Alis Volat Propriis

Yosemite High Country & Lower Yosemite Falls December 30th 2011

2011-12-30T19:02:00.000-08:00

The Shortest Winter in Existence

2011-12-29T22:16:00.000-08:00

We had all of about 2-3 weeks of snow total this winter in Yosemite. Currently, it's been sunny, and almost summer-like with staff walking around property in short sleeved tees. In October we had a small dump of snow which wreaked havoc for about a week. Now there's not a flake in sight.

Mushrooms in Yosemite

2011-12-29T21:33:00.000-08:00

Gymnopilus junonius

Gomphus floccosus

Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster Mushrooms)

Russula 'mariae'

Gomphus floccosus

High Country and Mono Lake

2011-10-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

Yosemite: I live here

2011-10-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

Yosemite Valley

2011-10-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

I Love Yosemite!!

2011-10-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Yosemite!

2011-10-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

My new home for the next two and a half months - Yosemite National Park.
I'm going to be guiding hikes and snowshoeing trips at the Evergreen Lodge outside Hetch Hetchy Valley through the end of December. It's absolutely breath-taking here and I can't wait to get hiking. I don't have the best internet connection (and no cell service) but I will try and blog from time to time to update about anything cool I experience.

Two Harbors, Catalina

2011-10-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend out in Two Harbors on Santa Catalina Island - an island in the channel island chain. While the purpose of the trip was for fun and to visit old friends from my time working out there, I did get a bit of birding in on the beach. On Monday, after the big Buccaneers Days event was over and all the pirates had sailed for home, the isthmus was pretty empty. Apparently a large bait ball of fish had been using the boats for cover, and they were left exposed. ALL the birds from "Bird Rock" - so called for a huge colony of pelagic cormorants, gulls, and brown pelicans that live there - drove them into the harbor in a feeding frenzy.

A few people were on dinghy boats or kayaking when the birds descended and all they could do was watch and hope not to be landed on or worse while the flock was overhead! It was phenomenal to watch the huge flotillas of cormorants diving from the surface as the pelicans bombed down from above, and the western and Heermann's gulls drove the small fish onto shore to pick off. It finally died down and a friend, who had run out to swim in the midst of it and try for a few bigger fish that could have been feeding on the school, said that there was nothing left but scales raining down in the water. Amazing.

Aliso & Wood Canyon Wilderness Park

2011-09-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

Had an awesome hike in Aliso & Wood Canyon Wilderness Park today.The weather was sort of overcast and misty, probably a thick marine layer that never quite burned off. I saw all sorts of good birds, including a loggerhead shrike, some lark sparrows, and a bunch of raptors including, a red-tailed hawk, Cooper's hawk, American kestrel, and a white-tailed kite.

Aliso Woods

Find hiking trails in California

Bommer Canyon Hike

2011-09-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

I went for a short, 4 mile out and back hike in Bommer Canyon today. Since the City of Irvine took over the property, its been made public, but access has also been changed dramatically. Now instead of driving in to the staging area to hike out, there's a mustard-filled "nature loop" that you must take to get to the real trail. Definitely took away some of the pleasure of the trip to have to hike out to the start of the real hike in flat, monocultured, unshaded land.

Caterpillar Phacelia

Stinking Gourd

California Buckwheat

Trail

Stand Up Paddle Boarding

2011-08-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

Hey all, happy summer. It's been a busy one for me, but I have been really lacking in my blogging. I wanted to write a quick post about a new sport I've picked up. At the urging of a friend, I tried stand up paddle boarding or SUPing for the first time a few weeks ago and was instantly hooked. It involves balancing on a long board and using a canoe-style oar to paddle yourself around. It provides a totally novel vantage point to bird bays and estuaries, and for the brave, the coastline. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the day paddling around UNB.

In the same way as kayaking, the birds and other wildlife seem to ignore your presence. I was able to get so close to a double-crested cormorant, I could see it's gorgeous emerald colored eyes. I want to go again soon, and I'll bring my little waterproof point and shoot to hopefully share some of the experience.

I also resurrected my bicycle to get back into shape. Between peddling and paddling I'll be strong and happy by the summer's end ;)

Harding Canyon/Modjeska Canyon

2011-07-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

Went for a short hike this morning with a non-birder friend. We decided to follow the creek at Harding Canyon, which is accessible from behind Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska. It was a sunny cloudless day, so birding was pretty subdued. A chipping sparrow flock greeted us on our ascent to the trailhead, but the highlight bird sighting was definitely three rock wrens feeding in the dry riverbed.

It was great to get back out in my beloved riparian and chaparral habitat again. We saw a great mix of natives, and the insects were out in abundance. We had Lorquin's Admirals, some whites, and even a Marine Blue hanging out in some deerweed. The dudleya were in bloom on the hillsides amongst the white sage. We hiked up the creek bed until we found running water.

Hiking along a stream is always a treat, since wildlife is so much more abundant. We had dragonflies paroling the waterway, tiny frogs hanging out on the rocks, and tadpoles zipping around in the water.

We were only out for a short while since we both had other obligations for the day, not to mention the heat that would have driven us inside before long even if we had the entire day.

Here's a few more of the random shots from the hike:

Some DC Photos

2011-07-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

I took this photo during the Christmas Bird Count in Maryland.

This shot was taken from my apartment balcony in Silver Spring, MD. I may be a California girl through and through, but this really was a beautiful view.

Birding/Lep-ing with Hunter Around OC

2011-07-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

Today I went birding/leping with a former camper of mine. We hit Harriett Wieder Park first for a look at the Lesser Sand-Plover that's been hanging out there. Gorgeous bird and super easy tick off to start the day. We then headed up Silverado Canyon to do some birding and butterflying. The weather was incredibly hot and clear, great for butterflies, not so good for birding. It was so wonderful just to be outside again, even if it was pretty quiet bird-wise. We had California Dogfaces flying around near all the stream crossings at the base of the canyon. We found a gorgeous lily that I think might have been a Weed's Mariposa Lily. I forgot to bring my camera, which put a kink in IDing plants we didn't recognize. Higher up we had an Acmon Blue, and a number of sulfurs we weren't able to identify - one smaller and more vividly yellow, another larger and pale lemon-y yellow.

Bird-wise, we had ash-throated flycatchers, yellow warblers, a singing black-headed grosbeak, and a single mountain chickadee. As it got even hotter, we headed toward Dilly Preserve and the Nix Nature Center where we had a few more butterfly species, including a Mormon's Metalmark and Square-spotted Blue. The heat finally drove us to call it quits, but it was such a joy to spend time out in nature again, and all the great butterfly sightings had me kicking myself for not bringing my camera... guess it's time to wipe off the dust and get back out there!

Butterfly List:

Tiger Swallowtail
Mourning Cloak
California Dogface
Acmon Blue
Mormon Metalmark
Square-spotted Blue (or whatever its new name is)
American Lady
Cabbage White
2 Sulfur Species (Cloudless?)
Gray Hairstreak

Shenandoah National Park

2010-12-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

A few shots from my backpacking trip to Shenandoah National Park this weekend...

Solar Powered Roads

2010-10-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

Solar powered roads make absolute sense for the Southwestern United States. It harnesses the solar energy that these roads already attract. The opportunity to add in the messages to the roads is also a great one, making night driving much more safe. Cost may be an impediment, but as petroleum costs rise, even asphalt roads will be pricier. This is a step in the right direction for sure.

Open Season: Sandhill Cranes

2010-10-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

I wanted to pass along a very distressing blog post from a fellow birder and blogger on the hunting of Sandhill Cranes throughout the Central Flyway. I was stunned to read that there is hunting allowed for this species.

Now, just my two cents here, but I do not oppose hunting. I'm a vegetarian, and don't hunt or even eat meat myself, but hunters are often some of the largest supporters of conservation initiatives in America. After all, you can't hunt it if the species dies out, or there's no land to hunt on. I'm all for sustainable hunting practices, and in some places, deer management is an integral part of the wildlife management plans. However, a species like Sandhill Cranes does not fall on my "okay to shoot at" list. I don't know how hard this would hit the population, but unless it can be proven to be a sustainable practice, I would be against it.

Take a moment to read her blog post, learn about Tennessee's controversial practices, and make an informed decision for yourself about how you feel about the issue of crane hunting.
If it bothers you, pass along the story to raise awareness, and consider taking an even more active role by writing to your local representatives, or trying to get your local conservation groups involved.

Audubon Naturalist Society

2010-10-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

I've been working as a Contract Naturalist with the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase, MD. Not to be confused with the National and local Audubon Society, which I have worked with in the past. I am doing nature-themed birthday party programs, scout programs, etc on a contract basis.

They're a lot of fun, and you get a small dose of environmental ed, kids, and often are force-fed birthday cake ;) What a great opportunity for a part-time job to keep my environmental education resume current, get my fix of teaching and working with kids, and get to get outdoors to play around for a bit every few weekends! Yippie!

Window Strike Wednesday

2010-09-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

Well this morning, I woke up to an extremely depressing sight. I was on my way out of the building to work, and found a perfect worm-eating warbler lying dead on the pavement. Window strikes are the number one cause of mortality in birds annually. While everyone likes big windows in their home or office to let in natural light, and give them a beautiful view to contemplate, most don't realize that birds - having no concept of glass - fall prey to those windows.

"Between 100 million and 1 billion birds die from crashing into glass every year in North America alone, according to Audubon Magazine; they are either confused by the reflections in windows or simply can’t see the glass, and fly into it at full speed."

