AnimalBytes

Fungus Among Us - Amphibians and the Global Chytrid Fungus Crisis

2012-01-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

Why are frog, toad and salamander populations declining worldwide? What is the Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungus and why is it a threat to local amphibian populations?

7:30 PM Thursday, February 2

I'll be presenting:

Fungus Among Us:

Amphibians and the Global Chytrid Fungus Crisis

Around the amphibians are facing unprecedented rates of extinction and one of the reasons is a fungus. Southern Californians move through a variety of wildlife habitats and areas. You can play an important role in protecting endangered amphibians by being aware of the chytrid fungus. I'll debunk the myths and misconceptions about chytrid fungus and provide specific suggestions on how we can all help save the frogs, toads and salamanders that are facing threats from this fungus throughout Southern California.

I'll be speaking at the monthly meeting of the Del Air Rockhounds at:
Northridge United Methodist Church
9650 Reseda Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324
Guests Are Always Welcome At Their Meetings & Events

Go Outside Today

2012-01-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

I write about the natural world because it is the source of my sanity. We all have our frustrations, whether with work, family or just our interactions with other humans. Take 10 minutes outside today - walk, weed or just sit and watch. Let yourself be part of something bigger than your immediate life.

Lost and Found

among chirps and flashes of white tail feathers
among flashing black eyes and yellow beaks silhouetted in the sun

between faint gurgle of fountain and flutter of delicate bathers
between chatter of kinglets and purr of goldfinches

beneath red-tailed hawk and circling turkey vultures headed north
beneath dark raven duo frolicking on a playground of blue

beside a whirl of magenta-dipped male house finches and
beside the quiet reserve of a wren slipping in to pluck a worm

among quiet life, calmly focused on this moment of this day
I find patience and peace
and lose anger and frustration

Keri Dearborn, January 30, 2012

Look At the "Wonderful World"

2012-01-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

At long last it is raining. But it does mean that going out into the world today is more difficult.

If rain or snow, work or obligations have you trapped indoors today, take a beautiful walk out into the wonderful world with David Attenborough and the photographers of BBC One.

Follow the link to the short video: http://www.wimp.com/wonderfulworld/

It will make you think again about what is beautiful and valuable.

Spielberg’s version of "War Horse" Fails

2012-01-16T13:58:00.000-08:00

I found tears rolling down my cheek during this movie, not because of the sentimentality forced into its every minute by director Steven Spielberg, but because Spielberg misses the point of Michael Morpurgo’s book War Horse.

Yes, both stories thematically demonstrate how war victimizes innocents, human and animal. But the original book is Joey’s story–the horse’s point of view. Here, Spielberg uses the horse as a prop passed between owners like the musical instrument in The Red Violin. He leans heavily on classic film images to the point of making them cliché–the goose that acts out the mother’s desires as in director William Wyler’s 1956 anti-war movie Friendly Persuasion and the picturesque angles of the family farm straight out of John Ford’s classic How Green Was My Valley and The Quiet Man.

Without the horses, Spielberg is saying nothing new. Ironically, the great director doesn’t seem to truly understand that. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Spielberg admits:

“The horses were amazing. Joey had a sense of what was happening in the scene. Joey added things, as the cameras were rolling, that none of us ever asked for, that brought a performance to [the audience] that we didn’t expect when we made the movie.”

Yet, he has specifically chosen not to credit the equine actors that provide the film with its greatest depth. Even the humans that worked with the horses are relegated to “Other Crew” at the end of the credits. Spielberg is mirroring the militaries of the Great War, he is using these animals for his benefit and not distinguishing them for their participation. Is he afraid that knowing these are equine performers will destroy the “movie magic”? Movie goers aren’t fools, we won’t be crushed to know that the part of Joey was filled by 14 different horses or that the big black horse Topthorn was portrayed by a company of four.

These horses aren’t just four-legged extensions of the humans in the story and they didn’t just happen to be brought in as farm-stock extras. Each horse was specifically cast and trained, and one of the equine actors did portray Joey more often than others. According to the movie’s horse master Bobby Lovgren, a horse named Finder was instrumental in many of those scenes that made movie-goers turn misty eyed. Lovgren worked with this horse and purchased it after its participation in the film Seabiscuit. (for more on the horses in the movie )

So what’s happened here that the caterers are credited and the horses aren’t? Roy Rogers’ credited Trigger? How many of the horses that participated in the film were sold off like used props as the war horses were at the end of WWI?

And here is my biggest problem with Spielberg’s attempt at this story. Morpurgo’s tale is about the unrecognized innocents that were forced to participate in human conflict. Spielberg uses the horses as symbols of human innocents, not as actual representatives of the other living creatures that are drawn into human-created catastrophe. Scholars estimate that 8.5 million soldiers died on all sides during World War I. When Morpurgo researched his book, the Imperial War Museum supplied the number of an estimated 8 million horses that died in the war as well.

Why didn’t that appear on the screen at the end of this movie?

In London’s Hyde Park a memorial for Animals in War was dedicated in 2004. Bronze statues of a horse, a dog and two mules make their way through a wall depicting animals of all species from elephants to glow worms that were drawn into human wars in the 20th century. And here are the words that speak so much and were left out of this film...

“...They had no choice.”

One of the first such memorials appeared in France following WWI near the location of the Battle of the Somme. Here a memorial was placed on a wall in the town of Couin for the horses and mules, dogs, carrier pigeons and canaries that gave their lives.

“To the innumerable God’s humble who suffered and perished in the last wars. With love, faith, and loyalty, they endured much and died for us. May all remember them with gratitude and in the future commemorate their suffering and death by showing kindness to living animals.”

This is the take away mime that is desperately needed from this film. Not for people to cry and say how sad it was then, but to honor the sacrifice of these creatures with compassionate actions now. More animals are misused in this country today than ever before, from illicit fighting to throw away pets. But that is not where Spielberg went. He chose instead to focus back to the people. But if you can not show compassion and sympathy for the horse, then eventually there will be some human who is “less human” than you are, someone “more animal” than you and therefore who’s life is worth less than yours.

Memorials for animals in war and compassion for their sacrifice are appearing in many other countries around the world. Spielberg’s film War Horse could have moved people toward that thought in the U.S. as well, instead he chose to turn his movie toward a father and son both damaged by war and able to come to a silent understanding. Enough of the silent understanding! It’s time for loud voices speaking out for the value of all living creatures and the necessity of a healthy planet for us all to live on.

Do Birds Mourn?

2012-01-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

Do birds mourn? Do other species have complex family relationships that we don't recognize because we don't take time to observe? Yesterday at dusk, a band-tailed pigeon sat at the feeder trying to eat. It struggled to move the food from it's crop (a kind of holding pouch in the throat) down into its stomach. It's feathers were slightly fluffed up, a definite sign in warm weather that a bird is not feeling its best.

I had seen this bird the day before. Band-tailed pigeons are the largest birds that come to my feeder. They stand about 10 inches tall and are heavy bodied like the imported rock pigeons you might see in a parking lot. But the band-tailed pigeon is a native Californian and historically flocks of them thrived on acorns in our oak woodlands. Diminished numbers of old-growth oaks have meant fewer of these beautiful gray birds with iridescent green at the back of their neck and a whitish band across the tail. For the past seven years these birds have been regulars at my feeder. They first appeared in 2004, but by 2005 we were seeing them year-round.

On Saturday, I noticed that this band-tail came to the yard alone, (unusual because they typically are in family groups), and it seemed punch-drunk, unstable, like it had just survived a predator attack - most likely from a Cooper's hawk. A few of its feathers were askew. It sat quietly perched in a tree trying to compose itself. Later it was gone.

The Cooper's hawks have been hunting our neighborhood intensely for about a month and the band-tailed pigeons have actually become weekly visitors rather than daily. When they come they eat, drink and move on. They don't dally.

Last night when I watched the injured band-tail trying to swallow, my hope that it had survived the massive impact that a hawk attack can deliver began to dwindle. I've seen this before, a bird that escapes a predator attack may suffer internal injuries that are fatal. Cooper's hawk attacks band-tailed pigeon.

As night fell the injured band-tailed pigeon bedded down about five feet off the ground in a small lavatera shrub, unusual for a bird that typically roosts overnight in a large tree 40 feet or higher.

Sometime in the early morning the band-tailed pigeon died. I found its quiet body at the base of the bush. As I gently picked it up and grabbed a shovel to bury it on the hillside, I realized I was being watched. Four adult band-tailed pigeon perched in the large pine tree next door. Were they waiting for their injured family member to emerge from its evening roost? Had they spent the night here, watching over their injured companion?

I held the silent gray form up for them to see before I buried it in the earth. Eight eyes followed my movements. They remained silently perched. I refilled the feeders, but they did not come down to eat. They do not appear to be here for food. Do they understand that this bird has died? Do they mourn the loss of a family member? I have seen one band-tail risk its life to alert another of a predator. What really goes on in their family relationships?

Too often we paint ourselves as emotionally superior to other species and point out that humans have complex communications and relationships. But I have seen crows solicit help from ravens to drive off an owl - Mobbing an Owl. I've seen an Allen's hummingbird mother become distraught over a destroyed nest - Rescuing Hummingbird. I've watched a female Allen's hummingbird fend off another female trying to steal her nest and documented the soap opera interrelationships of a group of nesting females - Allen's Hummingbirds.

I don't know if the band-tailed pigeons are mourning the loss of one of their own this morning, but they are here for a reason. And the more I watch the creatures around me the more I am amazed and humbled by them.

A Watershed Gives Birth To Rivers

2011-12-23T18:35:00.000-08:00

Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

We think of streams and rivers as flowing bodies of water, but we tend to give little thought to where the the water comes from. For the Los Angeles River the water collects in rolling mountains high above the valley floor. But because our climate fluctuates between drought and flood, the water coming into the Los Angeles River is historically intermittent.

valley oak

I recently had the opportunity to explore the mountains and valleys of the Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve at the western end of the San Fernando Valley. These rolling hills with ancient oaks have been ranch land and also the testing grounds for all of the major rocket engines that have taken Americans into space.

Up until a few years ago this area was closed to the public and the land was in dispute between developers, conservation groups and activists concerned about toxins (nuclear and chemical) that had been left on the land. Unfortunately, technology often comes with a price and in this case toxins in and on the land are being cleaned up, but some of the waste is best left undisturbed. The positive side to that uncomfortable notion is that development plans were shelved and the land was purchased by the state to become parkland and a wildlife corridor.

white-crowned sparrow

The Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve offers beautiful vistas and an opportunity to stroll a more wild side of California. In December, small flocks of migratory meadowlarks forage in the tall grass while a harrier hawk flies ominously just over their heads. A coyote watched us from the rim of a hillside. While acorn woodpeckers were so busy stashing acorns in every nook of a twisted valley oak, that they didn't even notice they were being observed.

When the rains come and drops gather on this open area, tiny streamlets will flow in three different directions. Some will flow slightly north and down into the Simi Valley wash, some will head directly west toward Malibu Creek and the ocean, and some will flow down Bell Creek in Bell Canyon to become part of the Los Angeles River.

To reach the Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve drive west on Victory Blvd. until it dead ends. There is a nice gravel parking lot and a $3 fee helps to maintain this slice of open land. Walk the watershed are get a feeling for how important open land is for gather wildlife and water.

Is That A Bat or A Bird Flying Over the LA River?

2011-11-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

A lot of people are interested in the bats that we have in the Los Angeles area. Bats in LA. That's a good thing, because bats need friends. Bats provide a great service by eating tons of insects. But not everything you see with pointy wings flying at dawn or dusk is a bat.

I recently had a comment from a reader asking about groups of 20-30 bats flying over the Los Angeles River in the Burbank area early in the morning. An observant eye can frequently see nature attracted to the Los Angeles River as you make your slow commute on the Ventura Freeway. I've seen these wheeling silhouettes as well, but probably what this traveler saw were birds and not bats.

Bats typically return to their roosts before dawn. Seldom do you see our local bat species in a group unless it is right as they are emerging from their roosting location in the evening.

At specific times of the year when there are insect blooms along the river, you can see swallows or swifts in groups flying quickly over the river catching insects. These small birds can look similar to bats. Both have narrow wings that help them maneuver quickly so they can catch insects on the wing. Both are dark in silhouette and some swallows and swifts have minimal tails that may make them appear batlike.

But if you look closely you will see a difference. Bats typically have a faster wing beat and seldom glide. Swallows and swifts on the other hand will glide in between wing beats. These birds frequently are seen in flocks ranging from 10 to 1,000s of individuals. One evening along the banks of Utah Lake just south of Provo, we watched hundreds of thousands of swallows feeding on swarming insects just before a storm. I've never seen so many birds in one place in my life.

These two animals bats and swallows (or swifts) are filling a similar niche in the ecosystem; they are flying predators feeding on small flying insects. And they share the workload, bats at night and the birds during the day. Occasionally, when the insects are plentiful and the weather is just right the two shifts will cross and you may see the furry and the feathered creatures sharing the sky. Both are doing their best to reduce the numbers of mosquitoes along our river and around our neighborhoods. All they ask in return is habitat to roost and nest in and insects that haven't been poisoned. Birds and bats need you to be their friends.

Swallows and swifts you are most likely to see in the Los Angeles area:
white-throated swift, chimney swift,Vaux's swift, barn swallow, cliff swallow, northern rough-winged swallow, violet-green swallow and tree swallow

For more about these bird species check out Cornell University's About Birds website: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

11/11/11 Calabasas Creek Park

2011-11-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

Did you take a few minutes on 11/11/11 to go adventuring?

I’ve become fascinated by the Los Angeles River. I want to explore it from its trickle out of the mountains to its tumble into the sea. I think there is much to be discovered especially in relation to birdlife.

Yesterday morning we headed out to Calabasas Creek Park in old town Calabasas. It is a small bit of land tucked next to the Ventura Fwy just east of the Sagebrush Cantina. A hundred years or so ago, Calabasas Creek ran past Leonis Adobe and headed east to join with Bell Creek and Chatsworth Creek to form the headwaters of the Los Angeles River.

Forty years ago, Calabasas was a dusty half-block of old clapboard buildings and the creek was seasonal and forced into a cement drainage system. Today there seems to be a steady flow of water down the canyon. As long as that flow is a well-mannered creek, it is allowed to flow under the road and through Calabasas Creek Park.

