Natural History Journal

I am continually overawed by the beauty of California's grasslands.   Golden through the heat of summer and autumn, winter rains bring transformation to the hills, cloaking them in verdant splendor to rival any other landscape for beauty.  Though fleeting, the glories of spring on wildflower-spangled grasslands are a delight to behold. Just have a look for yourself! Grasslands in eastern Stanislaus county at sunrise. Sunrise is without question my favorite time on the grasslands.  Check out this article to experience an autumn sunrise at this same location! More than just aesthetically pleasing, California's grasslands provide critical habitat for a number of species that are in decline as their habitat shrinks, like Horned Larks and Grasshopper Sparrows . Learn more about the value of California's grasslands , along with how and why to protect them, in this article. Tiny treasures in the grass, wildflowers are undoubtedly the stars of the spring grasslands. ...

A few days ago, Eric and I spent a lovely spring day hiking with friends at Pinnacles National Park.  And of course, when I say "hiking," you know I mean birding also!  We hiked eight miles in total, from the visitor center along the Bench, Sycamore, and Moses Spring Trails to Bear Gulch Reservoir, encountering 47 species of birds along the way. A diversity of plant communities in Pinnacles National Park offers habitat for 160 species of birds.  While much of the steep mountainous terrain in the park is covered by chamise-dominated chaparral, pine and oak woodland, dominated by gray pine and blue oak, is well represented also.  Riparian corridors of sycamores and willows follow the paths of Bear Gulch and Chalone Creek, offering refuge in an otherwise often hot and arid landscape. From the moment we got out of the car near the visitor center, the sound of birds filled the air: most notably, the raucous calls and incessant chattering of a large flock of Acorn Woodpeck...

While renowned for its birds and wildlife, Point Reyes National Seashore is also a treasure trove of botanical wonders, a real playground for California botanists - and spring is the best time to visit, by far, for a wide variety of blooming wildflowers.  Eric and I recently spent an extremely windy day birding botanizing at Point Reyes and, between wiping the wind-induced tears out of my eyes and making sure I didn't blow away, I managed to snap a few photos of some of my favorite wildflowers. If you venture out in search of the best blooms, I recommend the Chimney Rock and Elephant Seal Overlook trails, the trail to Abbott's Lagoon, and, of course, the jaunt out to the iconic Point Reyes Lighthouse. Yellow bush lupine, intertwined with wild cucumber and fiddleneck (along the aforementioned jaunt out to the lighthouse). And without further ado, I give to you: a selection of the wildflowers of Point Reyes! Yellow bush lupine ( Lupinus arboreus ) Pussy ears ( Calochortus tolm...

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...

If you've been with me through Parts I  and II of this series, where we talked about the arguments against damming and flooding Del Puerto Canyon and then looked at a long list of sensitive species that may be displaced by the project, you may have a few questions. You may be thinking,  with thousands of acres of habitat available in the Coast Ranges, why would the loss of a mere thousand acres matter?  Isn't there plenty of available habitat left for wildlife?  What is the point of this, anyway? Progress is progress,  you say,  water is life, agriculture feeds the Valley (and many, many far-flung regions beyond), so what is the loss of a thousand or so acres of habitat in the grand scheme of things? Yet this has been the story over and over and over again in California, for the last 200 years: the relentless march of "progress," taking all we can possibly take with little regard for the destruction left behind.   Habitat fragmentation has plague...

At the western edge of the Great Central Valley, within Stanislaus County, lies a canyon of cultural, biological and geological significance.  A rift in the earth slicing through the Coast Ranges, the canyon exposes millions of years of geologic history, and shows evidence of being occupied by humans long before European settlers arrived on the scene.  A spring at the heart of the canyon feeds into an intermittent stream, bordered by oasis-like pockets of riparian wetlands, cottonwoods, sycamores and ephemeral pools.  In the spring, grasslands within the canyon are verdant with a luxurious covering of new growth and dotted with annual wildflowers, while steep canyon walls are adorned with hardy chaparral and oak scrub habitat.  In the autumn, western sycamores and Fremont cottonwoods lining the creek put on a color show no less spectacular for its subtleness.   This is, of course, Del Puerto Canyon. And this canyon is in imminent danger of being dammed and ...

In California's Great Central Valley, wildfires are not generally an imminent threat, surrounded as we are by acres and acres of irrigated farmland.  But that is not the case over much of California's grasslands, woodlands, forests, and chaparral ecosystems, all of which have evolved and adapted over the millennia to thrive with regular renewal by fire. Fire is an essential part of what makes California so very uniquely California . I, however, dislike wildfires.  My gut reaction in the face of what we perceive as "devastating" wildfires is one of grief: grief over the loss of life and the good green things of this world.  Much as I prefer to skip Tolkien's penultimate chapter in  The Return of the King , titled "The Scouring of the Shire," I would rather not dwell too much on wildfires and their ravaging forces.  (Aside: I totally get why Peter Jackson left out the scouring of the Shire when he made his trilogy of films!  But we can talk about that ...

California is exemplified by many different landscapes: its sunny beaches, rolling vineyards, granite mountain cathedrals, and vibrant cities, to name a few.  But it is also home to a wide array of forests, which contain a few of the world's most amazing types of plants.  To me, it wouldn't be California without the trees! While California's Coast Redwoods  ( Sequoia sempervirens ) have earned the title of the world's tallest trees, and Giant Sequoias ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ) of the Sierra Nevada are the world's most massive, hands down the winner for the world's oldest trees - and indeed the world's oldest living single organism - goes to the White Mountains' ancient Great Basin Bristlecone Pines ( Pinus longaeva ). While bristlecone pines are found across the Great Basin in parts of Nevada and Utah, the oldest specimens, many of which exceed 3,000 years, grow in the harsh conditions of eastern California's White Mountains.  The Methusel...