Natural History Journal

One of the many reasons birding is such a fun challenge is the ever-present possibility of stumbling across a mega-rarity, a bird far from its regular range and habitat that is in no way "supposed" to be there.  I can't say that I've ever found a bird that falls into this category, but last month I saw a Tropical Kingbird in Monterey county (though I was not the first to find it) and  Scaly-breasted Munias  in my own backyard, which was the first record on eBird of this exotic species in Stanislaus county.  This winter, California's population of munias seems to have increased and mounted a forward assault on Northern California, particularly along the coast and in the Bay Area, though a few have shown up at backyard feeders in Sacramento as well. But this is not about Scaly-breasted Munias or Tropical Kingbirds!  This is about another magnificent little rare bird that is far from its normal range. Residents of the American Southwest as well as Central an...

As the conservationist Aldo Leopold once wrote, "There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot." I am one who cannot. A rare encounter with a very special mammal recently left me pondering this idea, the notion that living in touch with nature adds something profound to the value of our human existence, that my life would be sorely lacking if I had not grown up with one foot in the wild, and didn't live that way still. An American badger, watching me and thinking badger thoughts, while I watched him and marveled at the profoundly positive effects of a life lived in harmony with nature. As a kid, my parents took me all over the western half of the U.S., traveling, hiking and exploring.  Today, my husband and I often venture out together, for little reason other than simply to enjoy being in nature and to see what we can see.  From massive humpback whales, elephant seals and dolphins in the Pacific, to bears, bobcats and pika in the Sierra,...

Last month , I started a series of "Twelve Monthly Tips" with the goal of sharing ideas for ways to improve one's skills as a birder, naturalist and citizen scientist.  These methods have all been tested and approved, and are beneficial for beginners as well as long-time nature nuts, like myself. My tip this month is directed at stream-lining the process of taking field notes, rather than identifying birds.  Because, notes are crucial! "Anna's Hummingbird" is a long name to write.  "ANHU" is so much easier! It's great fun to watch birds, but the pursuit only becomes beneficial to others - and science - when we make an effort to accurately record and report what we see and hear in the field.  Of course, the first step is to make a habit of using a field notebook (or an app - but I prefer paper) to record species and keep a tally of how many of each species were seen (or heard).  Most of us can only keep track of so much information in o...

Download this infographic (and more) from the World Wetland Day's website: https://www.worldwetlandsday.org/materials/-/categories/11086 Celebrated annually on February 2nd, World Wetlands Day marks the anniversary of the 1971 Ramsar  Convention, also known as the Convention on Wetlands, an international treaty created to support the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands around the world.  Currently, there are over 2,300 Ramsar sights, or Wetlands of International Importance, that have been designated worldwide - which is good news considering the sad state of our world's wetlands. Since 1970, 35% of wetlands have been lost, at a rate three times greater than the loss of forests ( source ).  In the continental United States, over half of all wetlands have been destroyed since the 1700's ( source , source ). California alone has lost between 90 and 95% of its wetlands. Sunset at Merced NWR, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, right here in Cali...