I want desperately to help people become aware of this issue, because there are so many workable solutions out there to solve this problem. There are films that you can buy to adhere to your glass that make it visible to birds, without obstructing your view. There is also bird-friendly glass out on the market that uses technology borrowed from spider webs to make glass visible to birds while keeping the glass clear to the human eye. With so many options, both high tech, and low, expensive and cheap, we should be able to keep birds from meeting their demise at the expense of our view.
Groups like City Wildlife's Lights Out DC, Lights Out Chicago, Lights Out New York, and FLAP exist to try and raise awareness, yet most Americans have never even considered the fact that glass is such a deadly killer - it's worth spreading the word!

http://www.sibleyguides.com/conservation/causes-of-bird-mortality/

Canoeing on the Potomac

2010-08-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday I went canoeing on the Potomac River with some new birder friends. One worked for the Potomac Conservancy, and needed to do an informal survey of invasive plants on an island owned by the Conservancy. We paddled out to Minnie's Island, with some difficulty since the water level was so low and the area rocky. We enjoyed great looks at a very active Green Heron, and then pulled the canoe out and hiked around the island, looking at plants, bugs and birds.

It was so lush and green, and the hum of cicadas so loud I felt like I was in a tropical forest in South America, or back in time. A native sunflower bush was attracting droves of Eastern Tiger-Swallowtails and Monarchs.

We birded around and discussed the various invasive plants, trying to ID them and and figure out how best to go about doing a removal and restoration. The high water line was well overhead, which really gives you goosebumps when you realize the ground you're standing on could, and has been, under water.

After we finished surveying the island, and feeding the happy mosquitos, we got back in the canoe and paddled up-river for a while. We saw what at first looked like a stick bobbing toward us, as it came closer, we realized what we were looking at was a water snake - swimming with an eel in it's mouth! It swam under the boat, and to a rock where it lost the eel. I felt sorry because I wondered if our paddling in for a closer look had distracted the snake enough for the eel to twist away. I hope it wasn't our fault he lost his lunch. He was a big gorgeous snake, probably a brown water snake. So exciting!

It was definitely the highlight of the day, and after paddling up a bit further, we headed back to the boat launch and hauled the canoe back up to the lockhouse, then headed home. It was a great morning and although I had so many mosquito bites coating my legs it looked like chicken pox, I was extremely happy to have gotten out on the water.

Reminiscing About Texas, 2006

2010-08-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

I was Wildbird Magazine's 2005 Birder of the Year, which won me a trip to Texas in early spring of 2006. Here's the recount article that I wrote for the July/August 2006 issue of WildBird:

The trip to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas was an incredible experience. We--my mom, Amy Hooper and I--started off the trip by spotlighting for Common Pauraque on Saturday with Sheridan Coffey and Martin Reid. We walked along the water at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. When we finally saw a pauraque fly, it became my first lifer of the trip. My nonbirding mom unexpectedly enjoyed the outing so much that she chose to bird with us for the rest of the trip.

Sheridan and Martin enthusiastically guided us for the first two days. On Sunday, we first stopped at Anzalduas County Park (956-585-5311) and saw Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, a quirky species. The Turkey and Black Vultures (a lifer) riding a thermal over the park provided an unexpected surprise. We also saw Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, a Northern Parula, Couch’s Kingbirds, Great Kiskadees and a magnificent Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

On our way back to Bensten, I spotted my life Harris’ Hawk. Once at Bensten, we got our first look at Green Jays, and on a feeder, we watched a Long-billed Thrasher, an Altamira Orioleand an Indigo Bunting take turns. In a photo blind, we heard Plain Chachalacas calling from all sides.

Next stop: Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, where we birded with intern Heidi Trudell. Life birds included Black-crested Titmouse and Roseate Spoonbill. We sat to wait for the day’s last lifer, a Buff-bellied Hummingbird.

On Monday, we visited the hawkwatch at Santa Ana and saw Broad-winged Hawks, Mississippi Kites and many others overhead. The lift-off was breathtaking. Up the river at Chapeno, we picked up Ringed Kingfisher from a distance as well as Brown Jays, one juvenile and one adult. We later parted ways with Martin and Sheridan and headed to San Benito.

Tuesday morning, Pat Wade joined us as our guide, and we quickly got my first lifer of the day: Tamaulipas Crows carrying nesting material. Then we went to the Sabal Palm sanctuary, where I got my life Carolina Wren singing on a branch. We also saw the controversial Gray-crowned Yellowthroat.

The Aplomado Falcon (unbanded) and the White-tailed Hawk provided roadside treats on the way to South Padre Island, an amazing place. My last lifer of the trip was Upland Sandpiper off-island, and like my first Texas lifer, I lost a pint of blood to the mosquitoes in order to get it.

I gained more than 40 new birds, enjoyed fantastic experiences and met some superb people. To top it off, my mother gained a better understanding of who I am and what birding is. I’d say that alone made it a successful trip.

Stoweflake Hot Air Balloon Festival

2010-07-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

Birding at Dean Shield's House

2010-06-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

This morning I joined the Ecology professors and some students from their class for a bird walk at Dean Shield's home. He and his wife have a gorgeous home in Tunbridge, about 20 minutes from the law school. Opportunities like this are what set VLS apart from your average law school. It was a gorgeous morning, and we got a great species list for the day, adding some great birds like green heron, belted kingfisher, a calling great-crested flycatcher, and chimney swifts.

The misty fog burned off pretty quickly

The pretty flowers are called Bladder Campion - Thanks for the ID Peter!

Gorgeous posing cedar waxwing

Cedar waxwing take 2

Do you see the Baltimore Oriole's hanging basket nest hidden in the branches?

A Very Pertinent Post from a Reader:

2010-06-28T05:05:00.000-07:00

Anonymous said...

I can't figure out how to comment onthe 350 badge. I would NEVER post this badge because it features bird killing windmills. I refuse to give any more money to the Sierra Club because they use the figure of this windmill. There are other windmills which do not kill birds. At what cost do we blindly continue our over populated path.

10:12 PM

Leigh said...

Hi, thanks for sharing. I have huge problems with wind power for precisely that reason. I think many people aren't even aware of how much of an impact wind power projects have on birds. They do kill birds predominately because they're placed on the flight path of migration routes, where wind funnels through passes, etc - places birds travel through for the same reason. There needs to be more emphasis placed on putting wind power projects in place that are designed to protect against those casualties.
Glass has an incredible impact on birds as well though, millions of birds are killed every year for hitting windows during migration, both of houses, and of tall office buildings. At present, very little is being done to make people aware of this deadly effect, and while there are some people working to develop glass that birds can "see" while still being see-through for humans, not nearly enough is being done to market it at a large scale. There are many many problems out there facing birds, wind energy is just one of them, and frankly, I see wind energy as the lesser of two evils because at least it's working to wean us off the use of fossil fuels, which kill many birds as well - the Gulf spill is only one example.

Anyone else have valuable thoughts, comments, information to share?

P.S. - I know this is a passionate issue for many people, myself included, but please try to restrain yourself from directed anger or ranting, and instead share insights and try to foster a valuable conversation on the issues.

Low-Impact Development Can Have a Huge Impact on Run-Off

2010-06-28T04:57:00.000-07:00

Many people don't realize how much runoff from urban and suburban areas impact the water quality of our rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. Here's a link to EPA's site on how low-impact development, and green infrastructure improvements can vastly decrease the impact that non-point sources have on pollution.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

2010-06-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

The disaster in the Gulf will have lasting effects on the environment for many years to come. Here is a link to the Official Response site on the Gulf clean-up. The images of oiled birds and turtles have me tossing and turning every night, and new and disturbing aspects of the spill are brought to light daily. Below is a link to a YouTube video made by a birder in the Gulf, which shows some of the unintended negative effects of the response on sensitive species. I think it highlights just how unprepared BP and the agencies were to handle a disaster of this magnitude.

There is an effort to raise awareness and funding for the continued recovery effort. It's important that this be done because the general public has a woefully short attention span for disasters - think Katrina and Haiti. This jeweler has a Gulf collection - it's my understanding that some of the proceeds go towards the clean-up effort.

If It Was My Home - Visualizing the BP Oil Spill

This link helps to give you a visual understanding of the size of area the spill encompasses. Pretty frightening in these terms.

Quechee Gorge: Vermont's Grand Canyon

2010-05-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hiking Mt. Tom with Victor

2010-05-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

Mt. Tom is a small peak above Woodstock, VT, very similar to Kent's Ledge, which I've hiked on several occasions. It was a quick, fairly easy hike, at least until the last stretch where it was very steep. The weather was gorgeous, cool, breezy, and sunny out, mid 70s. Perfect day for a hike!

Birding With Peter and Merril

2010-05-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

Right before I left VT to visit home in Cali, I went on a very relaxed bird walk with Peter and his girlfriend Merrill. We just walked around the area surrounding his house (really nice vegetation along a brook). We had red-eyed and blue-headed vireos, a veery, a least flycatcher calling and ovenbirds singing. I was buzzed by a ruby-throated humming bird, and of course chickadees followed us wherever we went.