A cement dam creates a gentle pond under wide-spreading ancient oaks and on this day the pond was dappled with mallards. The male mallards are just starting to take on their breeding plumage and they were looking quite smart. As we overlooked the pond we noticed two fascinating things.

Whenever the fox tree squirrels in the coast live oaks dropped an acorn into the pond, some of the mallards, mostly males, dashed to snatch it up. They were grabbing the inch-and-a-half long acorns and swallowing them down. It was amazing. I’d never heard of ducks eating acorns. And they weren’t all doing it. Some swam to the dropped fruit only to be disappointed and confused as to why others were eating these big hard things.
The second thing we noticed was the pattern of the ducks in the water. The spacing was amazingly regular. As we watched it became apparent that the male mallards were maintaining a minimum of 1.5 feet between themselves. A male that compromised that “personal space” was either chased away or was purposefully forcing other males to move. Females were allowed to swim in between the males without comment. This wasn’t just ducks floating on a pond, this was a very organized social gathering.

While the mallards commanded the pond and the creek flowing out of the park, overhead bushtits, oak titmice, yellow-rumped warblers and an unusual sight, a summer tanager moved through the trees. A downy woodpecker feasted on insects in an oak gall. While in the well-manicured front garden a western tanager and house finches bathed in the fountain. In all there were 11 species of birds, a western fence lizard, a huge orb spider, one gardener and us in the park.

Calabasas Creek Park offers easy access, manageable size and a quiet escape. Discover one of the watery fingers that reaches down to become the Los Angeles River.

Calabasas Creek Park is open 1 PM - 4 PM Wed. - Friday & Sunday, and 10 AM - 4 PM Saturday. For more information visit www.leonisadobemuseum.org

The Big Year - Movie Review

2011-11-07T15:43:00.000-08:00

A Big Yes for "The Big Year" with Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson. Finally a movie that offers intelligent humor with realistic characters and conflict. Three men with the goal to see the most bird species in North America during a calendar year. While it may seem crazy to some, it was a real contest of perseverance, character and skill. Yes, the facts have been aided to enhance the dramatic structure and this drama isn't giant transforming robots or explosive terrorist plots, its what most of us really can relate to: transforming moments in our lives and the plot twists in our personal relationships.

Personally I'm tired of outlandish comedies aimed at teens that are based on ridiculous hyperbole. It is a pleasure to travel along with these characters on an adventure that you can take with any member of your family and not be worried about the language or situations on the screen. Hopefully this film will stay on screens long enough for family holiday movie going.

I was out birding with some people this morning and everyone was eager to see this movie, but they couldn't find places where it was playing. This is a quiet movie that has the potential to build an audience, but only if the marketing people understand that not every film brings in its biggest box office in the first weeks.

There is more to "The Big Year" than birding. Everyone has a dream that is important to them that might be seem absurd to someone else. Maybe I'm biased because I am a birder and the notion of doing a Big Year seems like a holy grail, but even if you look beyond the birding quest, the characters in this movie are seeking personal fulfillment. They are trying to find something within themselves. Maybe we would all be better off if we stopped reaching for the bright and shiny things that got our economy into the mess it is in and started looking at our own internal goals. There is no big villain and no crazy slapstick in this film, instead there is wit, creative imagery, beautiful locations and wonderful characters played by a cast of experience actors that know what it is really like to be flawed humans all trying to find the best of themselves.

Plus it motivated me to go birding this morning. 54 species at Malibu Lagoon State Park!

Halloween and Haunting Stories

2011-10-31T17:16:00.000-07:00

Looking for something spooky? Check out the free download of the "Ghosts of the Internet" live broadcast from last night.

There are scary tales, original music and bits of haunting humor. I even wrote a new ghost story for this year.

The Trick is the Treat. Ghost of the Internet on itunes.

A Birding Jewel in Los Angeles

2011-10-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

The wonderful thing about birding is that you can do it anywhere. I saw my first green woodpecker on the lawn of a hotel just under the wingtips of planes landing at London Heathrow Airport and a Eurasian jay in the ruins of Troy, in Turkey.

But I identified my first white-crowned sparrow in my backyard in the suburbs of Los Angeles. You can travel all over the world looking for exotic bird species, but sometimes the places close to home can offer even greater diversity.

great blue heron

One of my favorite birding locations is in the middle of the suburban bustle of the San Fernando Valley. The Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge is a flood basin along the Los Angeles River. Formerly a sod farm, the low-lying area has been set aside by the Army Corps of Engineers to collect water in the years when we have unusual amounts of rain and the basin floods.

The sod farm is gone and now native scrub surrounds a pond and riparian habitat. The refuge has become an amazing location to see a wide variety of southern California's bird life and a major stopover for migrating birds. Recently on a Saturday morning in early October, I spotted 37 bird species during a short 2-hour walk. There were the locals: California and spotted towhees, lesser goldfinch, Anna's hummingbird and black phoebe. The pond provides feeding areas for five species of herons and egrets, and now a belted kingfisher pair. There was even a lone white-faced ibis hanging out with some mallards.

The travelers have begun to pass through and the wildlife area provides important refuge, food and water for migrating species. A beautiful adult male yellow warbler came within a few feet; close enough that I could see the red streaking on his breast without my binoculars. The first of the white-crowned sparrows were in the underbrush, while double-crested cormorants were sizing up the island for nesting and three species of grebe were patrolling the water.

Birds of prey are numerous here as well. I can't think of too many locations where in two hours time you can see an osprey, red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk and an American kestrel.

Sepulveda Basin never disappoints me. Whether it is the osprey diving for fish or a family of 22 bushtits making their way through the underbrush, there is always something to thrill and amaze. Take a Mini Birdwalk with video. This birding jewel in the middle of Los Angeles offers numerous bird species anytime of the year and provides easy access to some of California's unique species. Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge in Feb.

Oct. 8, 2011 Species List
mallard
domestic mallard
pied-billed grebe
eared grebe
western grebe
double-crested cormorant
great blue heron
great egret
snowy egret
green heron
black-crowned night heron
white-faced ibis
turkey vulture
osprey
red-shouldered hawk
red-tailed hawk
American kestrel
American coot
mourning dove
yellow-chevroned parakeet
Anna's hummingbird
belted kingfisher
Nuttall's woodpecker
black phoebe
Say's phoebe
bushtit
Bewick's wren
northern mockingbird
European starling
common yellowthroat
yellow warbler
yellow-rumped warbler
spotted towhee
California towhee
song sparrow
white-crowned sparrow
house finch
lesser goldfinch

Other So. Cal birding areas: Bolsa Chica, Malibu Lagoon, Serrania Park

Be EcoPositive - Meeting Change Head-On with the Environment in Mind

2011-10-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

Change is constant and sometimes overwhelming, but if you focus on little things, occasionally you can have a positive impact.

An international corporation has purchased two of our local shopping malls and for the past 5 years, or more, they have been working on a project to create a shopping "Village" with a network of walkways and mixed use areas that would connect the two remodeled malls. Many long-time residents of our suburb were up-in-arms. The increase of traffic and people was not welcome.

I went to the planning meetings that were open to the public and I must give credit to the local city counsel office and the multi-national corporation for giving the local residents an opportunity to speak.

From the very first meeting I realized this change was coming. Whether I liked it or not, a shopping "Village" was going to be built. What could I do to make this change more ecopositive? I've seen similar projects by this owner in other areas of the city and the world. They usually are well laid out with beautiful landscaping. But one thing stood out to me, the landscaping was sterile; there were no native plants.

At that first meeting comment boards were put up around the auditorium with ideas pre-printed on them. We were all given stickers to express our priorities for the items that were important to us, green for positive, red for negative. We were encouraged to add ideas as well. I walked up to the comment board with the heading "Landscaping" and I wrote "Native plants that will be drought tolerant and provide habitat."

As I wrote, someone beside me said, "Yeah, why not?" If there was going to be new landscaping, why not restore habitat for birds and butterflies with native plants. I watched the green stickers of support multiply. This was an ecopositive suggestion with no downside.

I stayed on the mailing list and any time opinions were solicited I continued my mantra, "Native plants in landscaping."

The project has been through many transformations and slowed with the economic situation, but yesterday I saw a full page add in a local paper titled "Sustainability at the The Village, Coming Soon!" Change is moving forward. There were three bullet points on the page. The third one started "Native landscaping..."

There are little victories in making a positive difference. When it is an ecopositive difference all living things benefit.

Arctic Ice Cap Melting

2011-10-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

photo from Polar Bears International, polarbearsinternational.org

Why is global climate change a controversial issue? Why are Americans unwilling to accept their share of the responsibility for increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and admit that burning carbon based-fuels contributes to the problem?

Are we petulant children who refuse to be held accountable for our actions? Is it easier to believe the voices of power/money that depend on our addiction to fossil fuels? The corporations that sell these resources pay huge sums to create siren songs telling us that we aren't responsible, that oil creates jobs, that other energy sources aren't worth investing in.

This summer southern California was fairly mild and beautiful. It would be easy to believe that climate change was a fairy tale. But global climate change is global, it is a big picture change.

NASA is a science-based branch of the American government/military. Just watch the video of satellite images of the Arctic sea ice from March to September 2011. The images are fact. The northern sea ice is melting at a greater rate than before and a major change has come with the disappearance of old ice.

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2011-ice-min.html

What can you do to change your carbon use? It has taken us 7 years to completely change over our vehicles, but now both of our cars are hybrids. For more ideas on how to reduce your impact on climate change visit Polar Bears International.

"Feathers; The Evolution of a Natural Miracle"

2011-09-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

Book Review
Feathers; The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson Basic Books, Philadelphia PA. 2011

Discovery, questions and the search for possible explanations, such is the joyous nature of science. Thor Hanson immediately engages the reader as a friend and invites you to share his journey of discovery about feathers. His comfortable voice weaving scientific accuracy and engaging story reminded me of another of my favorite science writers Bernd Heinrich (The Geese of Beaver Bog). When Hanson began to mention a professor with a cabin in the Maine woods, I knew it was no coincidence. Thor Hanson studied under Heinrich and carries on with his professor’s insightful way of making science accessible to a broad audience.

From dinosaur fossils haloed with imprints of their feathers to specially dyed and designed feather costumes worn onstage in Las Vegas, Hanson explores the origins, function, miraculous qualities, beauty and yet undiscovered abilities of fluff and quill. Did you know that the reason Dickens's Tiny Tim was anticipating a holiday goose dinner was because the number of geese needed to furnish the feathers for quill pens meant that there were a lot of geese available at the butcher shop? With the replacement of the quill pen, geese gradually moved off our menu.

Feathers have driven people to do amazing things. They encouraged us to take to the air ourselves and public outrage at the excessive consumption of birdlife to decorate women’s hats with feathers led to the first conservation movement in the United States. The Audubon Society and the Migratory Bird Act are all interconnected with feathers.

If you love birds, have ever worn a feather in your hat band or wonder how human use of resources can impact the world, pick up a copy of Feathers. Hanson will reveal truths about these downy delicacies that you have never dreamed of and will inspire you to ask more questions yourself. This is one of my favorite books of the year.

Other Book Reviews:
Alex and Me
The Geese of Beaver Bog
Survival of the Sickest

Remembering 9/11

2011-09-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

I keep a journal. Not everyday, but on occasions when I feel the need to document. On the morning of September 11, 2001 I was not at home. I had spent the night at my sister's so that I could drive to San Diego and take care of my cousin's children while her husband had surgery. It wasn't until the next day that I wrote the following:

9/12/01
Thousands of people in New York and Washington D.C. are dead. Terrorists commandeered commercial aircraft and crashed them into the two towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. An attempt to crash one into Camp David failed and the innocent people on the plane crashed into a rural area in Pennsylvania. This is one of those moments, like Pearl Harbor, like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, that marks the ending of a generation.We have a President who is not up to the leadership necessary for the moment. While the country still reels from the events that unfolded yesterday, Muslim fundamentalists are being identified as the perpetrators. The balance in the world teeters and nothing will be quite the same again.

Vengeance toward fundamentalist zealots is like trying to discipline a chicken, it only feeds chaos. People who have nothing will follow a zealot, hoping to gain something. The anarchists early in our own country in the last century were foiled not by increased police, but by the growth of labor unions and living wages. People who have something are less likely to threaten their neighbors, because they do have something to lose.

Yesterday as the horror unfolded, as the World Trade Towers collapsed killing perhaps as many as 40,000 people, I was taking care of J's four-year-old Matthew, while the other kids were at school and E was recovering from surgery on his neck for a ruptured disc. Then, the whole events were unbelievable. But last night driving home, the skies were amazingly dark. There were no planes flying. John Wayne Airport was a parking lot of airplanes. They were side-by-side, wing tip to wing tip. Others were parked even on the runways. LAX was vacant, nothing.

People are gathering at centers in New York to fill out forms with identifying information about their loved ones. The Pentagon is still burning. Five stories of rubble fill the streets of the financial district in N.Y. and the two towers that I can remember walking beneath and looking up at, are gone.

Here on the west coast we are safe, but are we? In my 2-story house with more bedrooms than we need, can there be safety when other people have nothing? I don't think so.

I look back at the past 10 years and I am saddened that rather than become global citizens many Americans have become more insular. We deny that we are the greatest consumers of unreplenishable natural resources. The planet suffers at our hands and now that the years of waste and want have come to an end for 90% of the population, so many look back clinging to the past rather than looking forward to a future where we must behave differently for the planet. Americans are acting like the southern aristocracy after the Civil War, we want the luxury we had and are unwilling to accept that it was unsustainable. This year global climate change is impacting food and water resources. We thought that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 changed our lives, but the change ahead of us in the next ten years is unimaginable.

House Finches

2011-05-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Have you seen a bird slightly larger than a house sparrow fluttering under your eaves? Or maybe they are investigating under your patio roof. The male has purplish-red breeding coloration splashed brightly on his head and chest in the spring. The dowdy female is more mottled brown with white streaks on her chest.

I recently received a question about these delightful little birds and it was a good reminder that just because a species is common, it doesn’t mean that everyone knows about them. House finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) are frequent visitors and residents in Southern California backyards.

