Natural History Journal

Probably a good candidate for the distinction of "most common bird that non-birders have never heard of," the Spotted Towhee ( Pipilo maculatus ) is at home across much of California and the West wherever suitable habitat is present.   A large, chunky sparrow, the Spotted Towhee hangs out in thick underbrush and tangles of vegetation in chaparral, dry woodlands, forest edges, and even the brushy edges of fields and backyards.  I come across these striking birds just about every time I venture out, from the mountains to the coast: they are common residents in the undergrowth along Central Valley rivers, like the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and San Joaquin, in brushy edge habitat around wetlands and grasslands, and in pockets of shrubby vegetation in oak woodlands and dry forests.  One even showed up - briefly - in my own backyard!   The photos below were taken last week in a small riparian area along a creek, an island of vegetation in a grassland sea.  Overgr...

In my last post, I wrote about the importance of protecting California's remaining grasslands .  Today, I would like to introduce you to two very special, very important grasslands that are both near and dear to my heart - as well as my hometown.  Designated as Important Bird Areas by the National Audubon Society, the La Grange/Waterford Grasslands and Merced Grasslands collectively cover nearly 400,000 acres along the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley and the western extent of the Sierra foothills. Merced Grasslands on a foggy winter morning Important Bird Areas are regions that the National Audubon Society, the United States' partner with BirdLife International , has determined encompass the most critical and important habitats for birds in the US.  In California, a few of these areas include famed birding hotspots such as the Mono Lake Basin, Point Reyes and Tomales Bay, Humboldt Bay, Carrizo Plain, the Salton Sea and Imperial Valley, and the Lower Colorado River ...

It doesn't take a PhD in Environmental Science to recognize that the loss of old-growth forests, such as California's iconic Coast Redwoods, is a tragedy with far-reaching consequences.  Many and varied are the champions of Spotted Owls and Marbled Murrelets.   But what about California's old-growth grasslands, and the wildlife that depend on them? Western Meadowlark: posterchild of the grasslands No, "old-growth grassland" is not a term I just made up.  Scientists the world over are beginning to discover that the idea of old-growth grasslands is indeed a real concept, with very important implications for conservation.   Rather than thinking of grasslands as just one successional community, a stage in the process of becoming a climax community, grasslands should instead be considered climax communities in themselves, rich in species diversity and endemism.   In discussing succession, I am referring to something like the classic Ecology 101 example...

On January 26, 2021, a team of scientists from the National Audubon Society published a new study in the journal Ornithological Applications  proving what many birders, naturalists and ornithologists have long suspected: California's Central Valley provides critical habitat for many North American migratory landbirds. The value of Central Valley habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds has long been realized.  The Valley's formerly vast expanses of wetland still provide critical overwintering habitat for millions of migratory waterfowl, including ducks, geese and swans, along with Sandhill Cranes and a number of wading birds and shorebirds.  Other studies have focused on the value of breeding habitat in the Valley for riparian nesting birds.  But until this study, it had not been proven, conclusively, that the Valley also provides critical stopover habitat for a wide array of migratory landbirds as well, a broad group of birds that includes swallows, flycatchers, vireos,...