Because it was mid-afternoon, and ridiculously windy, warblers were a wash, but it was still nice to get out and hike around a bit. They had been out turkey hunting at the crack of dawn, and had some dinner to show for it! Personally, I think I'll stick to watching birds ;)

Welcome to South Royalton

2010-05-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to South Royalton

2010-05-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-22T06:16:00.001-07:00

Celebrate the planet by taking steps to make it a healthier place to live. Walk or bike to work or to the store, buy local and organic, non-GMO products, use re-useable shopping bags, use earth and human-friendly products like Seventh Generation, and most of all, get outside and enjoy the gorgeous spring weather! It's not about absolutes - nobody can do all of it, all the time - but it is about doing everything you can realistically to make steps toward a healthier planet and body.

In honor of the day, here's a great article showing how environmental education is succeeding in some places.

Spring Has Sprung!

2010-04-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Its beginning to feel a lot like spring around here. The robins are out in abundance, eastern phoebes are calling out raspy, "phee-bee, phee-bee!" from the tree tops, and the dawn chorus greets me each morning as I wake. We had some gorgeous weather this past weekend, but it's supposed to rain this week.
Fiddleheads!

Hopefully it will clear up soon, and I can get out for a hike, or maybe even an overnight trip??

A cautionary tale though, friends warned me not to put my winter gear away yet, mother nature has been known to surprise Vermont with an April snowstorm in the past. Wouldn't that be fun?

Weather Changes Affect Species on All Continents

2010-03-29T06:33:00.001-07:00

Northern New England may be having a relatively mild winter, but back in the motherland, things haven't been so easy. New reports coming in indicate that small birds are not weathering the particularly harsh winter very well. Click here to link to the article.

Monarchs in North America are facing a similar fate due to bad weather. Here's a link to the article detailing their rough winter.

March Hike up Kent's Ledge

2010-03-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

It was an overcast, blustery morning, Peter and I had decided to hike Kent's Ledge. It was extremely peaceful and calm on the way up, very few birds beyond a brown creeper, some juncos, and a small flock of chickadees calling.

When we reached the ledge itself, the wind was howling, which kept us from lingering there too long. We began the trek back down, taking a different route than we hiked up, just for variety. Pileated woodpeckers called from the trees ahead, but otherwise, it stayed quiet. As we were only a few minutes from the end of the hike, I finally met my icy match, doing the stereotypical cartoon banana peel slip. My legs went straight out from under me, and I landed flat on my back. Oooof. Ouch.

After the shock wore off, I was sore, and my ego felt a bruise forming, but otherwise I was fine. We headed to the car to get me home where I could nurse my wounds in peace. So much for mountain woman...

Consolation prize was getting great looks at a downy woodpecker climbing the tree outside my window. Maybe mother nature felt sorry for me.

ELS Retreat in the Catskills

2010-03-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

I spent this weekend in the Catskills at a region-wide Environmental Law Society Retreat. That I was able to go at all was a fluke, the two students from VLS scheduled to go both ended up having conflicts that precluded them from attending. I responded to a last-minute email sent out to ELS members, inquiring in anyone would be interested in attending in their place. Apparently I was the only student who took the initiative and who actually had the weekend free. The retreat was held at the YMCA campus in Frost Valley. It was gorgeous, and our lodge was really rustic and fun. The only sad event occurred early on, within minutes of walking in, I was just saying hello to everyone when we heard a loud THUMP, a white-breasted nuthatch had collided with the lodge's high windows, and dropped down to the deck. When it was apparent that it was dead, not just stunned, we moved the poor bird off the deck.

Luckily, that wasn't indicative of the type of weekend we'd have. We all introduced ourselves and shared our backgrounds the first night over a campfire. The next morning, following breakfast, we all went for a hike to a gorgeous waterfall. The robins were out in abundance, everywhere I looked, there were robins feeding in the dry grass. Then after lunch and some time enjoying the gorgeous and unseasonable weather, we sat down to talk shop. Each school represented discussed what ELS does at their school, and the most interesting current events. Then we talked about summer internships and externships, revealing how positions were gotten, and offering up contacts from previous jobs to those who would be interested in applying in the future.

The night was kicked off with a special sneak preview of a new nature film being released, and s’mores. The film was great, everyone was ohh-ing and ahh-ing or cracking up. Finally, a round or two of Environmental Law Jeopardy ended the night, with questions like, which state holds the most Superfund Sites? (Answer, NJ)

The 5 hour drive each way by myself was just fine, I passed through many interesting places,saw the World’s Largest Garden Gnome, and generally enjoyed the time out of SoRo.

ELS Retreat

2010-03-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

I'll be spending the weekend in the Catskill Mountains at an Environmental Law Society Retreat. It was a last minute decision, but I think it's going to be a great weekend, full of hiking, campfires, and lots of environmental talk. Should be great!

Best Public Awareness Campaign Ever

2010-03-19T08:32:00.001-07:00

http://www.endangeredspeciescondoms.com/

The Big Year Movie Starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson And Steve Martin

2010-03-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Big Year Movie Starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson And Steve Martin

They're making a movie based on the book about a birding Big Year - a year when a birder tries to see as many species as possible. Hopefully it won't be a parody of what we do, but a way for non-birders to get a lens into the excitement of birding. Then again, based on that line-up cast, I'd say we birders better have a sense of humor about this film.

Ivory Gull in Grand Isle, VT

2010-02-20T14:06:00.000-08:00

Today Peter and I chased an Ivory Gull in Vermont. The rare Arctic gull is apparently only the 5th to ever be recorded in the state. When we first arrived at the lakefront where the bird had been reported, visibility was dismal, since it was snowing pretty hard. We searched along the shoreline, then decided to head back into Alburgh to grab sandwiches and wait for a lull in the snow.

Best "close-up" I managed

Ivory Gull on the lake

Our timing couldn't have been better because when we arrived back at the bridge, the snow had stopped and the bird had been spotted again. We got on it from the road, and when it was clear it wasn't going to move, we headed down onto the lake.

That's right, on foot, it was frozen solid enough for ice fishermen to drive their trucks out, so we walked right out to get a better look.We got great looks at the bird via scope, bins, and our own bare eyes, but couldn't go too much closer for fear of thin ice, so my shots aren't quite within range. Nevertheless, another amazing sighting for the wonder duo of the VLS birders :)

Birders watching the gull out on the ice.

One of the gentlemen we met while looking at this gorgeous bird mentioned a young birder from Ontario who was currently birding around Newfoundland. That sounded familiar, and when he mentioned the birder's name - Brandon Holden - I realized I had met him on Yahoo Youngbirder years back, and had checked out his awesome bird photography in the past. Here's a link to the amazing shots he's getting up there. Small world.

Deadly Bat Fungus Spreading in U.S.

2010-02-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

There is an epidemic spreading across the United States. Here's an article about the situation. Deadly Bat Fungus Spreading in U.S.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Kittery, Maine

2010-02-14T08:41:00.001-08:00

After the pelagic, we birded around the Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, Maine area. We drove across the bridge and border to Maine, where we walked around Fort Foster Park. We walked out on the pier that we had seen from the harbor where we began our pelagic, over in New Castle, NH.

Lighthouse in New Castle, NH, shot taken from Maine

Pier at Fort Foster Park

Pier railings

We then headed toRye, NH where we birded at Odiorne Point State Park. The sun was setting, and it was kind of magical time of day. Our coolest sighting there was definitely the red fox we found snoozing on a rock not far off the trail.

Red Fox!!

I found a great vantage point to relax and contemplate the day's events

Peter scanning the water for interesting ducks

Jeffries Ledge Peglaic, NH

2010-02-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my first pelagic in the Atlantic Ocean. We went out of New Castle, New Hampshire, near the Maine border. A bald eagle flew over the boat as we all boarded and got the safety talk prior to departure. The water was a bit choppy to start, but calmed down to as near to glassy conditions as could be hoped for in the middle of winter. It was sunny and gorgeous out. We saw great cormorants, white-winged and surf scoters, long-tailed ducks, common eider, and American black ducks as we pulled out of the harbor.

Common Eider

The goal of the trip was definitely alcids, which is different from the pelagics I've been on out of CA, where its slightly more directed at tube-noses.

Common Murre

Dovekies

In fairly quick succession we got common murres, the more uncommon of the two murres likely, razorbills, and a dovekie flew straight by the boat. We got great looks at a cooperative murre swimming maybe 20 yards from the boat. The excitement was high, as black-legged kittiwakes and northern gannets were spotted with a mixed-gull flock containing predominantly greater black-backed gulls.

Atlantic Puffin

We then hit a quiet period, so after a while we decided to jog back to the area where we'd been having luck with birds before that. We saw two dovekies on the water that had clearly gorged on food because they could barely fly, and allowed us to get fairly close before picking up and flying a bit further out. We snuck up a few times before they tired of the game and took off.

Diving Puffin

The highlight of the trip for me was definitely Atlantic puffin! We had a gorgeous adult with that bright colorful bill - what an awesome bird. Our second was a young male, very dusky and sooty looking, but he was fairly cooperative, giving us good looks. Our last puffin was another colorful individual, who was fairly leery of the boat.

Black Guillemot

Great Black-backed Gull

As we motored back to the harbor spirits were definitely high. It was one of the best pelagics I've been on in terms of weather, and the birds were rockin'. Definitely worth getting up at 4am to drive to the coast from land-locked Vermont!

Surf Scoters

Here's a link to the photo gallery from another birder aboard the ship with much a better camera and more experience than me!

New Hampshire Winter Pelagic

2010-02-12T12:31:00.001-08:00

I'll be going on my first East Coast pelagic trip off the coast of NH tomorrow!