Their nests are half-grapefruit-sized works of art woven of dried grasses and plant fiber. Protected locations under house eaves and on patios are a strong attraction for these builders of delicate nests. As seed-eating song birds, house finches have flourished in suburban landscapes and their numbers have increased as more and more of the American Southwest has been developed.
Today, house finches are found across the United States, but it wasn’t always that way. House finches are originally residents of the Southwest. The male’s coloration is striking and his song is beautiful. People arriving in the Los Angeles area in the 1920’s took to capturing these charismatic finches and sending them east to sell as “Hollywood finches.” Captive birds escaped and founded east coast populations. Today house finches are one of the most observed species at backyard feeders in 48 states. (See the trends for house finch populations for your area at Project Feederwatch)

House finches are not picky feeders. They will eat black sunflower, millet and especially the nyjer seed that also attracts goldfinches. They are also attracted to native plants that produce fruit, like hollyleaf cherry and Catalina cherry. (Creating a yard for wildlife)

Every birder starts with a species that catches their eye and makes them look at birds in a different way. For many people a singing male house finch may be that first bird. While they may be common, house finches are an important species in our local biodiversity.

Earth Day Gift

2011-04-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day!

I've been too busy lately; busy at the computer, busy with projects. I haven't taken my own advice. I haven't been out in the yard.

This morning the dog was barking at something and I went up the hill to see what had attracted her attention. It could have been a rabbit, a coyote, a raven. I didn't see anything but then, there on the ground was a butterfly clinging to the dirt. The mourning cloak butterfly, with its wings closed, looked like a dead leaf.

Was it dead or alive? I picked it up. It was motionless, but gripped my finger with surprising strength. I headed toward the house to take a picture. As I held the butterfly on my finger it started to vibrate, just slightly. It was like a shiver. It only lasted a moment, but before I reached the house the tiny creature shivered two more times. Each time the strength and length of the shivering increased. It was waking up.

Of course the batteries in the camera were dead and I couldn't find the extra set.

With a final quivering the mourning cloak awakened from its nighttime torpor, a mini hibernation. In the 50 degree evening temperature, the butterfly had gone into resource conservation mode. It's resting place, on an eastern-facing slope, had it positioned to warm up with the morning sun. But I had come along and disturbed it.

Before I could get new batteries in the camera, the mourning cloak began to flutter its wings. I quickly scooped it up and released it outside. It flew up into the Chinese elm tree. Mourning cloak caterpillars.

The Bewick's wren chicks are begging for food from their haggard parents. The first lesser goldfinch chick of the season is learning to fly. And I held a wild butterfly on my finger and watched it wake up. Go outside and the wild creatures will show you what life is really about. Happy Earth Day!

I’m Liking Lichen on a Brick Wall

2011-03-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

Zone 1 in our front yard is just a sliver of planter and concrete beneath the entrance stairs, but the biodiversity is amazing. One of my surprise discoveries is this clump of yellow-green lichen growing on an old brick planter.

Lichen are amazing living organisms. The Lichens of North America web page explains that lichen are fungi that do not make their own food so they have found a way to include algae or cyanobacteria in their systems to internally grow their own nutrition.

These joint efforts of life have the ability to live in harsh conditions - on rocks & sidewalks, in deserts or tundra, on cliff faces and human ruins. They survive under snow providing food for caribou and arctic rodents. Some thrive on wet tree bark and create food and nesting materials for forest creatures.

Lichens grow slowly and some may be among the oldest living things on the planet. The lichen on this brick never really caught my eye before. I don’t know how long it has been there. And that is the tricky thing about lichen: small and typically low to the ground, it is easy to miss. But because lichens protect themselves by producing chemical herbicides and even antibiotics, they could provide important pharmacological discoveries for humans. Small life must be mighty to survive. But if they are slow growing, how fast can they adapt to climate change?

Lichen are also beautiful. Check out the Lichens Home Page for some stunning photos. I think I even found my lichen, it may be Caloplaca feracissima.

Something ancient, lichen, and something new, the Internet, working together to help us see the biodiversity in our own backyards.

Lichens of North America http://www.lichen.com/index.html

Low Level Radiation Reaches California

2011-03-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

Radiation from Japan has reached California in low levels. Can there be a more important time to watch the natural world around us and observe changes to our "canaries in the coalmine" – wild birds and amphibians?

Get to know you wild neighbors and they will help us all to really understand the environmental ramifications for ourselves.

This morning the Allen's hummingbirds are tending to spring. A Spot took a quick bath in the fountain. BIF is drinking at his feeder while his father FIK is moving in on his son's territory and dominating the courtship field with the females. (Hummingbird Territories and hummingbirds and climate change)

The Bewick's wrens are building a new nest in the lariat house. The House and Last Year's Nest.

The rain that has been forecast has yet to arrive. Will it be the life-giving resource that the blooming plants are hungry for or will it bring an unseen radiation taint?

Two weeks from now will the hummingbirds be nesting or will life be greatly altered?

Shark Fin Soup and CA (AB 376)

2011-03-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

Can you image killing a leopard for its ear? Of course not. Cutting the fin off a shark and throwing the fish back into the sea to die is basically the same thing. You have a piece of cartilage and the shark forfeits its life.

Shark fin soup is a delicacy in Asia and Asian communities here in California. Making soup from the fin probably goes back to people using all parts of an animal that was caught because the resource was valuable. I had shark fin soup years ago at a wedding reception for a Chinese friend of the family. Unfortunately, the growing number of people wanting to consume this unique dish has seriously impacted shark populations because the fins are cut off of the sharks and the rest of the animal is tossed back into the sea.

This conservation problem has an easy solution. People can make the choice not to eat shark fin soup.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is supporting the California Bill (AB 376) to make it illegal to import shark fin. You can send a quick note to your state congressman to express your opinion on the matter through the Aquarium's Take Action page.

You also can make the choice to try an alternative recipe, Faux Shark Fin Soup created by chef Peter Pahk.

When we can't moderate our actions, we have to legislate them. Let's give sharks break for a while.

Cooper's Hawk in the Garden

2011-03-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Water is a vital element to a habitat. The fountain that we added this winter has attracted a variety of birds including this adult Cooper's hawk. It stood in the bubbling water for 10 minutes. Later the same day, an immature Cooper's hawk took a turn standing in the exact same location.

Did is observe the older hawk or was there some communication between the two birds about the interesting new water source?

Mini-Gardens or Fairy Gardens

2011-02-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just need to have a little fun. My sister and I took a class to create “Fairy Gardens” or mini-gardens in a pot.

In my mini-garden, I landscape and create my own little manageable garden.

I made little hearts to decorate for Valentine’s Day and a Tramp character to go with the cocker spaniel Lady that my sister had given me.

Even if you have a confined space or limited mobility, a mini-garden in a pot is a growing living environment that can reconnect you with the beauty, wonder and constant change of nature.

Arrow-Headed Flatworm in Zone 1

2011-02-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

I’m still entering all of the data for species in Zone 1 for my Backyard Biodiversity Project. But there is an unexpected resident in this small Zone of stairs, cement and a narrow planter. Zone Map

This is an arrow-headed flatworm (Bipalium kewensis) a species of planarian. These are the kind of creatures that you may have experimented with in biology class dividing their bodies in a variety of ways to see that they can regenerate themselves if they have some part of a head.

The arrow-headed flatworm is an exotic species thought to be an Indo-Malayan import that came to the U.S. via Europe.

How did this creature come to be in my planter? How long have its ancestors frequented my neighborhood?

I found it under a brick in the planter. Interestingly, when I looked at the photos I realized that it appears to have some nasty gashes along its sides. And actually it seemed to be regenerating most of its head. How did it come to have these injuries? Did it encounter some kind of a predator? And what was that predator? Was it the resident of the cave?

It amazes me the stories you can discover when you look under a rock.

Climate Change and Hummingbirds

2011-02-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

Again this year Southern California experienced abnormally warm weather in December - January. The Allen’s hummingbirds in our yard set about breeding.

The female who has staked out her territory in the driveway, DR, built a beautiful nest in a native Catalina cherry shrub. DR's territory. Last year, DR had the earliest successful chick reported to NestWatch in North America. But the consequence of the early nesting was that only one chick survived when winter weather returned.

This year, DR once again responded to early days of warm weather and began nesting. Just a few days after laying her two eggs strong winter winds came up and lasted for several days. She rode out the first day keeping her eggs safe in the nest, but on the second day she must have gone off to get some food and wind tossed one of the precious eggs out and onto the pavement.

The remains of the tiny hummingbird egg were smashed on the driveway.

The next day she was on the nest, but the weather turned and became not only windy but cold. DR abandoned the single egg. After several days it was clear, she had decided to cut her losses and build a new nest in a more protected location.

Unusually warm winter weather patterns convince the female Allen’s hummingbirds that spring has arrived. They begin nesting and for the second year, those early nests are unsuccessful. For the tiny hummingbirds it means reproductive opportunity wasted.

Great Backyard Bird Count, Los Angeles

2011-02-16T15:29:00.000-08:00

I was out bird watching this morning in the heart of Los Angeles. The rain was fairly steady, not pouring, but soaking. The humans were few but the birds were many.

Birds enjoy a gentle rain and actually so do I.

Why would seven adults tromp through puddles to count birds?

I can give you several reasons:

There is always the thrill of the unexpected, like the great blue heron we spotted flying low through the mist,
The opportunity for discovery, we watched a pair of red-shouldered hawks putting the finishing touches on a new nest,
Moments of peace and beauty like the female Allen's hummingbird taking a bath in the rain and the elegant nest she has built edged in bright green moss,
There is always something new to learn, today I learned how to identify a male acorn woodpecker from a female,
There are smiles and laughter, and real human friendship
And the 35 bird species we counted will be reported to Cornell University through ebird.org so scientists can track changes in bird populations

Friday Feb. 18 - Monday Feb. 21 is the Great Backyard Bird Count an opportunity for you too to go out and count birds for science. You can count in your yard, walking to school, in a park or a parking lot. For four days people across North America will be taking a snapshot of the birds across the continent. Everyone is invited to participate. Click the button to go to the Great Backyard Bird Count website for more information and to enter your data.

Me, I'll be counting again on Saturday Feb. 19 at the Los Angeles Zoo. Zoo members are invited to join in on a bird walk before the Zoo opens. We will meet at the glass doors north of the main entrance between 7:45 and 8 AM. To make reservations please phone 323/622-8114 or e-mail docents@lazoo.org (including “Bird Walk” in the subject line) with the following information: your name, membership number, members in your party, age of attending children, and your phone number.

Here Be Dragons?

2011-02-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

Zone 1 always surprises me. Zone Map

If I asked you what wildlife I might find in this small area of the yard, you might say a few ants and a spider or two. In the past this strip of cement walkway, stairs and a narrow planter has revealed numerous species of spiders. Zone 1 in summer 2007.

So far this February the variety of species has been down, probably due to the season. But the winter-blooming berginia is looking lovely, see blooms.

This short retaining wall at the edge of the walkway has an intriguing little cave. At the left side, where there is a triangular opening, a pile of debris is stacking up. Are these the remains of someone’s meals?

It is an interesting collection that the cave’s resident has pushed out its door. There are empty brown garden snail shells; some fragmented by strong jaws. Could the owner of the lair be a southern alligator lizard? A foot-long individual was seen in this area last summer.

But there are also holly-leaf cherry pits that have been gnawed open and the seed inside eaten. Is some kind of native mouse living in this dark dwelling?

Some animal is living in this tiny cave and if you are snail, you might just consider it a dragon.

Winter Blooming Flowers

2011-01-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

While much of the rest of the country is white with snow, Californians can still delight in a variety of winter-blooming flowers.

In Zone 1, along the walkway and protected by the front steps, winter-blooming bergenia (Bergenia crassifolia) sends up flower stalks in January. This isn't a native plant. However this small patch was planted here when we moved into the house years ago. A native of the Himalayas, they thrive in poor soil and tolerate drought in a shady location. Under the steps seems the perfect location for them, and occasionally, native slender salamanders can be found in the leaf litter that builds up beneath the plants.

Zone Map

Mapping Hummingbird Territory

2011-01-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

Before I can gather new biodiversity data, I have to format my data collection and tabulation. That means creating a species data base, determining the data to be collected and finalizing the areas where data will be collected. I've already updated my Zone Map.

But this time around I've decided to map out the territories of my resident hummingbirds. I plan to update these territory maps monthly. As we start off this January, one of the males, FIK, has expanded his territory. I have a special connection to FIK a male Allen's hummingbird. He was hatched in 2008 in the same plum tree that is the center of his territory. When he was a chick, a predator attacked the nest. His sibling did not survive, but FIK fell 20 ft. to semi-safety in the foliage below the tree. My dog, Inali, found him and with a little bit of ingenuity, she and I saved this tiny fellow. The whole story.

In 2009, FIK bred with a number of females and we had over a dozen chicks. Only one of the females in the yard, DR, has been here as long as FIK.

Last year FIK was the dominant male and he spent so much energy breeding, by the end of summer 2010, he was spent. His son, BIF (blue), almost pushed him out of his territory.

Now with the warm weather, the male Allen's hummingbirds are beginning to perform their breeding displays for the females. FIK is back up to fighting strength and he has reclaimed his former territory. His territory (green) is once again the largest. At the front of the house, he has the greatest visibility to visiting females.

DR is the oldest female and she has the largest territory of the girls (red), however, she does not have the prime territory. There is no feeder in her territory. However, she does have nectar-bearing and insect-attracting plants, and two native Catalina cherry trees where she has nested successfully for two years. 2010 nest.

A daughter of the long dominant "A" family of females, A-Spot, holds the prime female location with a feeder (orange). A young female, F, who's first attempts at nesting failed last year, maintains a small territory (yellow).

With three adult male Allen's hummingbirds, all in their prime, we could be in for territory challenges. Canyon (purple) also a chick from 2009 and probably a son of FIK, maintains a small territory at the back of the yard. And there is a newcomer, an immature Anna's male that has established his territory at the back of the yard (lime) next to Canyon.

More males, most likely will mean fewer females will nest here. But there is a large area of hillside territory with nesting locations that is unclaimed. Will a new female move in? It should be a fascinating spring.

Mapping the Backyard Biodiversity Project

2011-01-14T15:44:00.000-08:00

The first step in documenting the biodiversity in our backyard ecosystem is dividing the landscape into Zones.

