Natural History Journal

While it's always fun to come across any indication of a beaver's presence in the landscape , without a doubt seeing one of these amazing creatures in the wild is much more exciting!  Here in California's Central Valley, I've found those sightings to be rather rare - and therefore all the more special when they do occur.  While I regularly come across signs of beaver activity , such as felled trees, gnawed branches, dams, lodges and tracks, it's less frequent that I get to spend time watching these critters go about their daily business.  So, when I came across this beaver on a small reservoir in the foothills, I savored the experience.  Any moment with a beaver is an excellent opportunity to sit quietly beside the pond, watch and learn! American Beaver in a small reservoir in the foothills of the Sierra Beavers are best known for their sturdy dams, which they construct of logs, sticks and mud.  These dams are placed across streams and other areas of flowing wa...

You've heard about our state bird, the California Quail . You know about our state flower, the California Poppy , and perhaps you're aware that we have not one but two state trees, the Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia.  Maybe you even know that our state rock, Serpentine, is green (not gold - that's the state mineral) and that our state mammal, the Grizzly Bear, has been extinct in California since the 1920's.   But have you heard about California's state amphibian?? Meet the California Red-legged Frog ( Rana draytonii ). California Red-legged Frog, Pinnacles National Park Once common in California, red-legged frogs are now listed as federally threatened. California Red-legged Frogs are the largest frog native to the western U.S., coming in at up to five inches long.  Apparently, many were eaten by miners during the Gold Rush, and this is the species immortalized by Mark Twain in his "Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County" (possibly).   Today, ...

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. ...

Winter is not only the best time in Central California to head out to the wetlands , but also the prime season for viewing a diverse array of raptors on the prairies.  Largely reduced to a fringe of remnants ringing the Great Central Valley, California's grasslands support a number of very special species that are with us only during the winter months.   ( Follow this link to learn about the value of California's grasslands! ) Ferruginous Hawk North America's largest hawk, the Ferruginous Hawk (pictured both above and below), breeds in open prairies of the West.  In California, these regal raptors begin to arrive in October and November, and stay through March. Ferruginous Hawk Arctic-breeding Rough-legged Hawks migrate south in the fall to spend the winter months in open country across much of the United States.  The small bill and small feet are hallmarks of this Arctic species, along with feathered legs, a trait shared only with Ferruginous Hawks and Golden E...

2021 has been the year of the sparrow for me, with several rarities turning up near home, a successful Harris's Sparrow chase , and the discovery of a couple breeding pairs of Grasshopper Sparrows (a Species of Special Concern in California) in one of my local birding patches.   Boring and brown and altogether uninteresting to nonbirders, I find sparrows, in all their vast array and subtle markings, just beautiful!  And most of them sing lovely songs as well!   Sparrows belong to the family Passerellidae, which also includes juncos and towhees.  Fifteen species of sparrows are relatively common in California's Great Central Valley and surrounding foothills, with various species likely to be encountered in different habitats and at different times of the year.   But I can promise you that on any birding outing, you will meet at least a few sparrows!   Now, it's time to meet them all - albeit briefly - in one place.   Like meet...

Meet the Grasshopper Sparrow.  Five inches long, half an ounce in weight, and washed in subtle yet striking shades of buff, fawn, chocolate and gold, the Grasshopper Sparrow is tailor-made to disappear into its grassy home.   A bird of dry grasslands, the Grasshopper Sparrow ( Ammodramus savannarum ) is an uncommon breeding bird across what is left of California's prairies.  Its song, for which it is named, is a high-pitched insect-like buzz that is easily overlooked in a land of swaying grasses and blowing winds.   But it was only due to this bird's humble song that I was able to find it at all! Driving slowly while birding across private rangeland, following a creek deep into the grasslands, birds sang and called all around: Western Meadowlarks in the tall grasses; Red-winged Blackbirds in the cattails along the creek; California Quail in a thicket of brambles; a Red-tailed Hawk soaring above; a Bullock's Oriole in a distant cottonwood.   As the...