Obama - Working for the Environment

2010-02-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

This article lays out what the Obama administration has done, rather quietly, for the environment. Some of the things listed by the article include:

Increased gas mileage standards for cars and light trucks 40 percent, from today's 25 mpg to 35 mpg by 2016. The announcement in May came as part of Washington's bailout of Detroit.

Blocked Bush administration rules to open the California coast and 77 federal sites near Utah's Arches and Canyonlands national parks to new oil and gas drilling.

Begun a process in December in which the Environmental Protection Agency will, for the first time, restrict the amount of greenhouse gases industry can release.

Signed a bill in March establishing 2.1 million new acres of federally protected wilderness, the largest wilderness bill since President Bill Clinton signed the Desert Protection Act in 1994. The bill bans logging, mining and road-building on federal forests and deserts in nine states, including portions of Joshua Tree and Sequoia national parks and ancient bristlecone pine forests in the eastern Sierra.

Announced tougher new national smog standards from the EPA this month.

Reversed Bush administration rules allowing more snowmobiles in Yellowstone and fewer federal agency reviews of endangered species.

Issued EPA rules requiring large U.S. ships to cut soot emissions by 85 percent.

Signed a stimulus package that included more than $50 billion in funding and tax credits for renewable energy projects. It includes billions to weatherize federal buildings, provide grants to companies building solar and wind farms and fund research on biofuels and other technologies.

Northern Hawk Owl

2010-01-21T17:45:00.001-08:00

Surveying the area

Going in for the kill

In flight

In for the second kill

Whatchoo lookin' at?

So Cute and True

2010-01-20T07:19:00.001-08:00

Wal-Mart's Green Goal

2010-01-15T10:44:00.001-08:00

Wal-Mart's Green Goal

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Wal-Mart Thoughts

2010-01-15T10:30:00.000-08:00

In class today we had a fairly spirited discussion about the evil, or perhaps not so evil(?) corporation, Wal-Mart. We talked about the traditional reasons people hate the company, ie. it takes $$ from the community without putting any back in, it doesn't promote local agriculture or industry, continues to outgrow and build buildings, and wastes large amounts of resources shipping across the nation, etc.

Our professor, who had worked as a lawyer helping employees with disputes with their companies over medical leave, etc, had a different view. She stated that Wal-Mart more often worked with their employees to help them through the tough situation, and keep their jobs. Now in part, that is due to the nature of large business, they can absorb the cost of paying an employee who is temporarily unable to work, in a way that Mom and Pop stores would be unable to.

Another issue, and to me the more pressing one, was the issue of environmentalism. Wal-Mart is riding the green revolution wave, to tell their customers how they can make change to benefit the environment, they're trying to reduce shipping and packaging, and promoting local agriculture and products to some extent, and is even providing their truckers with space heaters to reduce idling on the roadside while drivers get some shut-eye.

These all seem like good changes, and in truth they are. While Wal-Mart, and large corporations like them certainly have the power to do more, this is a generous leap in the right direction. Companies that big have the ability to influence change, by demanding their suppliers change. The environmentalist community has to a large extent not gotten behind Wal-Mart in this action. Old habits die hard, and it's easy to hate the corporate giants, but supporting them in this endeavor will hopefully continue to foster further change.

My professor made an extremely valid point that Wal-Mart and Coca Cola, and other large multi-national corps reach Americans that generally aren't on top of environmental issues. Who don't regularly read up on the latest scientific discoveries, or follow the environmental blogs of groups like Greenpeace and WWF. These are the Americans who may not believe global climate change is happening. If Wal-Mart can do their part to transition, America may well follow. While they have a long long way to go, I for one will commend the changes they have made, and watch for further future change.

Birding in Burlington Area with Peter

2010-01-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I birded up in the Burlington area with a friend and fellow birder from VLS. We headed up to Burlington Intervale to start our day, where there are steaming piles of compost that birds enjoy. Probably both to pick through for food, and for the heat they give off. There we got two Glaucous Gulls, and saw a handful of red-tailed hawks sitting on the warm compost heaps.

Snow Bunting in with a Horned Lark flock.

Then we headed to the breakwater, where we saw Iceland gulls sitting on the breakwater with Greater Black-backed Gulls. Got my state mallards ;) and saw some common mergansers.

Lapland Longspur.

After grabbing a sandwich we headed toward the agricultural lands south of Burlington, where our target species were longspurs and buntings. We pulled off and walked a few feet onto a farm where we got some good looks at snow buntings in a flock of horned larks, before the farmer came up and questioned us.

We continued driving around the ag lands for the rest of the afternoon, and were rewarded with good looks at a lapland longspur on the ground next to our car. We struck out on rough-legged hawks, the species Peter guaranteed we'd see, hehe. It's okay, I'll have more opportunities this winter to try for them.

Hoping to go snowshoeing early next week before classes start back up again.

January Hike in SoRo

2010-01-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

Took a short hike in the snow today. There was light snow falling for most of my walk. Birds were quiet, just the occasional small chickadee flock. By someone's house I caught a few dark-eyed juncos and one downy woodpecker calling and moving around a tree.

At one point the snowfall got much heavier and I discovered that falling snow has a sound. It kinda reminds me of the way rice crispie cereal sounds when you pour milk into it. Very faint crackling noises. I had snow on my eyelashes, my mouth, and all over my bins and camera. It was magical =)

Top 10 Birding Memories of 2009

2010-01-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

My 2009 Memories:

First birding trip of 2009, Irvine Ranch Conservancy hike along Quail Hill Loop with Evelyn.
February Wildflower Hike with Irvine Ranch Conservancy along Loma Ridge, over Limestone Canyon.
Night Hike up Agua Chinon Canyon to the back side of the sinks, with IRC.
April OC Birdathon with Neil Gilbert and Vic Leipzig, got my life spotted owl!
Taking a sunset photography lesson with professional photographer Andre Torng.
Filming Wild in the City pilot in LA county with some birder friends and Richard Crossley.
Picking Lois Taylor's brain on plant ID on the IRC hike in Round Canyon.
Catalina was one long awesome birding memory, but the West End hummer tour stands out.
Hiking up Kent's Ledge to see the fall foliage changing in Vermont.
It's not birding, but the first snowfall in SoRo was quite a memorable experience.

Finally, I counted, and according to eBird, I got 14 lifers in 2009!

CBC Bonita Creek Park and Arroyo Park

2010-01-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

This morning I birded Bonita Creek Park and Arroyo Park and the drainage in between. The diversity was pretty dismal, but certain species numbers were extremely high *cough* yellow-rumps *cough* Too many early morning joggers/walkers, especially those with dogs, about 3/4 of which were not on leashes. Grrrr.

Best birds for me probably were the California gnatcatchers calling from the hillside below the Bluffs shopping center (loads of coastal sagebrush growing on the slope probably helped) and a gorgeous look at a hermit thrush near the back entrance of Arroyo Park. The area under the Bluffs shopping center was extremely birdy, plenty of stuff calling - I really had my fill of birding and counting by ear today, let me tell you!

I ended up by Harbor View and Bonita Canyon in the sports park complex, where the most common birds by far were European starlings - ick.

Birding in the New Year

2010-01-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

Today I went birding with Grace and Alex at my old stomping grounds, the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. We got about 44 species in three hours, not bad for a leisurely stroll around the marsh. I had no trouble IDing most species, but for some reason I kept seeing mallards at funky angles and making them into all sorts of things, sigh, I must be out of practice. Best bird of the morning was the common goldeneye we watched fishing under the footbridge heading toward the riparian area of the marsh.

We stopped by Upper Newport Bay on the way home to check for the Bar-tailed Godwit being reported in the rocky mud flats under the Jamboree underpass. No luck today, but I'll go back every morning this week until I fly home and keep trying for it.

Tomorrow I'm going to do the Christmas Bird Count in my area, I'll just be counting at the park within walking distance from my house, but hopefully that will be helpful enough. Good to be birding in 2010!

New Year 2010!

2010-01-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone. New years resolution? Get out and bird more for my health and mental relaxation ;)

Icicles on my Window

2009-12-08T12:54:00.000-08:00

There's a storm coming to SoRo tomorrow. We're supposed to get up to 5 inches of snow. Today I'm staying inside studying, and making homemade biscotti and hot cocoa =)

Snow in SoRo!

2009-12-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

It's finally snowed in South Royalton! I woke up to a white world, after the snow started late yesterday afternoon and through the night. There are icicles hanging from my windows, and my car was buried under a layer of white. I spent a little time walking around town, documenting the new view.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T06:30:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is enjoying a meal today with family and friends. I have to admit I'm a little disappointed that its not snowy and cold today. I had images in my head of my first white holidays. I won't be on the east coast for Christmas since I'm going home, so I was hoping for a snowy Turkey Day... oh well, as I've heard before, we'll soon have plenty of snow and I'll be sick sick sick of it. Yeah yeah, bring it on!

In the spirit of the day, here's an old blog post containing a few fun facts about turkeys =)

November Frost

2009-11-19T07:20:00.001-08:00

Well I haven't been able to get out much, but this morning the frost looked so gorgeous in the sunlight that I just had to go out and snap a few photos to share!

Birds and Climate Change

2009-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

The World Wildlife Fund put out a very interesting report on the global status of Birds and Climate Change. Here's a link to the very interesting document, give it a peek!