I have mapped the yards (front and back) into 18 Zones with an additional Garage Zone and House Zone.

These Zones are determined using physical separations (walls, fences, concrete walkways, gravel paths) and by clumping the natural microhabitats. For example, Zone 1 includes a planter against the house and a concrete walkway with stairs. This area is heavily used by people going in and out of the house. This activity has an effect on the plants and animals willing to live there. I have examined Zone 1 in detail before. Zone 1, 2007

Zone 2 has changed dramatically since I first documented the species living there in 2001, 2004 and 2007. This Zone is a raised planter in front of the house stretching from the sidewalk to the walkway and extending to the western corner of the house. It is landscaped and receives moderate sun in the summer. It was my observation of alien plants attracting alien pest species and creating a dead zone for native animal species that first inspired me to remove the African daisies in this planter and replace them with native plants. It will be interesting to see how the biodiversity in this area compares with ten years ago. Zone 2, 2007

Zone 17 is the lower end of the driveway at the side of the house and a small planter that typically only receives rain water. But this area has offered surprises in the past. Zone 17, 2007

Creating Zones provides manageable areas of observation and also allows comparison between areas that are similar or dissimilar in terrain, physical attributes and water availability. Off to a good start.

New Year's Cleaning - Bird Houses

2011-01-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

A pair of oak titmouses are checking out the bird houses for a spring nesting site. I've been trying for 5 years to get them to nest in our yard so this year I'm cleaning out the bird houses early. Last year a number of bird species nested unusually early in the yard because of changing climate patterns. (Climate Change in California).

The Bewick's wrens love this rope bird house, but they won't reuse it if I don't clean it out. They fill it to the brim with nesting material to make it cozy. Unfortunately, they won't come back unless all of the previous year's debris is removed.

Cleaning out the titmouse bird house I discovered a western bumble bee nest.

If the changing climate alters when the birds begin looking for nest sites, I have to alter when I prepare the bird houses.

Cavity nesting birds like the titmouses and wrens can have a difficult time finding appropriate nesting sites in cities. Providing suitable housing opportunities for them helps to maintain their populations. Many cavity nesters are insect predators, eating many of the bugs we consider to be pests. Offering them an appropriate bird house invites them to be your neighbors and gives you the opportunity to watch them raise their families.

Backyard Biodiversity Project 2011

2011-01-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

Around the world biologists are gathering information on animal and plant biodiversity in wild places, but I can’t help but wonder how much we are missing in our own backyards. We raise money to save distant rain forests and try to change the daily lives of people in far away lands but what actions do we take to positively impact the ecosystems where we live?

I’ve seen amazing transformations in small areas of my yard by removing introduced exotic plants and restoring native plants to the landscape. Native Plants. The Mexican mountain marigold (pictured) provides food for pollen-eating insects even in the winter. I keep trying small gestures to provide more opportunities for native species. Bee Box.

Just in the last two months we’ve seen an amazing biodiversity in spider species without really trying: red jumping spider, trapdoor spider, green lynx spider. In the past I’ve found small areas around the house are home to numerous spider species. Here Be Spiders.

This afternoon I checked on the green lynx spider egg casing. It has survived the December rains, but for the past week the mother protecting the egg sac has been gone. Did she perish in the cold weather? Temperatures have been in the mid-30s to 40s at night. This spider species only lives about a year and adults typically do not survive winter weather.

According to several university websites, females lay their eggs in an egg sac in autumn. We saw this egg sac in the second week of November. The female guards the eggs for 2 weeks until they hatch. The mother opens the tough webbing of the egg sac to release the spiderlings and she provides protection and sometimes food for the next 2-3 weeks. See University of CA, Irvine photos. When the young spiders disperse, her job is done. The youngsters will overwinter, but their mother will die.

Last year we had an unusually warm December and early January. We discovered our first green lynx spider in the yard with her egg sac on the scented geraniums in the vegetable garden. By February, drenching winter rains destroyed the egg sac.

This year it has been almost 2 months since I first discovered the green lynx spider and her egg sac, but again the spiderlings have not hatched. I don’t know if the female realized the eggs were not going to hatch and abandoned them or if she died. Typically, a female will guard her egg sacs until she perishes from starvation. Last week the female was looking very thin.

What happened to these eggs? I decided to open up the egg sac and see whether or not the eggs were viable. Looking through my microscope I could see that about a third of the eggs seemed infertile, they were dark and showed no development. Another third or more appeared plump and ranging from an orangy-yellow to pale white. A few appeared to have been forming into spiderlings, the shape of the carapace was somewhat apparent. But these embryos on their way to becoming spiderlings, seemed slightly dried-up.

Considering we had nearly a week of rain in mid-December, this seems odd. But something with the weather was not right for these eggs to develop. For a second year in a row beautiful green lynx spiders have failed to reproduce in the garden.

Are there more green lynx spiders in the yard and I’ve just missed them? Are their other spiders failing to reproduce? This leads me back to the Backyard Biodiversity Project.

Are there creatures to waiting to be discovered right here in a backyard in Los Angeles, California? I think so. I plan to take a scientific look at the creatures and plants living in our small yard in one of the largest cities in the world. I’ve started the Backyard Biodiversity Project before only to be interrupted by acceptance to graduate school. Now I’m plunging into the year with the intention of spending the next 12 months on this project.

What’s in your backyard?

Red Jumping Spider - Backyard Tiger

2010-12-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

I love spiders. They are fascinating in behavior. Their webs are works of art. Females are devoted mothers, risking their lives for their offspring (Green lynx spider, trapdoor spider). Yet I have to admit this large jumping spider startled both my husband and me.

Jumping spiders in California are typically the size a pencil eraser. They prowl the rosebush like ocelots stalking prey in the forest. With the best eyesight among spiders, most books say they can see up to two feet away from themselves, in vivid color. And when they call them jumping spiders, they are referring to their ability to jump about six inches, leaping rapidly to grab any insect prey before it can escape.

But this red jumping spider (Phidippus formosus) surprised us with its size and capabilities. It was climbing up the outside of the house when it decided to walk across the second-floor bathroom window. When you compare it to the corner of the window, you can get an idea of its size. It would have easily covered a quarter with its body and legs. (It was close in size to the trapdoor spider that came in the house a few months ago.) The brick red of the top of its abdomen identifies it as a red jumping spider. If a typical jumping spider is like an ocelot, this spider was more like a tiger.

We got a great look at its underside and then it spotted us. It looked at us through the window and when I approached it outside, it spotted me coming when I was at least six feet away (3 times further than the books say they can see). It struck a defensive posture like a boxer, holding its pedipalps up in front of its eyes. I didn't really want to see how far it could jump.

Once it realized I wasn't a threat it continued its journey up the side of the house. I don't know where it was going. They supposedly build their burrows at ground level. This large female was headed toward the peak of our second story roof. Fast moving and on the prowl, she was climbing toward a golden polistes (Polistes fuscatus aurifer) wasp nest at the roof line. I don't think I would have wanted to be a wasp facing off with this voracious spider. But that is what natural balance is all about and the more we create a chemical-free habitat with native plants, the more biodiversity we are seeing in our backyard wildlife sanctuary.

Building a Native Bee Box

2010-12-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to do this for over a year, build a nesting box for native bees and other insects. My friend Doug Welch from A Gardener's Notebook had sent me various plans and ideas. I had a wooden wine box with a sliding lid and it seemed perfect.

Finding the western bumble bee nest in one of my bird houses finally prompted me to just do it.

I drilled holes of 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8" in the lid. Different bee species prefer different size holes. Then I filled the box with hay and dog hair. These were the kinds of fibers in the bird house that the bumble bees had liked.

I mounted two hooks on the back of the box so I could hang it on the fence at the side of the garden.

In this location we can see any activity at the nest box, it is near the vegetable garden, but it is out of the way enough that people won't be crossing any bee traffic. We probably won't see any action until spring, but we finally have our bee nest box up.

Western Bumble Bee Nest

2010-12-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

When I went to clean out one of the bird nest boxes, I was surprised to find that a western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) had made its nest inside. Typically this kind of bumble bee makes its nest in the ground. But here was the clump of waxy cup-shaped cells described in the books nestled in the dog hair and sticks that the Bewick's wrens had been using to build their nest. (This could explain why the wrens decided to move out and rebuild their nest in the pot next to the back door.)

Alarmingly, all of the bumble bees, adults and juveniles, still developing in their wax cells, were dead. What killed them? Was is the cold weather snap we had in October/November? There was a garden spider in among the corpses. Had this small spider preyed on the bumble bee nest? I can't imagine that it could have gotten to the juveniles in their waxy cells. Was there some kind of mite or fungus that caused the death of all ages? I don't know.

During the winter the queen bumble bee hibernates in a protected location all alone. She will emerge in the spring to start a new colony and then usually die. I hope that there was at least one survivor from this western bumble bee nest. (More on bumble bees: xerces.org) Our native bees are vital pollinators and typically are not susceptible to the same diseases and environmental conditions that threaten European honey bees. Most are not aggressive and are not a threat to people.

We have noticed carpenter bees nesting in the yard before but this is the first time for bumble bees. I've wanted to create a native bee nesting site for some time. It seems now is the time to finally take on that project.

Wild Christmas Tree

2010-12-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

Last December I did 31 days of Green Holiday Actions. One of my favorites is our live holiday tree. This is our 5th year with our live spruce tree. (2nd Year photo)

Is she a little wild looking? Yes. And we love her all the more for it.

Has she grown over the five years? Yes, and this is probably the last year we will be able to bring her in. But when you consider we have invited her in for five years, she was a great investment financially and environmentally. She is a carbon sink, storing carbon in her wood as she grows. How to bring in a live tree.

If you are thinking about a live Christmas or Holiday tree, take the plunge. The Earth will thank you.

Missing Ladybugs

2010-12-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

Ladybugs are insects that even a toddler can identify. Their red and black markings are distinct and their rounded shape appears nonthreatening. As predators of aphids and other garden leaf-eaters, ladybugs have one of the most positive insect profiles. Everyone loves ladybugs.

But across the country native ladybug populations are declining. What is happening to these important and beloved insects? Citizen scientists can play an important role in helping scientists sleuth out this environmental problem.

Go looking for ladybugs or just keep your eyes open and aware during your daily activities. When you see a ladybug, take its picture and report it to the Lost Ladybug Project

I spotted this ladybug on a lavender plant on December 9th. Ladybugs hibernate over the winter as adults and typically they group together in a protected location. One year we cut down a live Christmas tree and brought it into the house only to find that there were about 100 ladybugs hibernating in a clump at the center of the tree. The ladybug I took a photo of was out in the warm winter weather. (Climate Change in California) If it gets caught without a protected place to stay when the temperature turns cooler, as it is expected to do this weekend, will it survive the colder temperatures?

Scientists need your eyes to help solve this mystery of Missing Ladybugs.
Other Citizen Science Projects.

Climate Change in California

2010-12-14T14:47:00.000-08:00

I know most people think of Southern California as having year-round warm weather. And while it is true that we don't have snow in the lower elevations, we do actually experience cooler winter temperatures with a winter rainy season.

Over the past few years I have been noting the signs of autumn: leafing out of the wild currants, ripening of the toyon berries. The winter hibernation of the western fence lizards and desert tortoises mark the seasonal change as well. While the tortoises are fast asleep, this morning I saw a young fence lizard out warming itself in the sun.

I've also been recording signs of spring: hummingbird nesting, blooming of the manroot and more.

Last year the Allen's hummingbirds in our yard started to seriously nest in January. The earliest date we have recorded. A lone chick survived from these early nests because winter storms did arrive in early February. Winds tossed youngsters out of nests and sudden cold temperatures overwhelmed young chicks. The one Allen's hummingbird chick was the earliest recorded wild bird hatchling in North America in 2010.

This year we had some early autumn rains, cold weather and then December has had some record warm days. Last year we recorded the manroot blooming the first week in January. On Sunday, December 12th I took these photos of the manroot not only emerging from the ground, but getting ready to bloom. Will this plant survive to fruit in summer if it emerges so early from the ground?

The male hummingbirds are performing breeding displays. Will we see nesting even earlier this year? If so, will the chicks survive when winter temperatures return?

Green Holiday Decorations

2010-12-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for a unique and green way to decorate for the holidays? How about lighting your tree with eel power?

Check out the following story and video on LiveScience.com "Christmas Eel Makes Tree Lights Electric."

For other ideas that are a little less fishy and closer to home:
Bring a Living Tree Inside
Living Trees
Recycled and Artificial Trees
What's Wrong With Mylar?
Creating Holiday Decorations From Your Garden

Identifying Individual Hummingbirds

2010-11-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

I had a comment the other day regarding how I tell the difference between the different hummingbirds in the yard. It is somewhat true that they look alike. However, we have been fortunate enough to have a small group of resident Allen's hummingbirds. While some of the marking are slightly different between individuals, especially females, behavior is the main clue to the individual identity of these tiny birds.

The Allen's hummingbirds have divided up the yard into specific territories.

This is "P" (Patio) on her nest. She was a resident for one summer.

Each male has a specific home tree and 3 or 4 specific places that it perches to watch over its territory. Fik was rescued as a fledgling. He knows me and trusts me. I can approach him and get quite close, he in turn will come up to me. He has perched on the same branch, in the same tree, since the first day he learned to fly. Bif perches on the tip of a succulent, he's the only one in the yard that will do that. Canyon is the most timid of the males and rarely comes down in the lower part of the yard.

The females are specifically territorial about nesting sites. These Allen's hummingbird females will nest in the same tree / shrub time and again, especially if they are successful. If it isn't the same tree, it usually is within 10 feet of that tree. One female, DR, (DRiveway) tends to rebuild directly on top of her old nest. She is the only female that has shown this behavior in my yard.

If I saw Fik a block away feeding from some flowers, would I recognize him? Probably not. Coloration can change on birds, from juvenile to mature, from breeding to molting. I have a small group of eight very enigmatic Allen's hummingbirds that live in my yard. They each have their own personalities and behaviors in the yard, that is how I tell them apart.

My friend has 30-50 hummingbirds visiting her feeders during the day. Telling them apart, without bands, would be a completely different matter.

California Native Plants Flowering in Late Autumn

2010-11-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

While cold weather and snow are settling in across the country, late autumn is awakening the California natives.

