly.  Additionally, it is one of the most common and familiar butterflies across all of North America.  Certainly the Painted Lady is a species that merits getting to know!  These pretty orange-and-black Lepidopterans are found in a variety of habitats, though they are perhaps most frequently encountered in open or disturbed areas, such as gardens and fields.  Females lay eggs on over a hundred different host plants, with thistles and mallows seemingly among their favorite.  Adults favor nectar from thistles and other members of the aster family, and will also partake of more standard butterfly fare, such as clover and milkweed.  Most of our Painted Ladies in California overwinter in the desert parts of the state near the southern border, and begin their northward migration i

When it comes to choosing topics to write on, I generally let the seasons dictate.  A walk outside reveals a host of ideas, and most often I like to write in keeping with current happenings in the natural cycle of seasons.  Hence, the autumn months ought to be filled with information on migrating Monarchs,  colorful leaves and the fall salmon run .  But at other times, an older photo jogs a memory or a book sparks an idea and I'll find myself reminiscing about the springtime desert in the fall, or summer in the Sierra during the depths of winter.  At still other times, a topic might not be as far-fetched as it may seem. Wildflowers, you might think, fall exclusively into the territory of spring and summer but that's not quite so, as California's mild Mediterranean climate tends to defy expectation.  With the start of what is supposed to be California's rainy season, autumn rather than spring marks the beginning of our growing season.  Hillsides that have lain gol

Oh, the Apricot Globe Mallow!  Be still my heart!  This humble mallow is perhaps my favorite desert shrub, bursting forth as it does in glorious coraly-salmon bloom.  (Some sources call the blooms "orange," but once you spend some time with this plant you will see that bland description doesn't quite do the color justice.)   Apricot Globe Mallow (also called Desert Globe-mallow, Desert Mallow, Apricot Mallow, Globe Mallow or seemingly any other combination of those words) is a member of the mallow family (Malvaceae) along with the familiar garden hollyhock.  The plant is a shrubby perennial that grows from about 1 to 3 feet tall and wide, depending on its location.  The leaves are gray, fuzzy and roundish with scalloped edges, much like those of a hollyhock.   Apricot Globe Mallow with Joshua Trees, Joshua Tree National Park This globe mallow is found across the desert southwest on dry, rocky slopes as well as sandy washes.  Its range extends across the Moj

At only three inches long, tiny Bushtits ( Psaltriparus minimus ) might go unnoticed by most, flitting through the foliage in loose flocks.  But once you've learned their diminutive calls you'll begin to notice the lively twittering of these little songbirds in suburban backyards as well as wilderness areas of the Great Central Valley.  They move almost constantly as they forage for small insects in shrubs and trees across the western United States, and are often found in flocks associating with other small, sprightly songbirds, such as kinglets, warblers and chickadees.      Female bushtits can be distinguished from males by their pale eyes (pictured above and below); male bushtits have entirely dark eyes.  Together, the male and female of a breeding pair build a hanging nest that looks sort of like a dirty gym sock hanging in a tree (at first glance, of course).  The nest is about a foot in length, and the building process can take over a month to complete.    T