Kent's Ledge Hike - Fall Foliage

2009-10-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

Leaf season is truly incredible in Vermont. Over the fall break I went on a hike up Kent's Ledge to check out the fall colors. It was a nice cool day, perfect for a hike. Bird life included chickadees, brown creepers, white-breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, American robins, a hermit thrush, and blue jays.

Class Readings

2009-09-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

This article is an assigned reading from my extinction and climate change course - how awesome is that?

Chronicle Of Higher Education, August 16, 2002 Are You a Lumper or a Splitter?

By MALCOLM G. SCULLY

Michael A. Mares, director of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma, puts it bluntly: "If you don't know the taxonomy, you know nothing." In A Desert Calling: Life in a Forbidding Landscape, published this year by Harvard University Press, Mares adds, "Not to understand how a species differs from a closely related species is ... to be ignorant at a most fundamental and profound level about all aspects of the biology of the species, its populations, the community of interacting species, and the ecological system in which they function." Few biologists would disagree, in principle, but, as Mares acknowledges, answering the question of what constitutes a "good" species has long been a confusing and controversial exercise, especially in parts of the world that have not been studied extensively. Knowing exactly when a population of creatures differs enough from similar populations to qualify as a separate species is no simple matter. Yet the issue of getting species "right" has taken on growing importance as concern has grown over such issues as identifying and protecting the world's biodiversity, developing conservation programs, and adopting policies, such as the Endangered Species Act, to prevent extinctions.

The issue is especially difficult in ornithology, where the differing and sometimes competing interests of hobbyists, environmentalists, systematists, and evolutionary biologists, among others, have triggered confusion and contention. As Clemencia Rodner, president of the Venezuelan Audubon Society, says in a recent message on an e-mail list for people interested in neotropical birds, "The taxonomy of South American birds has been in turmoil for a number of years now. It requires no crystal ball to predict that it will continue to be in that agitated state for many more years to come." There are, she adds, "many tacit agendas that run as undercurrents affecting taxonomic discussions. ... I have observed politics (both national and institutional), patriotic sentiments, birding-guiding, xenophobia, prestige, paranoia, ambition, egotism, lack of professional ethics, dismissal of scientific methods, and plain old stupidity get in the way."

The debate in ornithology has often been described as being between lumpers and splitters, between those who group separate but very similar populations of birds into a single species and those who divide such populations into full species. Generally, the lumpers employ what is known as the biological species concept, which until recently was the dominant taxonomic approach. Its proponents define a species was a group that is reproductively isolated from other groups, which means, as Douglas J. Futuyma, an evolutionary biologist at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, explains, that "two groups do not substantially exchange genes in nature, because of 'biological' differences that prevent gene exchange."

Many splitters use the increasingly popular phylogenetic species concept, which, as described by Joel Cracraft, curator of the department of ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History, defines a species as a "diagnosable" population, "among which there is a pattern of ancestry and descent." Futuyma adds that a phylogenetic species is "any population in which most members share a distinctive feature of any kind that distinguishes it from other populations."

The divisions aren't simply a matter of scientific disagreement. For one thing, avid birders who compete to see the largest numbers of species get an automatic addition to their life lists -- "an armchair tick" -- if they have seen individual birds from two populations that are subsequently split into different species. In one case, they could add as many as five more species without leaving home: Under the phylogenetic approach, geographically separated populations of the purple swamphen, a coot-like bird found in subtropical and tropical areas, have been split into six species. Such splits have been characterized as "tournithology" -- because they create new targets for birders willing to travel the world in search of new species for their life lists.

While birders and systematists have their own preferences in determining what constitutes a species, the "species problem" may become an increasingly political issue in debates over how best to protect biodiversity. Many environmentalists fear that confusion spawned by disagreements over the issue will give governments and developers an excuse to move ahead with plans and programs that could reduce biodiversity before we can even agree on how much of it there is.

As Rodner says in her message, "The real battle is not between splitters and nonsplitters. It is between our capacity to complete the task of identifying/defining the continent's avian fauna and the capacity of governments to allow and even promote its destruction." Especially in South America and Southeast Asia, she adds in a later e-mail message, the need to collect and study species is urgent. We still don't know all the animals we have in the world, she says, "and yet we are erasing miles and miles of habitat, and with them scores and scores of animals with every passing day." James Van Remsen Jr., curator of birds at the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, warns as well that conservation biology will face major credibility issues "if anti-conservation people pick up the scent that a new concept is being adopted as a ploy to elevate more taxa to species level." "Taxonomic decisions need to be divorced entirely from conservation issues, or risk being devalued," Remsen says. Taxonomic problems arise, in part, because evolution is a process whereas a classification is a snapshot of that process at a moment in time.

The late ornithologist Charles G. Sibley wrote in 1996, "Evolution produces all degrees of genetic differences between populations of organisms, but, for practical reasons, we must limit the number of degrees we choose to 'recognize' by names. We assign names of populations and proposed definitions of

taxonomic categories based on various criteria, but the 'species concept' is slippery because there are so many examples in nature of populations that refuse to fit our limited set of definitions and names." Sibley himself was one of the fomenters of a controversial revolution in avian taxonomy. He and a colleague, Jon E. Ahlquist, used a process known as DNA-DNA hybridization -- in which strands of DNA from different species are bound together and compared -- to determine the relationships of the various families of birds. The results, published in 1990, shook up conventional taxonomies and drew both admiration and derision. From their studies they concluded that many earlier classifications of the relationships of bird families were wrong. For instance, they said that vultures found in North and South America were more closely related to storks than to Old World vultures, and that loons and grebes, which many

taxonomists had argued were closely related, weren't.

Sibley and Ahlquist's work remains controversial and has not been widely accepted, but many people believe that eventually DNA studies will resolve many of the most vexing taxonomic issues. Louisiana State's Remsen notes, however, that genetic-based approaches work best at the "higher and middle taxonomic levels" -- in establishing how closely families, genera, and species are related to each other. Molecular techniques are less useful, he adds, when you're trying to decide whether distinctive populations of similar birds should be lumped or split. "What molecular data can give you is an approximation of how different" the genes of two isolated populations are, he says, "but how you interpret those differences is basically arbitrary. "How different do they have to be genetically before you call them two species? It's arbitrary, as arbitrary as any decision made in any species concept." Even if molecular techniques can resolve many issues, Rodner notes, that day has not yet arrived. Systematists still need to collect and study specimens, and ornithologists need to learn as much as they can about the behavior, range, vocalizations, and other characteristics of bird populations. Sibley also acknowledged that the changing taxonomic approaches could look like little more than a game to outsiders. "But there is serious science in this process," he added, "because we are trying to fit nature into a system to improve our understanding of the processes and products of evolution, yet nature is complex and often resists our

simplifications."

Over the years, those efforts to fit birds into a system have resulted in a growing number of species. In 1951 Ernst Mayr and Dean Amadon published a world list that totaled 8,590. By 1996, when Sibley and Burt Monroe published their own list, the total had risen to 9,946 known species. The discovery of previously unknown species -- primarily in South America and Asia -- accounted for a small part of that increase, but the large majority came from the reclassification of subspecies as species. And with the growing popularity of the phylogenetic species concept the numbers could soar. Edward O. Wilson, in his recent The Future of Life (Alfred A. Knopf, 2002), says, "It is not out of the question that the number of validated living bird species will eventually double, to twenty thousand." And doubling the number of species would probably double the

number needing protection as well.

First Real Vermont Birding Day

2009-09-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

Today was my first legit birding day. It was a bit quiet for most of the day, but good species popped up every once in a while. Lifers for Leigh included Cape May Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Veery, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Other sightings included Red-breasted Nuthatch, Black and White Warbler, a Hermit Thrush, Red-eyed Vireos, and Black-capped Chickadees galore.

I can tell I'm becoming a "leaf-peeper" because 95% of my photos were of trees instead of birds. That's probably due in part to the fact that the looks were pretty high up and fleeting, and the lighting fairly dismal.

Woodstock, Vermont

2009-08-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

I took a day trip to Woodstock, Vermont today, here's a few of the photos I got =)

Japanese Beetle

Barred Owl

South Royalton, Vermont

2009-08-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

Well I've officially moved to Vermont. I am surrounded by gorgeous greenery, and outside my window, a plethora of birds are calling - most of which are baffling me at the moment. I will need to brush up on my eastern bird calls! So far the campus and town is absolutely delightful, with the one small exception of the humidity, which won't last too much longer anyhow. Today as part of our orientation, we will be hiking with the Dean as well as the VLS Outdoors Club, which I intend to join. I'll bring my camera so I can post photos of my new home!

Catalina Update

2009-07-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I know it's been painfully quiet around here. Internet on the island is very limited, and when I do get it, I've been working on paperwork for grad school and a scholarship I'm applying for.

Life on the island has been incredible. We lead hikes and do campfire programs on weekends, a Botanical Garden walk in Avalon daily, and an outreach table in Two Harbors and Avalon daily. We have California Quail, House Finches, Allen's Hummingbirds, Pac Slope Flycatchers, Bewick's Wrens, Common Ravens, Red-tailed Hawks, and even an occasional Bald Eagle in our camp in Avalon.

My favorite camp visitor however, is the Santa Catalina Island Fox. We have a ballsy fox that uses our camp as part of it's territory, and will bark at us when we cross paths. It will also eat our beautiful co-op fruits and veggies when we forget to immediately put them into the coolers.