The native wild currant has burst its first blooms. Our rain comes in autumn and winter, so now is the time for our native plants to produce fruit or blooms for a summer crop. Many like the toyon have been holding their fruit in a green stage for months and are now ripening just in time to feed winter migratory birds.

The wild currant lost its leaves in the summer heat and now has regained its green adornment. The natives are bursting to life while the exotic plants are dropping their leaves and going dormant. It is a strange mixture really. Perhaps this is why so many people don't think we have seasons in California, they don't realize that the green of summer and the green of winter are provided by completely different plants.

On New Year's Day, people see our green hills rising behind the Rose Parade and they think that we have beach weather all year round. The reality is that we have cold winter days, but this is the only time we have real rain. Plants that want to survive in our climate have to be frost and cold tolerant. The cold season is the only time they can really grow.

Allen's Hummingbirds Staking Territory

2010-11-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

Brisk days have ratcheted up the territorial behavior of the Allen's hummingbirds. Each feeder has its own despot determined to possess its liquid energy.

We have had a complete change over in most of our backyard Allen's hummingbird population. "A," who nested in the yard for several years and was hatched here, has either moved on or has vanished (A's nest). Three of the four feeders are now the domains of resident males. That means that females are battling over one feeder. I'm afraid that we may see fewer nests this coming spring, because the females are competing with the males for resources.

For years we rarely saw males, now they are the dominate characters.

Fik is entering his third winter. He has been the dominant male since 2009. (Fik as father; Rescuing Fik) He is growing older and sometimes I worry about his sons pushing him out of his territory. Fik was so busy breeding this spring that by summer he was nearly worn out.

Bif and Canyon, his two sons were both hatched in 2009. This is Canyon at his feeder.

The weather has been warm then cold, warm and then cold. Already Bif has been performing breeding displays. If the females are convinced to breed this early, they may lose nests to erratic weather and rainstorms. Last year, we documented the first successful nest in North America. (DR's Feb. nest). Unfortunately other early nestings were not successful. I'm hoping that the weather stays consistent so that the females will resist starting their families too early and losing their chicks to an unpredictable climate.

Thanksgiving Toyon

2010-11-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

There is a special reward for planting native plants: watching habitat being restored in front of your eyes.

Five years ago I planted a 3 gallon toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia). It started out just 2 foot tall. Today it is about 8 foot tall. The dark green leaves are prickly and in late autumn its berries ripen to a brilliant red. It's no wonder European immigrants to California were reminded of holly and called it "California holly" or "Christmas berry."

In fact this is the holly that gave the name to "Hollywoodland" and therefore Hollywood. (Decorating with toyon)

The native Chumash, Ohlone and other coastal peoples in California roasted or dried the berries and ate them. They also used the strong, rot-resistant wood for a variety of implements and ceremonial markers. But people weren't the only species that depended on the toyon. Numerous animals eat the berries as well, rodents, foxes (including the endangered island fox), probably the extinct southwestern grizzly bear did as well. A wide range of birds also look for this easy-to-spot, chaparral delicacy.

Sunday morning I watched the hermit thrush picking one red berry at a time and swallowing it down. A hermit thrush has been coming to my yard every winter for the last seven years. I believe it is the same bird, but I don't absolutely know that for sure. For the second year in a row it arrived with a friend. I wonder if the thrush has been waiting for the toyon to grow up and become the beautiful berry-producing plant that it is now?

One thing is for sure, the toyon has created a valuable source of winter food for the hermit thrush, cedar waxwings and other berry-eating birds. The hermit thrush seemed to be thankful for its bountiful meal and I was heartened that I had made a positive difference for the local wildlife and migratory birds.

Now is the season in California to plant native plants, they are the Foundation of Habitat. Plant a few natives and help make a positive difference.

Discovering Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Refuge

2010-11-19T17:46:00.000-08:00

great egret and coot by Michael Lawshe

Take a mini-bird walk through Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Refuge.
Click on the link below for a 4 minute video that was shot for "One Day On Earth" 10/10/10. Video courtesy of Michael Lawshe and Eclipse-1 Media.

Mini-Bird Walk

Turkey Vultures at Sepulveda Basin

Something Lurking in the Garden

2010-11-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

The warm autumn weather has brought a few surprise encounters. The photo shows a pair of mating praying mantises. Notice how the male (on top) is slightly smaller and measurably slighter in build. He also appears to have much longer antennae.

I came across this pair at dusk as I was running out of the house. I wasn't the only one startled by the large insects. Fik, one of our male Allen's hummingbirds, was quite disturbed to have the pair on his feeder.

I'm not sure why the large female praying mantises tend to hang out on the hummingbird feeders. Are they hunting insects that might come to the feeders or are they really set on grabbing a hummingbird? Fik wasn't taking any chances, he stayed on the far side of the feeder.

I know you are probably wondering, did the female mantis consume her male companion following mating? I don't know. I took the photo and had to run. I saw the female the next evening, but have yet to locate her egg casing. I wonder if she is one of the offspring that emerged in the back yard in June. Praying mantises.

Meanwhile a new mother-to-be has attached her tan-colored egg sac to the scented geranium, a green lynx spider. This is the second year that one of these free-living predators has stopped to have a family on the geraniums in the garden. Last year, winter storms destroyed the egg sac despite the mother's attempts to keep the nursery safe and dry. It will be interesting to see what happens this year.

"Alex and Me" by Irene M. Pepperberg

2010-11-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Alex and Me; How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence–and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process

Irene M. Pepperberg. (2008). HarperCollins Publishers. NY

Did you know Alex? If you saw this intelligent African gray parrot on television or read about Irene Pepperberg’s avian cognition studies with this amazing bird, you may have felt that you did know Alex. I know I did. Apparently thousands of other people did as well because Pepperberg’s book opens with the outpouring of affection and communal loss expressed when Alex died suddenly in 2007.

If you didn’t know Alex, the combined personal emotion plus the attention from international media upon his death creates a basis for you to understand the importance of this bird; not everyone has their obituary published on the front page of the Economist.

When you sit down with Alex & Me, it is as though you are sitting down with a friend telling you about her work with an insightful colleague. Pepperberg takes you through the origin of her interest in avian intelligence and weaves her scientific findings with Alex into the story. While I occasionally wanted more specifics about the science, the story format allows Pepperberg to include examples of Alex’s understanding and intelligence that occurred outside of structured research.

One thing is certain, if you think “bird brain” means dumb or unable to use higher cognitive powers Alex and his avian colleagues will challenge your assumption. Humans frequently hold up the size of our brains as proof of our intelligence, but not all brains function in the same manner and the researchers are always a step behind with structuring studies to delve the capabilities of Alex and his “walnut-sized brain.”

What made Alex so unique was his ability to vocalize his thoughts and understanding in a way that humans could comprehend. When the hermit thrush and the ruby-crowned kinglet reappear each October in my small yard in Woodland Hills, I am always struck by the fact that they have found their way back. Do I know these are the same individual birds? Yes, because both of them announce themselves to me specifically upon their return. This year the kinglet came right up and nearly perched on my hand. Where did they spend the spring and summer? What did they see and experience on the trip? How did they navigate their way back?

Unfortunately these birds can not speak in a language I can understand. But there is intelligence here that goes unexplored. Alex was not bred to be an avian genius, he was just taught to speak clearly so that humans could have insight into his avian intelligence. Alex & Me will make you laugh and cry, it also will challenge you to appreciate the intelligence of non-human animals.

Other Book Reviews:
The Geese of Beaver Bog
Survival of the Sickest

Amphibians of Autumn

2010-11-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

A cool autumn day and a nighttime shower, this is my favorite time of year and a time for California’s precious amphibians.

We think of cold-blooded or ectothermic creatures as sun lovers, but amphibians must balance temperature with moisture. Summers in California are hot and dry, but our autumn and winter climate is moderate with occasional showers.

On these mild nights rain invites amphibians out of their hiding places to frolic. This California toad has been visiting a friends’ yard.

We’ve spotted our young garden slender salamanders born last spring. And students of mine have seen Pacific tree frogs and a different species of slender salamander in their yards.

This species of slender salamander has distinct rings along its body giving it a striking resemblance to an earthworm. It is much larger and stockier than the garden slender salamanders in our yard.

Amphibians are part of our local wildlife, but too frequently they disappear first when development or human impacts alter nature’s delicate balance. Frogs, toads and salamanders eat insects and other arthropods. They also are an important food source for mammals and birds. An ecosystem without amphibians is missing a main pillar of balance.

There is something remarkably resilient about amphibians. They have evolved from an ancient line of creatures that first left the primordial seas to live on land. They’ve survived major cataclysms including the end of the dinosaurs. Shouldn’t your yard be safe for them?

The next time you reach for insecticide or herbicide, pause for just a moment. If your yard isn’t safe for amphibians, is it safe for you and those you love?

Bring Your Scary Story to Ghosts of the Internet

2010-10-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

Have you had an encounter with a strange creature in the wee hours of the morning? Maybe you’ve heard the wail of an unsettled spirit or your dog has pointed out a ghost.

Eclipse-1 Media is presenting its 4th annual Ghosts of the Internet live web-cast radio show this Saturday. Members of the public are invited to participate at:

The Platt Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library
in the Community Room
Saturday, October 30
2:00 PM sign- ups; 2:30 PM Go Live

For more information on story length and ideas on classic spooky tales you can read, as well as directions, visit: http://ghostsoftheinternet.eclipse-1.com/

You can also hear past Ghosts of the Internet productions, including my true story last year of animal esp.

Spooky comes in all ages! Original music, jokes, poetry and stories bring families together to put the Treat back in Halloween.

Come get your spooky on.

The Trapdoor Spider Came In From The Rain

2010-10-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

With streaks of lightning and claps of thunder an October storm brought well-needed rain to Southern California. While the rest of the country is preparing for the white blanket of winter, our native plants are waking up from a dormancy that helps them survive the hot dry breath of summer.

In the rain the mallow rejoiced and unfurled new blooms.

The katydid rode out the storm on her rose perch. While the days are growing cooler, she still has a month or so to enjoy the new growth.

One hillside resident, however, did not welcome the rain. Damp and homeless, she wandered in under the kitchen door seeking shelter. She stumbled into the web of a cobweb spider and was stuck there about an inch off the ground.

I was startled at first by the size of this visitor. Including her legs, she is about the size of a quarter. At first I thought she might be a young tarantula, but upon closer inspection she has the glossy brown cephlothorax of a trapdoor spider. While a relative of the tarantula, this spider has a softer, more vulnerable appearance. She’s kind of like that geeky cousin with the pale skin that seemed allergic to the sun.

The trapdoor spider colony on our hillside has included 17 locatable and occupied borrows. I haven’t counted in resent months, but it’s usually easy to spot 4 or 5 at any given time. While chance encounters have occurred when underground burrows were mistakenly dug up, I have never seen one of these homebody spiders out walking around.

I’ve seen them holed up with a brood of offspring. Baby trapdoor spiders.

And last spring, heavy rains caused one poorly placed burrow to be damaged. Damaged trapdoor spider burrow.

Did this young female trapdoor spider loose her home in the rain? There doesn’t seem to be any major mud flow areas in the yard.

Was she uprooted by the gopher that has been tunneling on the hillside and relocating dirt where no one wants it? It could be. But if she came from this far section of the yard, she walked at least 50 yards to get to the back door.

Maybe she lost her home to a foraging skunk some time ago and had yet to find a suitable hole when the rain came? Yet, she seems plump and healthy, not a spider on the edge of survival.

A female trapdoor spider spends her whole life in the protective confines of a tunnel. Walking around, she is vulnerable to the California towhees hunting in the leaf litter, skunks prowling at night, and even the wolf spider that seems to have devoured all of the cobweb spiders in the chicken house. While a male might go out looking for a mate, the large rounded abdomen and small pedipaps between her front legs and fangs tell us she is indeed a female.

What is this shy young girl doing wandering about in the big wet world? I don’t know.

While it is fascinating to see out of her tunnel, the yard needs her as a predator and she needs a natural location where she can build a comfortable tunnel burrow. When the rain stops and night falls, I’ll return her to the hillside where she belongs.

101010

2010-10-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

In the long sigh of the afternoon the hot wind reaches through the trees and sends the first leaves of fall tumbling to the ground. There is much on the Internet and in the media about the significance of this date. Couples have chosen today as an auspicious date to marry. I image that there will be an abnormally high number of induced births today as well.

But if you take a moment to listen to the quiet and watch the sun filtering through a spider web, you’ll realize that the natural world knows no alignment of man-made dates. Eons have come and gone, oak trees have watched the California grizzly go from the most formidable creature beneath their limbs to just a distant memory.

Today the western swallowtail has an urgency because the season is changing. Eggs must be laid soon or its caterpillar-children won’t have time to reach chrysalis stage in time to overwinter. The earth’s creatures have no interest in our human preoccupation with our own created numbers.

The western fence lizard on the wall is missing her tail. Her life-changing date was several days ago. For the pied-billed grebe at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area this morning, her special day still looms in the distance. No matter how she tries, her chick won’t be ready to go off on its own for at least another week. For the desert tortoise who closed a grumpy eye last week and settled in for a winter sleep, what we humans do for the next six months is of little interest.

The only trouble is we humans tend to see the world only through our own eyes. We modify the landscape, from the highest levels of the Earth’s atmosphere to deep within the planet’s crust, without considering our neighbors or even our children.

Today I did the most important thing I could think of to do, I walked an area of local wild lands with three young minds. Three young souls, wide-eyed and excited to experience their wild neighbors. We watched an osprey dive and catch a fish, spotted a great blue heron standing motionless at the water’s edge and learned to recognize a black phoebe. The spider webs between the trees were Halloween perfect, beautiful, not scary. If the next generation doesn’t cherish this planet more than we do, all of the calendars and auspicious dates will amount to nothing.

We have made such a negative impact on our world. How many oil spills and toxic chemical spills will we accept?

May we all step forward and lead the next generation to value a healthy world over personal wants, comforts and desires.

Identifying Local So. California Birds

2010-10-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

What's That Bird?

