Natural History Journal

What began seven or eight years ago as an innocent enough attempt to learn the birds in my neighborhood and nearby habitats has rapidly ballooned into an all-out, fully-fledged quest to see as many of these incredible feathered creatures as possible.  There is no denying it now: I have well and truly become an unapologetic  birder .     And as such, I've also begun dipping my toes into the thrilling pursuit known as "chasing," that is, traveling away from my local patch to seek out previously reported rare birds.  As a general rule, I only chase the rarities that show up within a couple hours' drive of home, but these are my own personal parameters: serious chasers would never let silly things like time, distance or money come between them and a mega rarity! Chasing rarities is not something I do very often, however, and generally only indulge in the pursuit when I'm pretty sure that I will be unlikely to see that species any other way.  Two years ago,...

A world set apart.  The Galapagos of California.  Ancestral home of the Chumash people.   Located some 25 miles off the coast of Southern California, the archipelago of eight islands that collectively make up the Channel Islands have been called many things throughout their ancient history. But for birders across the globe, one of the islands in particular is known as the home of the world's only population of one very special inhabitant: the Island Scrub-Jay.  Island Scrub-Jay Santa Cruz Island, the largest and northernmost of the Channel Islands, measures approximately 24 miles long by 6 miles wide.  Yet this windswept rock, rising from the Pacific and riven by canyons and creeks, has given rise to a rich assemblage of plant communities, from grasslands to coastal sage scrub and chaparral.  Sheltered canyons hide stands of oak woodland and, perhaps surprisingly - owing to a long history of European settlement and ranching - groves of eucalyptus trees...

It's no secret that I love nature, in all of its incredible, intricate detail.  And it's also no secret that I believe the natural world around us was designed and created by our wise and loving God, for the ultimate purpose of drawing humanity to himself and revealing his divine nature to us through his marvelous handiwork. His glory is on display everywhere we look, from the starry night sky above, to the rocks beneath our feet; from the sheer magnitude of the ocean depths to the complexity of infinitesimally small cells and atoms.  Throughout the entire mind-blowingly amazing universe he has made for us, his great power and goodness are on display for all to experience. I'm reminded of one of my favorite hymns, "How Great Thou Art," which begins with the lyrics: "O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the works thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed..." The picture pa...