We helped with data collection on one of the rarest shrubs in North America - the Catalina Island Mohogany. A rare endemic species found only in one canyon on the island.

All in all it's been a wonderful summer, but I am definitely looking forward to moving to Vermont to start my new life there as a masters student at Vermont Law School.

West End Hummer Tour

2009-07-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

Two Harbors

2009-07-05T07:40:00.001-07:00

Cat Harbor and the isthmus at Two Harbors.

Catalina Update

2009-07-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

Sunrise views from our tent at the volunteer camp =)

CATALINA

2009-06-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

In a few short hours I'll be sharing a home with these endemic species!

Mammals

Beechey ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi nesioticus)

Santa Catalina island fox (Urocyon littoralis catalinae)

Santa Catalina island deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus catalinae)

Santa Catalina island harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis catalinae)

Santa Catalina island shrew (Sorex ornatus willetti)

Birds

Bewick’s wren (Thryomanes bewickii catalinae)

California quail (Callipepla californica catalinensis)

Hutton’s vireo (Vireo huttoni unitti)

Invertebrates

Avalon hairstreak butterfly (Strymon avalona)

Scarab beetle (Coenonycha clypeata)

Scarab beetle (Coenonycha fulva)

Scarab beetle (Phobetus ciliatus)

Scarab beetle (Serica catalina)

Walkingstick (Pseudosermyle catalina)

Catalina shield-back cricket (Neduba propsti)

Catalina orangetip (Anthocharis cethura catalina)

Flora

Catalina manzanita (Arctostaphylos catalinae)

Trask’s mahogany (Cercocarpus traskiae)

Catalina dudleya (Dudleya hassei)

St. Catherine’s lace (Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum)

Santa Catalina bedstraw (Galium catalinense ssp. catalinense)

Santa Catalina Island ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. floribundus)

In addition, two other taxa have previously been considered Catalina endemics and have the potential to be recognized as such again:

Wallace’s nightshade (Solanum wallacei var. wallacei)

Trask’s yerba santa (Eriodictyon traskiae var. traskiae)

Trask’s monkeyflower (Mimulus traskiae) was another plant restricted to Catalina Island, however it is presumed extinct.

Off to Catalina

2009-06-14T22:12:00.001-07:00

I hope to update you all with gorgeous photos from my summer on Catalina very soon!

Trans-Catalina Trail

2009-06-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

The newly completed 37.2-mile-long "Trans-Catalina Trail" is an excellent way to spend some time this summer. It can be completed in about 3-4 days, but to take the trail you must first pick up a hiking permit at the Conservancy House in Avalon.

The campsites along the trail include Black Jack Campground, Little Harbor Campground, Two Harbors Campground, and Parsons Landing.

Final Hours

2009-06-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

Well I'm down to the last few days before I leave Monday for Catalina. I went on my last hike yesterday with the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, in Baker Canyon. I didn't bring my camera because it's already packed away safely for the island. Of course, whenever you don't bring a camera, you see all the coolest things.

We started off the hike with beetles galore, trying not to step on them as we made our way up the hillside. Then, after pausing to enjoy the view of Red Rocks, we almost walked right past a tarantula on the trail. Everyone took out their cameras while I gazed sadly on. She was passive, but probably very freaked out about the giants crouching around her.

There was a surprising number of wildflowers still out, including a gorgeous little meadow of Plummer's Mariposa Lillies.

As we continued on, butterflies were swarming the trail, and they weren't a species I recognized. They were about the size of a buckeye, with eyespots on the wing, but they were a very dark, sooty gray color.

Lastly, as we neared the end of our hike, I stepped right over a gopher snake lying in the trail. After everyone got a look at it, we urged it back into the bushes off the trail. All excellent opportunities for photos I didn't get :/

I can't believe by Monday I'll be living on Catalina!

Richard Crossley's Wild in the City

2009-06-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

Look for me between 35 seconds and 60 seconds! Hope the show gets picked up, it's definitely got potential to be interesting.

Once you check it out, take the survey about the demo here to help them develop the show.

Bald Eagles and Bison

2009-06-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

There are about two dozen Bald Eagles on Catalina. The eagles lived on the island, until the 1970's, when a harmful pesticide called DDT wiped them out, and affected many other birds of prey throughout California. DDT increased as it made it's way up through the food chain, weakening the shells of eggs, which caused them to break under their mother as she tried to incubate them. When DDT was banned, the Eagles were reintroduced, and have been recovering their original range slowly. There is a live webcam set up by the Institute for Wildlife Study. It can be accessed by clicking HERE, and clicking on the Eagle photo which says 'Interactive'. Ridiculously cool.

From the Catalina Island Conservancy's website: "The bison were introduced to Catalina. Fourteen head were brought to the Island in the 1920s for the making of a film. Over the last 85 plus years of residence on the Island, bison have become an expected feature, almost iconic, to the Island traveler. A number of tours, literature and attractions feature the bison, which have become rather famous. In 2003, the Conservancy commissioned a scientific study of the bison and their impact on the Island. According to the study, the bison suffer from a poor diet due to frequent drought conditions and a history of overgrazing by other non-native herbivores.

The study also found that the animals are significantly smaller than mainland bison, and appear in relatively poor nutritional condition.The study additionally concluded that while a large, unrestricted herd of bison can be detrimental to some of the more fragile native habitats, a small herd (between 150 and 200 animals) restricted to certain areas of the Island could be sustained without causing undue stress to native plant communities. The Conservancy is sensitive to the wants and needs of the resident community, and has adopted this strategy. The Conservancy is committed to maintaining a herd of between 150 and 200 animals, the number determined through a scientific study to be optimum for keeping both the herd and the Island ecosystem healthy."

Catalina Island Fox

2009-06-02T10:13:00.001-07:00

I leave for Catalina in 13 days, so over that time I'll be posting information about the island up to prepare. I figure if I have to learn as much as I can about the island and it's ecology, why not share? ;)

Let's start with the Catalina Island Fox. The information I'm posting came from the Catalina Island Conservancy's website. The Island Fox has been on the island for around 4,000 years. There are differing theories as to how they came to be on the island, including making their way across during storms by drifting over, or being brought by the natives that inhabited the islands. They descended from the grey fox, and can be found on 6 of the 8 Channel Islands.

The sub-species found on Catalina is the Santa Catalina Island Fox - Urocyon littoralis catalinae. They run about 4-5 pounds, and are solitary animals with the exception of January through March, when they breed. They usually produce 2-3 kits per litter.

The foxes are omnivores, and the island's largest predator. They'll eat eggs, berries, lizards, mice, insects, and even cactus. They are crepuscular, meaning they are active mainly at dawn and dusk.

In 1999 a particularly virulent form of canine distemper came to the island via domesticated dogs. This ravaged the fox population on the east end of the island. Only 20-25 individuals remained. The far more remote west end was spared and efforts were undertaken to vaccinate all of the west end population, and begin captive breeding and transfers to try and revitalize the eastern population. The species is eligible for being listed as a federally endangered species, and as such, it is imperative that people do not feed these animals, or try to keep them as pets. Often when fed the animals come up to roads, causing a potential for car strikes.

Non-Native Species on Santa Catalina Island

2009-06-02T09:52:00.001-07:00

As important as the endemic species are the non-natives. While endemic species, found only on the island need protecting. The non-natives need management and removal. These species often have profound negative impacts on the delicate island ecosystem. Out-competing natives, causing erosion, and desertification of native habitat. Here's a list from the conservancy of the non-native species present on the island:

American Bison
Black Buck
European Starling
Feral Cat
Feral Goat
Feral Pig
Mule Deer
Norwegian Rats
Bullfrog

Catalina Endemics

2009-06-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

There are 22 endemic species and sub-species on Catalina Island. Endemic means that those species or sub-species are found nowhere else on the earth except there. Certain species are endemic to the Channel Islands, and others to Catalina specifically. The Avalon Hairstreak is the only full species butterfly endemic to Catalina. The Catalina Orangetip is an endemic sub-species found only on Catalina Island. I love hairstreaks and orange-tips so I'm definitely looking forward to chasing these two down for a photo.The Bewick's Wren, the California Quail and the Hutton's Vireo are all Catalina endemic sub-species.The Island Loggerhead Shrike, the Orange-crowned Warbler, the Allen's Hummingbird, the House Finch, Horned Lark, and the Spotted Towhee are all Channel Island endemic sub-species. I've seen the Orange-crowned warbler and the Allen's Hummingbird as well as the Santa Cruz Island Scrub Jay on Santa Cruz Island, years ago. It will be neat to see them again on Catalina.

Monterey Bay Birding Festival

2009-06-02T09:21:00.001-07:00

This fall there will be an awesome opportunity to get some birding in the Monterey, CA area. The Monterey Bay Birding Festival will take place in September: the 24th-27th, and should be amazing. Monterey is home to some fabulous views, awesome birding, and excellent birders. Check it out!

Article Link

2009-05-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the article I wrote about the Fremont Canyon hike I did last week in our school paper at UCI, The New University.

Happy Memorial Day

2009-05-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

I found this entry from a journal I kept in 2005, the first time I did the memorial weekend circuit in the desert with the boys:

"Hey guys. Just got back from a long ass hardcore birding trip in the desert with all my boys. It was kickass. We saw about 100 species of birds there, +150 something for the entire weekend. (including a day of birding here when they dropped me back home) More Im sure if I counted it. Got about 13 lifers including incredible looks at a long-eared owl in broad daylight. Also, I held a baby Kangaroo Rat!! so adorable. pictures to come...It wasn't as hot as it could have been, hovered around 95-100 degrees, because there was a strooooong wind blowing most of the time we were there. Salt and dust in your eyes constantly. ew.