Tonight Thursday, October 7th, 7:30 PM
Del Air Rockhound General Meeting
at
Northridge United Methodist Church
9650 Reseda Blvd., Northridge CA 91324

Learning to identify local birds is easy if you start with the basics. I'll be doing a basic class on how to identify local species, tonight at the General Meeting of the Del Air Rockhounds. The meeting is open to the general public and everyone is welcome.

Mourning doves, like the one pictured above, have become one of the most common birds seen across the country. In fact one of the families that attending one of my birding classes was able to identify that the bird nesting on their front porch was a mourning dove.

Come join me at the Northridge United Methodist Church tonight for a FREE program and discover the birds in your backyard.

Repurposing Lumber

2010-09-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

This summer we've been taking on some large re-thinking projects:

We also applied an old mindset to a new addition. We rebuilt a stairway on the side of our house with repurposed lumber. The 2x4s that we used were all leftovers from someone's building project that hadn't been used and had been set aside. Instead of adding this perfectly good lumber to a landfill, we brought home.

Yes, there were some rough edges here and there that couldn't be used, but this lumber was seasoned (thoroughly dried) making it less likely to warp or twist. We even were able to scrape down the old hand railing and reuse it. Primed and painted our new staircase should last for years.

Sustainable thinking applies to small things like reuseable shopping bags as well as big things like using wood that has already been harvested. Lumber is a precious resource. Wood shouldn't be wasted to end up in landfills and trees shouldn't be cut down without good reason.

Easy Energy Saver

2010-08-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

We did something quick and easy to reduce our energy bill. We put up an old fashioned laundry line. Well not "old fashioned," actually we used a pole along the side of our car port.

By air drying half our laundry, we are cutting the use of our dryer in half. Who convinced us that on dry summer days we needed to use a machine to do what Mother Nature does just as well? Besides, air drying is gentler on clothing and helps maintain clothing color.

The drying pole is mounted between the car port supports on curtain rod hardware. When not in use the pole is unnoticeable to most people.

Letting your laundry air dry is a quick and easy sustainable life choice.

Six, Seven, Eight - Yellow-Breasted Chat

2010-08-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

This morning while videoing hummingbirds for an upcoming project, I had an exciting surprise: my 678th Life Bird - a yellow-breasted chat.

We haven't traveled to many new destinations this year and that can make it difficult to see new bird species. On a weekend trip to San Diego I did spot my first black skimmer and a California gnatcatcher, but this sighting was truly rewarding because it was in our own yard.

The chat was feeding in some of our dense native shrubbery and taking a quick bath in the water pooled on some leaves. I didn't get a photo, but the bright yellow chest and long tail are printed in my mind.

We have now seen 71 species of birds in our yard in suburban Los Angeles. A perfect example of how recreating and restoring native habitat is vital to preserving biodiversity. A wildlife refuge is possible in your own backyard.

From Mongolia, to Turkey, to Southern California

2010-08-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that it was two years ago this week that we were in Mongolia to see our fifth total solar eclipse.

Video of Mongolia.

Two years before that we were in Turkey.

Both of these locations highlight the importance of water, the impacts of long-term human habitation on the environment and the dramatic effect climate change can have on the natural world and human cultures.

This August we are at home. Summer 2010 has been moderate, only a few days over 100 degrees. But as we approach high summer, this is the dormant period for our native plants and animals. Still the western fence lizard babies are emerging from hidden nests in the ground and the California towhees hatched out three chicks yesterday morning.

More on our native populations in summer to come. We're out in the field documenting our wildlife on video.

New Life for the Los Angeles River

2010-07-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

What recycling/rehabilitation project is larger than reestablishing the Los Angeles River as a living river? In the last two weeks the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has declared that the Los Angeles River is a waterway deserving of the protection of the Clean Water Act–in other words a real river.

For all of my life the Los Angeles River has been confined between concrete walls. But in recent years we have seen sections of the river reclaim its freedom. In forgotten corridors vegetation has flourished, wildlife has returned.

Many L.A. residents who have relocated here from the east regard the Los Angeles River as a glorified storm drain. They cite flooding in the 1930s and use it as evidence that the river only flows seasonally and is "dangerous." But if they would look back in history a little bit further, they would realize that there were human settlements along the river long before tract homes were built and agricultural lands were sectioned off. The native people and the Spanish lived here because there was water and they built on higher ground up from the meandering and somewhat marshy river because they respected the natural forces that caused the waterway to fluctuate seasonally.

I grew up in West Hills (when it was still Canoga Park) along Bell Creek, one of the three small streams that start the Los Angeles River. Though wild in the hillsides, the creek was cemented in by developers once it met the valley. Still, was a place where you could find tadpoles and raccoons. Though it trickled in the heat of summer, Bell Creek always flowed. Local folklore tells of a Native American village that stood here at the base of the foothills above the flood plain of the central part of the valley.

Leonis Adobe in Calabasas is built along Arroyo Calabasas which joins Bell and Chatsworth Creeks to form the River (just east of Canoga High School). At its beginnings this stream has been cleaned of debris in recent years and bubbles freely past the ranch house built in 1844. That is until it flows into Los Angeles County, where it too is confined in concrete. Topanga Mall is actually built over it.

The first house that my husband and I lived in was in Van Nuys along Bull Creek, another tributary confined by the Army Corp. of Engineers. This stream was contained so that Van Nuys Airfield could be built. In the last two years, the lower section of Bull Creek, just before it joins the river, has been rehabilitated. If you want to see what our waterways could have looked like prior to the paving of the San Fernando Valley visit Lake Balboa Park and stop at the dirt turnout before you reach the lake area. Walk along newly liberated Bull Creek and you will be surprised at the wildlife. This island of habitat is home to ground squirrels and desert cottontail rabbits. The sandy cliff banks are perfect nesting areas for swallows. Ducks and herons thrive.

To experience what marshy wetland areas were like and the myriad of birds that lived there, visit Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area. The surrounding grasslands, just slightly elevated above the wetland, feed a variety of native sparrows and finches visiting in the winter. These areas are flooded following storms, just as they should be, so the grasses can grow in the silt enriched soil.

Travel down the Los Angeles River beyond Burbank and you will come to areas where you can see the ground water bubbling up in the channel. In some areas it is lifting the concrete. The natural river is trying to return. Embracing the Los Angeles River.

Yes, applying the Clean Water Act is going to mean that each of us as individuals is going to become legally responsible for what runs off of our property and into the river. If you needed more than ethical and health reasons for limiting pesticides and herbicides sprayed on your property, this is it. For me, I'm excited. I have always loved the Los Angeles River, even when it was nearly dry. It could become the green heart of our city if we can all come together and find the positive thread that connects us together, the Los Angeles River.

For more on the recent status change of the Los Angeles River visit our local state representative, Julia Brownley's webpage.

Recycling Furniture with Paint

2010-07-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

I gave new life to my old dining room chairs with a real recycling project–redoing the old upholstery.

Another idea is to paint older furniture and give it a new identity. Check out some ideas on what you can do with paint to breathe new life into your beloved furniture at The Decorative Paintbrush. I think you will find Mary's work inspirational.

Bull Thistle - A Real Weed

2010-07-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

Most people regard all thistles as invasive weeds. I happen to think they are beautiful and I have taken photos of them all over the world.

Recently we had a thistle sprout in the driveway. I decided to let it grow. Several species of thistle are native to Southern California and their nodding flower heads provide seed for our local lesser goldfinches and house finches. The down that creates the parachute to help spread the seed is used by a variety of birds and small creatures to provide plush comfort to their nests and homes.

The thistle in the drive has flowered and I think it is lovely–prickly, but delicate.

However, after consulting a few books and two reliable websites Oregon State University and Invasive.org, I have identified my thistle as a bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) a European / western Asian import. The “vulgare” in its scientific name means common. This imported thistle can be highly invasive and problematic.

For the sake of my local wild environment, this thistle must go.

Some “weeds” are welcome additions to your backyard biodiversity, others are not. If you have a thistle find out if it is a beneficial native or a problematic invasive and act from a position of knowledge.

A Lion in the Yard - Ant Lions

2010-07-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

There are tiny death traps in my front yard–ant lion pits.

One of the components of an integrated pest management plan is understanding the natural predators of a "pest" species. Ants are a common pest in suburban Los Angeles. Ants are attracted to the sweet and fat food stuffs abundant in our modern human diet. Invasive exotic species like the Argentine ant are also attracted to the water that people make available beyond natural amounts.

One ant predator is the descriptively named ant lion. This member of the ancient order of nerve-winged insects, Neuroptera, voraciously eats ants that tumble into its funnel-shaped pit made in loose sandy dirt. The hungry ant lion larva sits at the bottom of its excavated cone of loose soil. When an ant or other small insect troubles into the pit, grains of tumbling sand alert the ant lion that prey has entered its trap. The steep sides make escape difficult. Without warning the ant lion's fierce jaws snatch the frantic ant and consume it.

In several areas of the yard, small patches of sandy soil provide the perfect spot for these hidden ant traps. Throughout the summer little ant lion pits appear and disappear as the ant lions hunt, mature and eventually become delicate flying adults with elegant wings.

One of the rewards of not using pesticides, is the variety of insect predators that live in and visit our yard. Praying mantises, green lacewings, trapdoor spiders and ant lions are part of that biodiversity that maintains the natural balance in our yard and keeps the "pests" under control.

The next time you see an unusually perfect little pit in an out of the way place, take a second look. It could be an ant lion lair and an important insect predator.

Recycling Furniture - Part 2

2010-07-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

The scariest part of reupholstering your own furniture is the day you take it apart to start the project and the moment you commit and put scissors to the new fabric.

Quality fabric is an investment and we calculated our needs pretty close. When you cut the fabric you don’t want to make any mistakes. We used the old fabric removed from one of the chairs as our pattern plus an additional 1.5-2 inches along all edges. You want to have enough fabric to hold on to and pull it, and you will trim off excess. Also remember that you will need extra fabric if there is a specific pattern to the material. The new fabric had a definite pattern and we wanted to make sure that the diamond shapes were always going the same way.

We started with the chair seats because they seemed the most straightforward. We had redone the support of the chair seat with jute webbing. Here you can see the fabric placed upside down, the new layer of foam (white) and then the wooden seat frame with the jute webbing and the remnants of the old fabric that was cut off (blue).

Recovering requires pulling the fabric snug before you staple it down. As novices, this was a two person job. I pulled the fabric tight and my husband manned the electric staple gun. We started at the back edge then pulled the opposite side taut, the front, then the sides, always working in opposition. We left the corners and then went back to them. Each corner was neatly folded, like wrapping a package.

We had carefully removed the black fabric from the underside of the chairs and saved it because it was still in good shape. Stapling it back in place finished the chair seats.

Next we took on the padded chair backs. We added new batting to the front of the chairs and carefully stapled the fabric on in the same way that the original fabric had been placed. It took four hands to keep the fabric smooth and tight, easing it over the rounded corners. The back was recovered last. We replaced the 1/4” foam, then pulled the fabric firmly and stapled it down.

The last step was folding over the fabric to make a smooth edge at the bottom of the chair back.

The final step was putting the back in place and attaching the seat.

It took weeks to take all of the chairs apart and remove the old fabric and staples. An afternoon to clean the wooden frames. An afternoon to redo the seat webbing and a day to upholster with the new fabric.

Our dining room chairs are beautiful and comfortable again. They look like new and we did it all ourselves! We saved money and natural resources and tried to reduce the amount of materials that were chemically treated. Best of all, we have a sense of accomplishment.

Wild Mourning Doves

2010-07-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Mourning doves are a common wild bird seen across North America. They are hunted by hawks and a long list of predators, including humans. Yet despite their position in the food web as a "fast food" item, mourning doves appear as one of the top ten most-counted bird species every year during the Great Backyard Bird Count.

In my own FeederWatch and Ebird counts, I always have mourning doves.

When I recently posted photos of a mourning dove nest with chicks, I was contacted by someone wanting to buy them.

This individual had rescued a young mourning dove, raised it as a pet, and now was looking for a mate for the captive bird.

While this person's intentions were to do good, they were crossing some important lines.

It is illegal to keep native North American wild birds as pets. Around the world many species are endangered by unregulated or illegal collection for the pet trade.
Young birds raised by humans, frequently are unable to socialize naturally with birds of their own kind and may never breed. (This is a constant issue with bird conservation programs and why such complicated efforts like feeding puppets are employed so that young birds never associate humans as their care-providers and/or parents.)
Rescuing a wild creature means returning it to its normal, wild life whenever possible.

I have offered sanctuary to wild animals for short amounts of time; tree squirrel, California towhee, Allen's hummingbird. Success is seeing that animal living its life in the wild, even if that only means a few days.

The more I observe wild creatures, the less I want any creature to be a pet. Is it difficult to let a creature go back into the wild where it might be eaten by a predator or injured by humans? Yes.

But if you provide safe habitat, wild creatures will come and make use of the sanctuary you offer at the level they need and desire. I am spiritually uplifted watching the preying mantis youngsters emerge from their egg casing, witnessing the trials and challenges of the hummingbirds that I have rescued as they live their own natural lives. I do not need to own them. I don't want to own them. They all have important roles to play in a vibrant, healthy planet. I hope you can start to see the wild creatures around you in this way too.

Starting with the Seats - Upholstery

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

Where do you start when you are taking on your first upholstery project? With the part that seems the least intimidating–for our dining room chairs, that was the seats.

Initially we thought we could keep the old seat support materials.

But as we took more of them apart, we realized that the plasticized fabric was disintegrating and had completely failed on some of the chairs.

As we set out to redo the chairs, I did some research into "green" upholstery materials. While natural latex materials are available through the Internet, finding them locally was an issue. The cost is greater and the durability less, in some cases. We chose to use natural materials where we could.

We cut the old synthetic material out and replaced it with old-fashioned jute webbing. Jute is a strong natural fiber. You probably know it from burlap sacks. Jute has been used to provide sturdy, yet comfortable, support in furniture for thousands of years.

By interweaving the jute webbing, you create a stronger support because the weight is distributed evenly across the seat area.

Using an electric stapler, we attached the webbing to the seat frame. This electric stapler is my new favorite tool. It made the upholstery project possible.

The jute webbing will support the foam cushion on the chair seat.

Recycling Dining Room Chairs. Next comes the most stressful step, cutting into the fabric.

