Natural History Journal

We have been experiencing a delightfully rainy winter this year in California's Great Central Valley.  The hills and grasslands are green, wildflowers are blooming in abundance, and the valley's rivers and wetlands are full to the brim.  While many of our overwintering birds have departed, the wilds and wetlands are still a flurry of spring activity as resident birds begin nesting and migrants return. On our  recent trip  to Merced National Wildlife Refuge, we came across one particularly fascinating bird of the wetlands: the American Bittern ( Botaurus lentiginosus ). Though not particularly rare, American Bitterns are secretive birds that generally prefer to stay hidden in thickets of reeds.  During the spring mating season, one may hear their deep resonating "plum-plump" or "pump-er-lunk" call carrying great distances across the marshes.  It is such a distinctive call, there's no mistaking it.  And yet, hopeful birders can search and search

Whew.  It's been a long road of planning!  But it will be well worth it, I promise.  So far, we have  studied up on native plants ,  drawn up a rough sketch of our planting area ,  been inspired by visiting other native gardens , and  scouted out where to find the plants we want.   Now we get back to the drawing board, literally, as we come the final step in the planning process before getting our hands dirty! Step 5. Put your plan on paper and m ake your final plant list By now, you know that salvia , manzanita  and ceanothus  should all do well in your sunny, well-drained garden.  You've seen (and smelled!) brilliant Cleveland sage in gardens and know you want to dot a few throughout your landscape - and you know that you have space to accommodate them.  You also have seen the wildly varying sizes of different cultivars of manzanita and ceanothus and understand that you need to be aware of whether you're planting a variety that will eventually become a small tree (

If you've been out and about much over the last week or two, especially in southern California, you may have noticed hundreds of fluttering gems filling the air.  Even in the Great Central Valley, the butterfly migration is underway.  The numbers of Painted Lady  butterflies are particularly high this year as the butterflies undergo their annual migration, traveling from the deserts of southern California and Mexico to the Pacific Northwest. This winter, high rainfall and suitable temperatures have created ideal conditions for annual wildflowers to germinate, bloom and flourish.  In fact, 2019 has already been labeled as another " super bloom " year in southern California!  If you can, don't miss the chance to get out to our deserts this spring and experience them in bloom!  I highly, highly recommend  Anza-Borrego Desert State Park ,  Joshua Tree National Park , and  Carrizo Plain National Monument .  (But places closer to home are shaping up to bring big bunche

Last week, I wrote about the diminutive and disguised nests of the  Anna's Hummingbird.   March is nesting season for many resident birds in California's Great Central Valley, and hummingbirds are certainly not the only birds that go to great lengths to hide their nests from predators. Killdeer ( Charadrius vociferus ) are a familiar species to many birders and non-birders alike across the United States.  The cry of the Killdeer is a plaintive and distinctive call heard across open ground from coast to coast, and you may be acquainted with the sight of these beautiful plovers scurrying across the ground in wild as well as suburban areas. Killdeer inhabit a wide variety of open spaces, from rural fields and mudflats to urban lawns and gravel parking lots.  They are opportunistic foragers, feeding on invertebrates like worms, snails, beetles and larvae, as well as seeds and even the odd frog or fish, if the opportunity presents itself. Because they are adaptable to

Personally, I'm not sad to see winter go.  March in the Great Central Valley is a mixed bag of late winter storms and early spring sunshine, but warmth is certainly on its way!  With the last few days of winter at hand (if a beautifully calm, sunny day of 70 degrees can be considered winter!), Eric and I paid a visit to our local wildlife refuges to have a look at the changes being wrought across the landscape. The wetlands at Merced NWR At Merced National Wildlife Refuge and nearby San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, the numbers of winter waterfowl have certainly decreased.  A good number of ducks and geese are still present, though.  (And there always seems to be an abundance of American Coots !)  Northern Shovelers  are present in the highest numbers, but a few teals, gadwalls and wigeons are scattered among them as well.  The brilliant blue bills of the male Ruddy Ducks  are beginning to show some color. A pair of Cinnamon Teal A large flock of Snow /Ross's G

It is that most beautiful time of year again -  spring in the Great Central Valley !  All around, grasses are greening up, wildflowers are beginning to show their faces and our local avifauna are getting restless.  For some birds, the time to depart and return to their northern breeding grounds is drawing near.  For others, our resident birds, the breeding season has already begun.  I've written before about our little gem of a resident,  Anna's Hummingbird  (Calypte anna), defying the odds to remain in Northern California throughout the winter.  And I've also written about the beauty, intricacy and strength of  hummingbird nests .  Today, I have the good fortune of being able to combine the two in a couple of special photos I took yesterday of a female Anna's Hummingbird on her nest. The nests of Anna's Hummingbirds are extremely difficult to spot.  Though they build their nests fairly low on horizontal limbs of trees and shrubs, they take great care to camo

We are almost to the stage in the process of designing a native garden that goes beyond planning to actually planting - but not quite yet!  First, we have to figure out where to find these elusive native plants!  Unfortunately, buying native plants to incorporate into your design is not as easy as popping down to the garden center at your local home improvement store and picking up a few native manzanitas and salvias.  It's not even as simple as paying a visit to your local nursery, since most retail (and wholesale) nurseries dedicated to ornamental plants carry very few natives.  (At least that is true in my area; it may be different where you live.)  Finding native plants takes a little bit more effort.  And because of this additional effort, simply locating native plant nurseries and scoping out what varieties are available warrants a step of its own in this grand process. First, let's recap our progress so far: Step 1: Do your research!   (Hit the books and the internet

If you've been following along with the "Designing a Native Garden" series, by now you have amassed enough plant photos to create your own picture book, created miles of lists, and otherwise gleaned all the information you could find  on growing native plants.  You've also  measured and sketched out your planting site .  So what's next?  At some point in the process of planning your native garden, you will want to visit other native gardens to get ideas and see plants in person.  (I suppose you could even do this as the first step in the process.) Books are indispensable resources, but nothing quite compares to seeing plants in person.  For one thing, no matter how excellent the photos and text descriptions in books and online, nothing can prepare you for how wonderful a native garden can smell!! Step 3. Visit Local Native Plant Gardens. Visit public gardens during each season to gain an understanding of the seasonal rhythms of a native garden.  Spring is th

Maybe some would tell you to do this step first, but I like to have my head stuffed full of beautiful images of plants before I start looking at my own patch of barren, weedy soon-to-be-garden ground.  I find that I can better picture what to plant where if I already know that I want a Western Redbud, groundcover Ceanothus and a few 3-foot salvias, because I've seen pictures of them.  Maybe that's just me. With that being said, we come to the second step in our series. Step 2. Analyze your site Site analysis is a critical step in the process of designing any garden or landscape.  You need to know how much space you have to work with, and what plants will do best there.  To ensure success, don't skip this step!  This is the hands-on portion of the planning stage.  Your end result will be a sketch that probably looks pretty messy, covered in notes and scribbles, but contains valuable information and accurate (hopefully!) dimensions. Tools for site analysis: - Clipb