We went all over the Mojave, Kern, Inyokern and Death Valley area. Great birding overall, even if the first few days were woefully slow. Ran into a lot of birders doing variations of the same route we were. Apparently desert birding is a Memorial weekend must. lol.We camped each night in the cars or on cots next to the cars, then birded alllll day, stopping sporadically to eat, get gas, or pee. (not as often as my bladder or stomach would have liked I might add...) It was fun and exhausting.

Even though I got home last night, I birded with them this morning and I plan to sleep the rest of the day so I can go to school tomorrow... hope Im not toooo far behind in all my classes now. ugh.I love my boys. Ryan, Mattie (Matt), Oscar, Dave, Austin and his dad. Others came and went, Ryan's parents, who I adore. Also the Howes, Tom and Leiga, and a man named Mike, and quite a few others who we met at various spots, birded with, then parted ways. Good times, good people, good beer, good birds. What more is there to life? =)"

This year I'm grilling with my parents and beginning the long and depressing task of packing up my apartment because I graduate and move out in a little over two weeks. I have tons of stuff to sort through and decide what stays in CA, what comes to Vermont, and what I need for my summer on Catalina.

Hike to Tecate Cypress Forest in Fremont Cyn

2009-05-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

This morning I went on a 10.5 mile hike with the Irvine Ranch Conservancy to the Tecate Cypress forest in Fremont Canyon. We began at the staging area at 7:30am, and the first few miles were uphill! After finally getting into our stride we came to the abandoned coal mine. The coal there was poor quality, so the mining was abandoned, but it's a pretty cool example of a strip mine.Coal layer with sandstone above it
We continued on to the Fremont Weather Station, where some of the strongest winds in Orange County are routinely recorded. Evelyn and I were thrilled to spot some black-chinned sparrows up and about on the hillside, definitely a year bird for me. We then descended down into a little valley for a bit before heading back upwards toward the Tecate grove. As we neared the Tecate grove and the half-way point of our hike we were finding plenty of wildflowers including bedstraw, mariposa lilies, CA poppies, and a few lingering lupins.Coast Spiny Lizard!

The Tecate cypress suffered huge casualties in the 2007 fires. There were a few remaining plants, but the population was greatly reduced from their pre-fire numbers. Tecate cypress are very rare, and only grow three places in the world, this stand in Orange County, the Otay Mountains, and Tecate, Mexico.ID help?
I'm thinking GRRO tracks?

We finished our hike around 12:30pm, and not a moment too soon as the heat began to really make it's presence noticed. It was a wonderful hike, and I got to see some very cool critters, all in all, a great day.

IRC Round Canyon Hike

2009-05-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

This morning I went on a hike with the Irvine Ranch Conservancy in Round Canyon, off of Portola. The hike was geared toward bird-watching, my specialty ;) Lois Taylor is a wonderful plant guide, and while the group was birding, I was quizzing Lois every few feet: "what's that one? Ohh, what's this?"

Wine Cups

Our plant list included Mustard or evening primrose, star thistle, tarweed, bedstraw, Parry's phacelia, morningglory or bindweed, stinking gourd, an aster which wasn't cud leaf, CA figwort, wine cups, splendid mariposa lily, cliff aster, miniature lupin, stream monkeyflower, telegraph weed, CA goldenbush, elderberry, coast live oak, western sycamore, laurel sumac, black mustard, bull thistle, coastal sagebrush.

Acmon Blue

Good birds included great looks at Bullock's oriole, ash-throated flycatcher, lazuli buntings, blue-gray gnatcatcher, and a beautiful singing, Bell's vireo. Also of note was a gopher snake, very cold, moving slow across the trail. Fun!

Whispering Bells

Parry's Phacelia

Aster I don't know, not cut-leaf

Cliff Aster

Hairstreak on Deerweed - maybe Grey?

Endangered Species Day

2009-05-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Endangered Species Day. Take today to do something that will benefit the preservation of endangered species, plant some natives, do a restoration project, or find a celebration going on in your area!

Update and Countdown

2009-05-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

I'm in my last 35 days at UCI, hence the lack of real birding. Here's a link to the article I wrote about the most common species on the UCI campus.

I can't believe I will be graduating in a little over a month, then heading immediately to Catalina Island where I will work as a naturalist. Then in three short months, I'll be Vermont-bound!

Birdathon 2009

2009-04-26T12:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Birdathon - a 24 hour birding competition to see the highest number of species from midnight to midnight. My team consisted of myself, Vic Leipzig and Neil Gilbert. We birded all over Orange county for an 18 hour period. Beginning at 3:30am we picked up Neil and headed into Silverado Canyon for owls. I knew it would be a good day when our first bird of the competition was a Spotted Owl - a life bird for me! The owl called beautifully for us, and we continued up the canyon in search of owls. As we headed up the canyon we ticked off long-eared owl, great-horned owl, and common poorwill.

An exciting find of the day while we were trying for sawhet owl was a singing purple finch - a county bird for me. Dawn was showing its colors and we needed to get down to the coast, so we began our descent back down the canyon. Stopping at a pull-out we got out to try sawhet again, and got a green-tailed towhee calling from the bush in front of our feet, another county bird for Leigh. Dawn chorus was getting going as we were leaving the canyon, and we ticked off a few warblers and passerines like ash-throated flycatcher.

We headed to the coast to hit our usual spots in search of pelagics, and other coastal specialties. We did well, only striking out on a few expected species, some of which we would have opportunities for again later in the day. We ran into Bruce Aird, who was heading a rival (hehe) team, who we hopscotched along the next three spots up Laguna Canyon.

The theme of the day seemed to be that we were picking up less common species, at the expense of "sure things". An American redstart at Mason Park was a good find, yet we had no white-crowned sparrows, a winter migrant we were hoping would still be around. All along the weather was nice, cooler and a bit overcast in the morning - good for birding, then sunny but cool. Unfortunately, as we headed into the afternoon, the wind began picking up, and by the time we made it to Huntington Central Park, which is a migrant trap where we'd expect songbirds and other specialties, things had gone dead silent.

We spent the last few hours of daylight getting coastal shorebirds and terns at Bolsa Chica, where we saw yet another Birdathon team. A sweep through Upper Newport Bay, which we had skipped in the morning, provided us the usual rails and a few things we'd missed elsewhere. A few grabs in Irvine, and we headed back inland for a second stab at the crepuscular and nocturnal species before we called it a night.

It was an excellent day of birding, and I enjoyed getting to bird with Neil Gilbert, a transplant in Orange County who has a blog where he will undoubtedly post his version of events. I didn't take my camera out the entire day, too busy birding and driving, so sorry this is a photo-less post. Next year, I may be doing Birdathon in Vermont unless I can find the time to sneak back to the OC ;)

Birding @ UCI

2009-04-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in Aldrich Park at the center of UCI's campus right now. It's sunny, breezy and lovely out, currently 90 degrees. I am hearing lesser goldfinches, the buzz of a selasphorous hummingbird (Rufous or Allen's). House wrens, house finches, and orange-crowned warblers are also calling from the trees above. Western bluebirds have been flying down from the sycamore branch above me to pick insects off the other benches and the ground. Song sparrows call from the bushes next to me. A Nuttall's woodpecker just called from the eucalyptus grove behind me. It's such a remarkably beautiful day, that it makes me wonder why on earth am I graduating and leaving this gorgeous campus in just 55 short days??!

Sunset Photography Workshop

2009-04-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

I went on a photography sunset hike today in Bommer Canyon to get a few tips on good sunset photographs from a professional, Andre Torng, who leads hikes for the Irvine Ranch Conservancy.

Huntington Beach Bird Saturation Survey

2009-04-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

Today I helped out with a saturation survey of Belding's Savannah Sparrows at the Huntington marshes. My partner and I had a portion of Brookhurst Marsh. It wasn't a particularly birdy day, and we had members of the public trying to get in to fish and walk around in the protected area we were surveying. A contractor working on the restoration brought his dog in off the leash, which is a huge no-no in an area where an endangered subspecies like the Belding's SAVSPs are nesting, for cryin' out out! Besides the sparrows, our best birds were two semi-palmated plovers - one looked like a juv.
Anna's Hummingbird
Streeetch!

Two Year Anniversary!

2009-04-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

Today is the 2 year anniversary of my blog! I can't believe it's been two years since I started posting =)

Limestone Loop Hike to Dripping Springs

2009-04-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

Today I hiked about 6 miles in Limestone Canyon. Nice overcast cool day - perfect for slightly longer distances since you don't overheat as easily. Great day for wildflowers, we had a good variety, despite striking out on my favorite flower, the CA poppy.

Lupins

Chapparal Yucca

Popcorn Flower

I.D.?

Dripping Springs

Common Checkered Skipper

Summer Job

2009-04-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hey all, I know it's been quiet around here - classes started again at UCI, it's my final quarter at UC Irvine. I graduate in June, scary I know. This summer I will be working on Catalina Island as a Summer Naturalist with the Catalina Island Conservancy. I'm looking forward to the change of scenery, endemic flora and fauna, and doing what I love - leading nature programs.In the next few weeks I'm signed up to help with a few hikes with the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, and then there's Birdathon at the end of the month, so hopefully I'll be posting more frequently soon.

