Travels of a Certified California Naturalist
I got up around 5:30 and headed over to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve. The sun was just coming up as I got there. When I first started walking the trail, I could hear Wild Turkeys in the trees around me, so I looked for them. They were waaaaaaaaay the heck up in the trees, […]
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I was out the door with Sergeant Margie by about 4:00 am, and drove out to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge by way of the gas station and Jack’s. I got to the refuge just as the sun was coming up, and as I got out of the car Great Blue Herons lurched out from […]
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It was great to see my article on Bullfrogs show up online through the Lake County Record Bee newspaper. CLICK HERE to read it.
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I attended the 4-H Sparks Fair at the University of California, Davis campus with my Tuleyome coworker Bill Grabert. Since Bill knew the campus better than I did, we went to the fair in his car. Before heading out, we stopped by a rose bush in his front yard to check out the circles cut […]
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After I worked a bit from home, I headed over to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve for a walk. Most of the photos I got were of mule deer, bullfrogs and their tadpoles, and some blue Pondhawk dragonflies. I was fascinated by the tadpoles – some of which were just starting to get their legs. […]
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It was supposed to get over 100º today, but I wanted to get over to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge to test out my new camera there so… I got up at 4:00 am. Yeah, I know. Four-fricking-A.M. It eventually made it to 102º… I took the dog with me and we got to the […]
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I was able to see several deer, including a pair that were foraging along the banks of the river. There were also a lot of Red-Shouldered Hawks flying around: parents teaching their kids how to hunt. And I also came across a mama California Ground Squirrel who gave out a sharp alarm call when I […]
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On my way to work this morning, traffic was moving slowly along I5, so I got off on County Road 22 near the city of Woodland to follow that toward the office. I had to stop along the way to get photos of the wild sunflowers and Buttonbush plants… and got some extra shots of […]
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I got up at 5:00 again this morning, It was about 10º cooler outside this morning than it was yesterday at the same time, so maybe we’ll get a little relief today… I headed out about 5:30 am to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve. I knew that this time of year a lot of the […]
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Around 5:30 this morning, I headed out to the William Land Park to try to get a walk in before it got too warm outside… but it was almost too late to avoid the heat. When I got into the car the outside temperature was already at 77º! There was also a little bit of […]
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It was great to see my article on American Bitterns published in a local newspaper today! You can read it at: http://www.dailydemocrat.com/environment-and-nature/20170703/the-american-bitterns-booming-pumper-lunk-call
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I’ve seen a lot of Cottontail rabbits with the tips of their ears missing and wondered what cause that. Are predators trying to snatch the rabbits and rip their ears instead? Are the rabbits chewing on them because they’re mite-ridden or something? Is it a kind of birth defect? All of them are possibilities, but […]
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