Recycling Furniture

2010-07-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

I had a goal of sustainably reinvigorating my dining room chairs in June. Green Action #6 - I wanted to dig deeper with living a more sustainable lifestyle. Giving new life to our 22-year-old chairs was quite a process, but we did it. This was real recycling.

We took the chairs apart; removing the seat and back cushions, taking notes through out the process so that we could put everything back together.

Before we worked on the upholstery itself, I cleaned the wood framework of the chairs.

Each oak chair was scrubbed and oiled. When they were done, the frames looked like new.

Tomorrow, we'll take on the upholstery.

Integrated Pest Management

2010-06-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

There is an aspect of sustainability in everything we do, that includes how you handle the tomato worms in your garden or the ants in your pantry.

This week I'm working with a Girl Scout Twilight Camp to help some girls earn their Incredible Insects badge. As part of my preparation, I had to become knowledgeable about the 5 components of Integrated Pest Management.

While the five components are fairly intuitive, knowing them and applying them to any "pest" situation can help you respond in a more sustainable and earth-friendly manner.

Over the next few days I'm going to apply these five components to a couple of "pest" situations around my own home to demonstrate how you too can dig a little deeper and find new ways to approach old insect "pest" problems.

Look at the insect in the photo above. Is it a pest or a beneficial ? If you don't know, make sure you come back over the next week, it could make a huge difference in how you see the world and respond to insects.

Interaction Between California Quail and Other Birds

2010-06-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

I've continued to do regular birding walks at Serrania Avenue Park. One of the species I've been looking for is California quail. The number of quail seems less than normal despite the ample rainfall that has been a boon to other species.

However, this morning we saw a plump pair and heard two additional males calling from the two sides of this canyon.

Unfortunately, the pair did not have any chicks following them. But we did observe something that we haven't seen before:

The two quail were making their way through tall dry mustard plants. They were feeding on either insects or seeds. Following them were two immature Bewick's wrens and an adult California towhee with three juveniles. The smaller young birds seemed to be taking advantage of what the larger quail were scaring up.

How different the San Fernando Valley must have looked when it was mostly tall grasses with a riparian corridor along the Los Angeles River and its tributaries. How many birds would have been feeding on the seeds and insects? What interaction between species would you have seen?

The more we can establish a quilt of native habitat across the suburban landscape, the more we may have an opportunity to understand the native wildlife that should be here.

Digging Deeper means understanding that the interconnection between species is essential to a sustainable world.

Then There Were Mourning Doves

2010-06-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Two mourning dove chicks in a nest constructed in a hanging flower pot.

A friend and his family are documenting this nest site on their front porch. SEE the nest when first discovered.

A healthy backyard habitat gives back to you in living treasures.

Program on Island Fox and the Role of Field Biologists

2010-06-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

California's Channel Island fox is making a strong comeback thanks to the joint efforts of government agencies, private organizations and the general public. Conservation efforts include annual capture of island foxes to count their numbers and provide them with health checks. Join me at:

Placerita Nature Center
8:30 - 9:30 AM,
Saturday June 19th

In my role as V.P. of Education for Friends of the Island Fox, I'll be giving a program exploring why the island fox became endangered and what actions were taken to save them. We'll demonstrate how field biologists use radio tracking to monitor island fox health and welfare. And the group will hike a short way into the chaparral for an opportunity to see how island foxes are trapped annually across the islands. Kids will have the opportunity to engage in the steps biologists use to preform a health check on an island fox in the field.

Following there will be a guided hike, lead by representatives from the Placerita Nature Center for those that wish to go on a longer hike.

Join me for a fun opportunity to learn about field biology and the island fox in a beautiful natural setting. This event is FREE and for ages 5 and up.

Identifying A Bird Nesting in a Hanging Pot

2010-06-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Do you have a bird nesting in a hanging flower pot?

After a recent talk I gave on identifying local birds, my friend Shane and his daughter Jenna sent me the following photos of the bird they wanted to identify.

This mourning dove has build a nest in a hanging pot. The dove or pigeon shape of the body, the soft gray coloring, the black beak, and the lack of a marking on the neck or a "collar," help us to identify that this is a mourning dove. This smallish dove is one of the most typically seen birds at bird feeders and in suburbs. Mourning doves don’t mind people and we discourage the presence of their primary predators: hawks and falcons, foxes, bobcats and other small mammalian predators.

Mourning doves build a haphazard, loose nest of twigs. If they can find a cupped location–like a hanging pot– or a secure surface–like the top of a window-mounted air conditioner or a protected roof line under an eave–they will use that human-made location to their benefit. Frequently that means mourning doves nest close to human activities.

This pinkish-gray dove depends on its camouflage coloring to allude predators. Their survival tactic is to remain very still. They trust that if they don’t move, you can’t see them. Don’t be surprised if a nesting dove will sit on its nest as you walk by.

According to birding books, both parents incubate the eggs; taking a shift at a specific time of day. The two white eggs shown here are a typical clutch.

A bird nesting close to your home says that you are providing habitat the bird needs. A protected secure location near food and water. (See nesting Bewick’s wren, Allen’s hummingbird.)

I hope that Jenna and her dad will keep us informed as the mourning doves continue their nesting effort. It would be great to see young mourning doves.

What is in your yard?

Are you interested in learning to identify birds in your yard? Contact me at 4animalbytes@gmail.com

Praying Mantises Emerge

2010-06-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Digging deeper into backyard biodiversity means getting you to look at what is in your backyard too.

This past week we had consecutive days of temperatures in the high 90s F. The praying mantis egg cases seemed to be plumper each day. (This egg case was laid by a female praying mantis that I had caught and used in a class I was teaching last fall.)

Saturday night the low hovered around 60 degrees F. Sunday morning dawned overcast but warm. Everything was just right and the pray mantis juveniles emerged from their egg case leaving behind debris shed as they emerged.

We missed the moment of emergence, but this photo taken by our friend Jessica shows how the praying mantis juveniles hatch all at once. Jessica caught this moment in her yard.

The 4 -5 mm long, tiny praying mantises were dispersing when we saw them. There were 20-30 of them.

We wished them well as they dashed along the grape vine and across the patio supports. Some will become food for birds, lizards and other insects. Hopefully, some will grow up to prey on a variety of insects in the yard and lay their egg casings on twigs to continue the cycle of praying mantises in the yard.

Giving Furniture New Life - Recycling

2010-06-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Has recycling become part of your daily life? For many of us recycling paper, glass, metal and plastic containers has become integrated into our daily practices. More cities and towns participate in curbside recycling of disposables.

But that in itself points at an unsustainable mindset in our current society: that everything is disposable and therefore should be replaced on a regular basis to continue the economic cycle of consuming. We’re trying to move away from that mindset.

A hundred years ago when more people had to make the things they used themselves, they tried to find multiple uses for everything. I have a doll cradle that my great grandfather made for my grandmother when she was a toddler. The wooden planks that he used to maker the doll furniture were recycled from an old carriage.

We have an oak dining room table that we purchased new over 20 years ago. We’ve taken good care of it and the wood is still beautiful, but the upholstery of the chairs is shot. To toss the chairs and purchase something new would be expensive and a waste of oak resources. To dig deeper into a sustainable lifestyle we decided to take on the job of reupholstering our six dining room chairs.

Spending a couple of hours a weekend for the past two months, I’ve been taking apart the chairs and removing the staples that attached the cloth covering. It isn’t a difficult job, just time consuming.

The most important part was having the right tools. Much of the removal of the cloth can be done by cutting it off with a utility knife. The key tool is a special tipped screw driver-shaped staple remover or staple puller. Using the tapered end you pry up the staples. Some staples break off, requiring a pair of pliers to pull them out.

Not all of the staples need to be removed, but the majority did on our chairs because of the tight fit between the inset backs and the wooden frame.
As I’ve gone along I’ve taken notes so that I can follow these notes in reverse to reapply the new fabric.

All of the old upholstery has been removed and the exciting part will be putting the chairs back together.

Upholstery is something I’ve never done before. I hope to have the chairs finished by the end of the month. I’ll keep you posted as we progress.

What big items can you recycle or re-purpose at your house? Where can you stop thinking disposable?

Green Action #6 - Digging Deeper

2010-06-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

Sustainability has become the catch word for everything from business markets to politics. But the important use of the term refers to humans living on resources that are replaceable in a manner that can be sustained into the future. Sustainability relates to economics, housing, business practices, education, development, food, clothing, every aspect of our lives. However, it doesn't mean manipulating the marketplace so that there always is a desire for a specific product. It means living in a way that provides a vital, healthy world for humans to live in seven generations from now.

Since January I've been trying to take on one niche of my daily life and to make it more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

January - Five Green Food Actions
February - Understanding Local Biodiversity
March - Everyday Sustainability
April - Gardening With Intent
May - Bird Conservation

June seems the perfect time to re-evaluate and dig deeper. Too many individuals, institutions and companies have taken on the banner of sustainability, but they have only scraped the surface of green actions and behavior.

So, where have we done well:

I've expanded Veggie Tuesdays and Thursdays to Wednesday as well. The middle of the week I focus on eating lower on the food chain. I've found that the transition has been fairly easy and there are more meals throughout the week that are veggie oriented.

Gardening with the intent to raise more of our own food is rewarding. A bowl of cereal with a handful of blueberries fresh from the bush is not only more tasty, it is also more satisfying.

With only a few plants–zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes–we aren't producing all of our food needs, but we are producing some. We are living closer to our own small bit of land.The biodiversity in the yard continues to grow, entertain and delight us. No, the desert cottontails are not munching on my vegetables. They seem to prefer the "weeds."

I've found soap products based on olive oil and glycerin to replace those using palm oil. We haven't bought any food products with palm oil for 3 months and we don't miss them.

I've been counting bird species for eBird both in my backyard and at our local Serrania Park. In fact, I discovered a blue-gray gnatcatcher pair nesting in an oak tree in the park and on Sunday morning we saw their two chicks fledge from the nest. It was very rewarding. Inali and I have documented nesting Bullock's and hooded orioles, black phoebes, Cassin's kingbirds, western bluebirds, bushtits, oak titmice, scrub-jays and Bewick's wrens all nesting in our local park.

Do you know what wild creatures live in your neighborhood? We've found that learning about our wild neighbors has put us more in touch with the rhythm of life.

We are using fewer resources, it is costing us less, and we don't feel that we are missing out on anything. I can't wait to dig deeper.

Learn to Identify the Birds in Your Yard

2010-05-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever looked out into your yard and wondered....

What's That Bird?

Saturday, May 29th, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Woodland Hills Public Library

I'll be doing a basic Birding 101 class on how to identify bird species.

Whether you are 8 or 80, you can learn to identify our local birds. We'll be focusing on the fun and understanding our bird neighbors.

Oh, these big birds on my feeder are native band-tailed pigeons. They are locals who need our help. Before the San Fernando Valley became parking lots and housing tracks, before the citrus and walnut orchards, this big birds roamed under oak trees swallowing acorns whole. No oak trees, no food for these local birds. Their numbers were low and declining, but recently they seem to be improving.

Come join me at the Woodland Hills Public Library for a FREE program and activities.

The Foundation of Habitat

2010-05-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

Creating habitat for bird life means starting from the plants and working up.

A well-planted yard provides shelter for birds, but quality habitat requires natural food sources as well.

Native plants like this anemone not only provide shelter, they attract native insects.

When you think of an important pollinating insect you probably think of a honey bee. But the European honey bee is not native to California (or North America for that matter).

Locally we have several species of large carpenter bees and bumble bees that pollinate plants, but many native plants are pollinated by less glorified insects – flies, beetles and moths. You can see the fly feeding on the pollen on the lower area of the flower.

Most native insects can only feed on the pollen of native plants. These insects are important food for larger insects, lizards and birds.

Creating habitat for birds means establishing an environment safe for insects–flies and beetles, as well as the more beautiful butterflies. See crane flies.

Plants and arthropods are the foundation of habitat. Arthropods include insects, spiders and crustaceans (those little "c-shape" creatures that hop about on the ground when you lift up a pot, and yes, they are related to shrimp). Birds and lizards can establish thriving populations if your yard offers these vital resources. John Fitzgerald of Cornell University spoke last week in Los Angeles on bird conservation. He pointed out that the areas where eastern wood thrushes have declined coincide with areas of increased acid rain. The acidic rain kills the native crustaceans in the plant undergrowth, thereby removing an important food source for the wood thrush. Having a healthy population of creepers and crawlers, supports a healthy population of runners and fliers.

This western fence lizard not only eats its share of insects it also is makes your yard more healthy for you (fence lizard and Lyme's disease). Healthy fat lizards are also potentially a food source for red-shouldered hawks, shrikes and other birds.

If you want to help birds, you need to reexamine your ideal garden. Paradise isn't sterile. The Earth's garden is filled with abundance and diversity, including spiders, aphids and grubs.

Turkey Vultures Migrate Too

2010-05-20T17:32:00.001-07:00

Not all migratory birds are beautiful songbirds, like warblers and orioles, or dynamic shore birds like sandpipers and ducks.

Turkey vultures are migratory birds too. We are just seeing the tail end of the groups that fly through Southern California headed north and east for the summer. The west end of the San Fernando Valley provides numerous stop-over sites for these under appreciated birds as they return from southern wintering grounds as far away as South America.

Though the turkey vulture has a large wingspan–68 - 72 inches–most only weigh between 3-6 lbs. Their light weight body and wide wings enable them to travel great distances without flapping a wing. Turkey vultures can soar great distances riding the thermals in the air currents 3-4,000 feet above the ground. The upturned "V" shape of the wings acts like a kite and it is a clue that the bird you are watching is a turkey vulture and not a hawk. Hawks tend of hold their wings more flat.

While turkey vultures are masterful at soaring, taking off can be a challenge, especially from the ground. (Or if their wings are wet from rain or heavy dew. See video of turkey vulture drying its wings.)

Starting from a lofty position makes taking to the air easier. Migrating turkey vultures look for roosting sites high in trees and/or near areas with rising thermals. They will ride rising warm air by making wide circles gradually increasing their altitude. This is called "kettling." (Some mornings in the fall when the turkey vultures are in larger groups migrating south, the Ventura (405) Freeway grinds to a halt with anxious commuters wondering why 40-50 vultures are circling over the highway.)