Vermont Law School

2009-03-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

I've decided to accept the scholarship to study at Vermont Law School for my Masters of Environmental Law and Policy. It came down to fit, both financially, and lifestyle wise. I was absolutely thrilled to be accepted to NYU, but they offered me no merit scholarships, and in this economic time, that matters. Cost of living was a huge factor.

Secondly, I felt I would feel more comfortable living in Vermont than the Big Apple. I'm still within weekend visiting distance, which is great, but ultimately I felt the noise and hustle of the city would be overwhelming to live in. I like to go birding, and quilt, and read avidly - often in bed before 10pm - not exactly the closest fit for city living ;)

Third, it was the small versus large school debate. UCI is a large school, and my experience here has been wonderful, but when it came down to it, VLS just was so much more helpful and responsive to every email and question I had, whereas NYU never once responded to any communication I sent - I have to chalk that up to the difference between a large and small institution, but I want to be at the one that took care of my questions quickly and thoroughly.

Lastly, I'm considering continuing on to law school after the masters is completed, and perhaps at that point I'll re-apply to NYU since a J.D. should be from the top institution you are accepted to. Perhaps then they'll offer me some financial incentive as well...

Night Hike in Agua Chinon

2009-03-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I went on a 6 mile night hike up Agua Chinon to the Sinks and Bolero Springs. We began at 6:30pm. I played some tapes of great-horned owl, barn, and western-screech for the participants so they could get a sense for what we would listen for. We began slowly because there were so many great plants and wildflowers to talk about growing near the head of the trail. Continuing up we discussed ticks, the calling towhees, then our first nocturnal bird call - common poorwill. The "poor-WILL" repeated until everyone had heard it, then a booming call from the same direction. Great-horned owl! The GHOW called a few more times then flew silently overhead and landed silhouetted against the hillside in the fading light. We could even pick out ear tufts!

Moments later our first mammal of the night, a small bat, flew overhead. We talked about echo-location and discussed the species possibilities. We continued up the trail. About the time we stopped to check out the first satellite flying overhead, it was time for the first "bush bathroom" stops as well. Satellite spotted and needs relieved, we continued up the trail. Another owl flew overhead, smaller than the first, but still probably a great-horned due to it's size.

As we stood there a large bat flew over, noticeably different than the first one, this was most likely a big brown bat, very cool. The dusk was quickly deepening and we discussed flashlight use as it became harder to see. Venus was visible by this point, and we began picking out familiar constellations like Orion.

As we hiked onward the moon began to become visible, at first just as a glow over the hillside, then a sliver, then it rose and it was so bright and full it cast long shadows out behind us! It was as if someone had flicked on a spotlight, I was glad for my baseball cap to shield my eyes.

We hiked upward, gaining our first view of the sinks, which have been dubbed the "Grand Canyon of Orange County". We headed up to the water trough that has been a frequent stop for local wildlife including the resident mountain lions, bobcats, and even a golden eagle. The chorus of frogs stopped suddenly as we approached, and we discussed the branches sticking out of the water and how we placed them there to allow smaller mammals and rodents to drink safely.

A few of the hikers walked to the edge of the sinks to look down, us sensible (read: afraid of heights) people stayed away from the edge ;) We watched the Hubble as it moved across the sky then blinked into a shadow and disappeared.

Then we headed toward Bolero Springs. This little oak grove held many more frogs, and we ate some snacks and enjoyed the tree cover. We discussed the acorn woodpecker caches we couldn't see but knew were there.

It was time to head back, and we were halfway through the program. The hike back down was much faster, and we stopped a few times to listen for wildlife, which paid off when our second owl of the night, a western screech owl, called from a distant oak tree.

We made it back to the parking lot around 10:45pm and everyone quickly said their goodbyes and jumped into cars to warm up and head home. It was a great night hike, full of good wildlife and plenty of exercise, and I fully recommend it in the future.

Birds of the Irvine Ranch: Mountains to the Sea Driving/Hiking Tour

2009-03-07T20:29:00.001-08:00

Today was awesome. We birded the Irvine Ranch Conservancy Lands, from Baker Canyon, along Hick's Haul Rd. through Limestone Canyon, and out Hangman's Tree. The weather was fantastic, sunny with puffy white clouds, but with a cool breeze to keep us from cooking on the ridge lines. We had a spread of abilities on the trip, but the interest level was equal across the board, everyone was so happy to be out birding. We started the day off right in Baker Canyon with a Red-tailed Hawk being mobbed by a pair of American Kestrels. We racked up some great species for the brand-new birders, including Oak Titmouse, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Acorn Woodpecker. We headed up along Hick's Haul Rd. where we saw Osprey flying from Irvine Lake, Cassin's Kingbird, and dozens of swallows in a mixed flock of Cliff and Tree. From there we headed over the bridge that crosses Santiago Cyn Rd, and started to get some serious wildflowers, including CA poppies, lupins, telegraph weed, and wild hyacinth or blue dicks.
We continued birding and even stopped for a quick herp - a life species for me, the coast spiny lizard. Hope my photos turned out, I have a backlog of pics to sort through and post from last weekend too! We carried a few harvester ants into the car with us as we continued upwards. On the ridge we stopped for views and saw some Sara Orangetips, Ladies, Cabbage Whites, Western Tiger-swallowtails, and sulphur species. Butterflies are coming out!
The best bird of the day for me was a "porno view" (as my friend Torcuil would say) of a Grasshopper Sparrow. This normally sulky species was perfectly visible low in the mustard on the side of the trail. Unfortunately only our car saw it, but darn did we get a good look! Continuing on the sparrow trend, we caught Song, Savannah, White-crowned and Golden-crowned. A good sparrow day!
We dropped down to Bolero Springs where we had a picnic under the oaks. A Hutton's Vireo called persistently, as did chorus frogs. A flicker called "clear clear" as we munched. Then it was onward, and Dark-eyed Juncos wandered alongside the cars, as we exited the area. Chaparral Pea, a pretty little plant was growing alongside the trail in droves - perhaps it's a fire-follower species?
We exited through a river/creek crossing, and headed back along Santiago Cyn Rd to the staging area where we'd left our cars. It was a beautiful day and everyone felt relaxed and happy. Birding is like a drug for me, with finals and mock trial nationals coming up, I couldn't have asked for a better day to really take the stress right out of me!

Hike in Orchard Hills

2009-03-02T10:43:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I went on a naturalist-only hike in Orchard Hills. A new set of trails operated by the Irvine Ranch Conservancy on Irvine Company land. The trails wind through avocado groves, owned and operated by the Irvine Co. Unfortunately, it's illegal to take any =/ too bad, I looove avocado.

The trails are not open to the public yet, except through IRC hikes, but will eventually be dawn to dusk trails. At the moment the trails are like an obstacle course, trying to figure out which side of the fences to be on at each point (part of the reason it isn't open to the public yet, too confusing!)

There were plenty of wildflowers, blue bells, California poppies, mallows, popcorn flower, two species of lupins, one was likely miniature lupin, the other I'd never seen before, non-natives included filigree or storksbill, and clovers. Plants along the trail included non-native Eucalyptus, also natives like laurel sumac, prickly pear cactus.

Wildflower Hike

2009-02-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

The hike this Sunday was great. We hiked 8 miles in Limestone Canyon and along Loma Ridge. The day was overcast so it was cool out. We began by hiking up to the ridge then walked along it until we dropped down into Limestone canyon which we followed until we returned to the parking lot. We saw popcorn flower, Johnny jump-ups, California poppies, fiddle-neck, possibly chapparal pea, and some unidentified but beautiful and fragrant pale purple flowers. We saw non-natives like filigree (also called storksbill).

Wooly Indian Paintbrush

The birds of the day included turkey vultures overhead, a red-tail coming remarkably close on the ridgeline, bushtits, northern flickers, Nuttall's woodpeckers, and oak titmice. I also heard orange-crowned warblers, yellow-rumped warblers, and house finches calling.

I was concerned it would rain, but the entire hike was cool, cloudy, and dry, nice hiking weather. We walked comfortably, and a small group broke off to check out the Sinks, which I had seen the previous day. It was a great hike, and I truly recommend it, I know if it's offered again, I'll be signed up!

California Poppy

Geology Hike to the Sinks

2009-02-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went on a hike to the Sinks in Limestone Canyon. The sinks are a geologic feature where the land has dropped down creating sheer cliff faces. The hike lasted 5 miles and 4 hours and included birds - cactus wrens, olive-sided flycatchers, lesser goldfinches, red-tailed hawks, ect. Included insects like - cabbage whites, ladies, Sara orange-tips, and ladybird beetles. Included flowers and plants like - miniature lupins, fiddle-necks, California poppies, chaparral pea, whorehound, wild cucumber, and gooseberry.

The Sinks

Often called the "Grand Canyon of Orange County"

The sinks from the back

We began the hike with a stream crossing, and returned along a ridge route. The weather was overcast but humid, and by the end of the hike I was certainly wishing I'd brought a bottle of water - silly me, you'd think I'd never hiked before. Today I'm supposed to go on a wildflower hike along Loma Ridge, but the weather seems a bit on the rainy-threatening side, so we'll see how today goes =)

Miner's Lettuce

Chapparal pea against a tree trunk

Bobcat tracks

Native Plant Gardening

2009-02-18T16:21:00.000-08:00

When I own my own home, I will have a lovely native plant garden.