For turkey vultures a stand of large trees is an important temporary roost during migration. These birds may not be beautiful in a Western tanager sense, but they are vital components of a healthy environment. Turkey vultures eat the dead and help complete the cycle of life. The site of a turkey vulture overhead is a hopeful sign for a healthy environment.

Surprise Hummingbird Babies

2010-05-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

I have a conflict of interest in May. Birds are nesting and the city of Los Angeles requires the cutting back of vegetation for wild fire abatement. Actually, I've been trimming back greenery for the past few months. It takes me a while because I have to be very careful not to disturb or destroy bird nests.

Dead trees are the first thing on the Fire Department's removal list. But at both my local Serrania Avenue Park and while leading a bird walk at the Los Angeles Zoo, I've seen woodpecker and titmouse nests in just such unwanted dead wood. When we remove all of the old wood, these cavity nesting birds are impacted by a lack of nesting sites.

Our own yard has been a twitter with fledglings–3 Bewick's wrens, 5 Allen's hummingbirds, an Anna's hummingbird, 5 lesser goldfinches, a California towhee and an oak titmouse. I thought most of the nesting was coming to a close in the yard because the last week has been edge-of-summer warm. But I looked up on Wednesday and noticed a short beak sticking out of the nest where the Allen's hummingbird DR successfully fledged her first chick in February.

This female Allen's hummingbird is close to successfully raising 5 chicks to flying all in the course of 5 months. She laid her first two eggs in this nest in mid-January. First Chick Fledges. Her second nest was in another holly-leaf cherry over the sidewalk. Now she is back using the first nest with slight additions. It's a good example of why you shouldn't remove bird nests. Many are reused or the materials are scavenged and reused.

Somehow I missed the laying, incubating, and hatchling stage this time around. Here were two chicks with the beginnings of primary feathers tucked tightly into a reworked nest.

The holly-leaf cherry that is home to this nest needs to be thinned. In fact, it was on my list for last weekend. But trimming this shrub now would threaten these two young hummingbirds.

Before I start to trim a tree or shrub I stand back and watch it for a few days. Is there a bird frequenting a specific area of that plant? Has there been a nest there in the past? As I trim I try to go slowly and pay attention for activity or youngsters I might have missed.

Obviously the best time to cut back plants is after nesting is over in the fall and winter, but the city requirements don't coincide with the needs of wildlife residents. Besides, a great deal of plant growth has occurred since our spring rains. Maintaining sanctuary for wildlife can mean maintaining a delicate balance between animal needs and human needs.

Wild fire is a serious problem in Southern California, but fortunately native plants are now seen as beneficial and not just as fire fuel. The Fire Department even gives out native holly-leaf cherry and oaks for people to plant.

When trimming your plants remember that other creatures may be dependent on them. If you want wildlife to make a home in your yard, you have to respect where they build those homes.

Birding in Serrania Avenue Park

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

An important element of bird conservation is being aware of trends regarding population numbers, migration patterns and nesting success.

In February I focused my sustainable living practices on understanding my local biodiversity - Green Action #2. Since then I have been doing weekly bird counts at my local Serrania Avenue Park.

When you look at these photos, it may be hard to imagine that this park is in a suburb of Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, with over 1.75 million people. But less than a half mile away, at the base of the hill in the distance, is one of the busiest freeways in the world. The trees mask the houses between the park and the Ventura Freeway (101).

Despite its proximity to a large human population this park is an important habitat for a variety of birds, like the Anna's hummingbird (pictured), Nuttall's woodpecker and northern flicker. I typically see 25 - 35 species in an hour walking along a half mile path.

A number of species nest here including: oak titmouse, bushtits, Anna's and Allen's hummingbirds, black phoebe, lesser goldfinch, Northern mockingbirds, California towhee, spotted towhee, Bewick's wren, mourning dove, California quail and scrub jays.

The park was an important area of survival for the scrub jays (pictured) when populations living in the surrounding suburbs were killed by West Nile virus several years ago.

Migrating birds also have been arriving and nesting as well, including: western bluebird, Cassin's kingbird, California thrashers, and recently Bullock's and hooded orioles. This year we also have a nesting pair of blue-gray gnatcatchers. The male phainopepla arrived last week, but he is still without a mate.

Because fingers of the park reach up into the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, there is a crossover of suburban and chapparal bird species. Large birds of prey, red-tailed and red shouldered hawks, as well as Cooper's hawks and great horned owls hunt here. Once I even saw a bobcat stalking desert cottontails.

I am logging in my observations every week on eBird and NestWatch. Not only am I discovering the patterns of migration and nesting at my local park, I am also acting as a citizen scientist. My data is available to scientists and biologists looking at localized patterns and continental patterns. More Citizen Science Projects.

One thing I have realized is that nests in the park are threatened by predators either introduced or increased because of human activity. So far I have documented two bushtit nests and both have been destroyed by predators. One nest may have been robbed by ravens, which have increased dramatically in our area over the past 5 years. The other was destroyed by a fox tree squirrel, which is an introduced species. Our tree nesting birds did not evolve with these aggressive squirrels.

These fox tree squirrels are cute, but feeding them increases their population and expands their territory. With that comes increased threat to nesting native birds.

Serrania Avenue Park is a wonderful place to bird for California chapparal species. Access is easy and the birding is bountiful. Check out your local park, you may be surprised at the number of wild animals in your own neighborhood.

International Migratory Bird Day Events In Los Angeles 2010

2010-05-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

May is bird conservation month for me. In an effort to become more aware and involved with local conservation related to birds here are the events I have put on my calendar:

International Migratory Bird Day
Saturday, May 8
8:00 - 10:00 AM
Bird Walk at the Los Angeles Zoo (free to zoo members)
I will be one of the walk leaders.
for reservations and info www.lazoo.org

It's Our Nature: Birds Can Save The World with John Fitzpatrick
Tuesday, May 18
6:00 PM
Lecture at the Los Angeles Zoo ($8 for zoo members, $10 non-members)
An opportunity to hear the Director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University discuss the vital roles that birds play in fostering conservation of worldwide biological diversity.
For more info and tickets www.lazoo.org

What Bird is That?
Saturday, May 29
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Woodland Hills Public Library
I will be giving a FREE presentation on identifying local birds and nests. Beginners and children are encouraged to attend. There will be activities and fun.

May is For the Birds

2010-05-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

It is a beautiful spring day. The breeze softly moves through the vegetation nodding the hummingbird sage. The thermometer is tickling summer temperatures, but the air still has a gentle breath of moisture.

As you’ve seen in my posts on Bewick’s wrens and Allen’s hummingbirds, I am committed to providing habitat for local bird species. This month I’ve decided to focus on my daily activities that have a direct effect on the wildlife I encounter every day - birds.

You may not think of a crow as a wild animal, but it is. For most of us living in cities or suburbs, birds and insects are the wild creatures we have the greatest opportunity to interact with every day.

This morning I saw three lesser goldfinch chicks, just out of the nest. Notice their beating wings.

They were noisily begging for food from their parents.

You don't have to watch TV to witness wild animals being born or interacting with their young.

My intention this month is to identify ways I can support bird conservation at home and afar.

specific actions I can take to improve my backyard habitat for birds
examining commercial products I use and their impacts on bird life
participating in local events for bird awareness and conservation

May is also the month of International Migratory Bird Day. As the world focuses its attention on birds, maybe you should too.

The Gift for Gardening With Intent

2010-04-29T20:43:00.001-07:00

This morning I received the perfect gift for my efforts to create a refuge for wildlife in my backyard - fledglings.

Yesterday afternoon I took a quick photo of the Bewick’s wren chicks in their “chicken pot” nest. You have to look closely to see one of the chicks. One light streak in the dark opening is the yellow on the lower edge of a beak and the other is a white eyebrow just over the tiny eye. The other two chicks are further back in the pot.

Mom was working very hard yesterday. No sooner did she return to the nest with a grub or worm and feed one of the chicks, then she would start off to look for more and one of the chicks would call her back for KP duty.

Bewick’s wrens are cavity nesters. I have a perfectly nice bird house in the yard that this pair used a few years ago. They built a nest in the house this year, but decided the pot was a better location. Anyway, because the chicks are down in a confined space, the parents take the little packets of fecal matter out of the nest to keep it clean.

Yesterday, the three chicks had mom hopping. Their chirps were insistent, “Feed me, feed me.” “Mom, there’s poop.” The father wren has been helping with the feeding and housekeeping, but yesterday, when things were at their most hectic. I caught a glimpse of him sitting high on the telephone wire, nearly asleep. The chicks were calling, but he seemed to be letting his mate handle the offspring.

This morning the nest was empty.

And here is where the gift comes in: The parent wrens were leading their three fledglings through the holly cherry and the fern. Dad was leading the little ones in a hunt for crane’s fly grubs in the leaf litter and grass. The young birds were trying their wings for the first time, flying a couple feet off the ground and perching on a seedling oak.

I have worked to create a Garden with Intent, food for myself and a hillside with native plants that feed and house native insects. These insects are in turn food for the Allen’s hummingbirds when they nest, the western fence lizards and slender salamanders, and now for the family of Bewick’s wrens. The habitat is rich in resources and safe from introduced predators. There is no cat to fear, no pesticides to weaken tiny youngsters.

The pair of wrens were leading their three chicks on a morning of discovery and I got to watch.

Oh, and Dad had a reason to be resting up yesterday, he was leading the way.

A New Day for Snakes

2010-04-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I love happy endings.

Last year a friend had a neighbor who killed a snake in their yard and then asked what kind it was. Snake - Victim of Ignorance

The poor gopher snake was just trying to eat the abundant rodents around the people's orchard property. My friend and I tried a little education about local snakes and hoped for the best.

This year another gopher snake has made an appearance on the neighbor's property, but this time they took a photo FIRST. Yes, it is another gopher snake. It is a little plump which supports the evidence that an abundance of rodents are available on their property.

This gopher snake is not a threat to the people or their medium-sized dog. In fact the dog is a threat to the snake. The gopher snake is a valuable ally. It will do its best to eat the rats and gophers around their rural orchard and its efficient hunting will help to keep rattlesnakes away.

We hope that they will decide to let the snake do its work on their property. But even if they do decide to relocate it, this gopher snake survived. A little education can make a world of difference for wild creatures. Once you know an animal is not a threat, you can stop and think rationally about what to do about its presence. Most snakes are completely beneficial, don't condemn them because of human ignorance and cultural myth.

Don't Pull That Dandelion

2010-04-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

Gardening with Intent means leaving in plants that you might regard as weeds if they provide food for other species. It also means nurturing plants that may not be traditionally beautiful but are important providers of native habitat and food.

How many dandelions have you pulled out in disgust?

Dandelions are native to North America and they are nutritious for animals and people.

Our yard has limited sun; few dandelions can make a go of it. When one sprouted up at the base of the block wall in the front, I was happy. The desert tortoise has just really started to eat after its winter torpor. Dandelion greens are filled with vitamins and they help stimulate the digestive system.

Nikki regards dandelion as a spring tonic.

Native heuchera or coral bells send up stalks of small flowers in spring.

The flowers are stunning on a minute level, but their tiny size makes them less desirable to many people. Hummingbirds, however, favor these tasty native blooms. This month I’ve added to my patch of heuchera and I plan to add more in the fall. I’d like to plant them in the backyard as well, but the tortoises love them too much.

The Catalina cherry and holly cherry are in bloom. They can’t compare to azaleas or camellias for beauty, but little white flowers attract small insect pollinators: flower flies and hover flies. These small insects, as well as gnats, are import items on the menu for western fence lizards and nesting female hummingbirds.

People always ask me why there are so many hummingbirds nesting in my yard. I honestly think the reason is that the hungry mothers need ready access to protein–small flying insects. The holly cherry trees attract native insects and provide the perfect location for building a nest. Two of the three successful hummingbird nests this spring have been in holly cherry shrubs.

In late summer the holly cherry will produce a small acidic fruit eaten by a variety of birds.

Look at the plants in your living space with a new eye. Which plants attract the most native insects? Which plants have the most spider webs? These are the plants that are participating in the local food web. Rethink pulling up all those dandelions. Try letting an area of your space be a “weed” patch. Dandelion and thistle seed are important food for small birds like goldfinches.

The word “paradise” comes from the idea of an enclosed garden. But a true paradise isn’t brightly colored flowers and grass in a sterile environment, living plants and animals interacting with each other, a reflection of the natural world, that is a true paradise.

Happy Earth Day

2010-04-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

Gray skies are still promising rain. They haven’t delivered more than an 1/8th of an inch in the last three days, but still the native plants are thriving.

This Earth Day, the Douglas iris, columbine and coral bells along the front walkway are lush green with beautiful flowers.

All of these native species are drought tolerant and loving the cool spring weather we’ve been having.

Except for watering the newly planted columbine, we have been able to keep our sprinklers off completely. Native plants not only attract more animal biodiversity, they also are cost effective because they use less water.

Whether through natural seed dispersal (wild cucumber) or planned removal of non-native species (African daisies), we are actively transforming at least half of our yardscape to native species. The intention is to create habitat for native California species and move toward sustainable water use.

This Earth Day take a look at your living space. Is your garden providing homes and food for wildlife or food for you? Our human footprint on the Earth is immense. If we can make the areas that we live in more connected to local ecosystems, we can give back to our wild neighbors. I’ve been trying to focus on Gardening with Intent this month and it has given me new resolve–more areas will be replanted with natives, food crops can be grown in pots and the invasive Mexican ash saplings must be removed.

Giant Mosquitoes ?

2010-04-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

There’s been concern among some of my neighbors that we are being invaded by giant mosquitoes.

Actually, the spring rains have encouraged the pupation of large numbers of common crane flies (Tipula planicornis). At first glance, these long-legged flies do look like mosquitoes, but they actually have very little in common.

The crane fly larva feeds on roots and plant matter under leaf litter. It kind of looks like a large (half inch long) thick-skinned maggot. It isn’t an attractive childhood, but it is nothing like the aquatic mosquito. Once the crane fly develops into an adult with wings it has a fairly short lifespan and typically does not eat. You can tell it is a fly and not a mosquito because it only has two wings (one pair). Mosquitoes and all other kinds of flying insects typically have four wings (two pairs).

Some people call crane flies “mosquito hawks” with the assumption that they eat mosquitoes. Unfortunately, that is a myth. Personally, I think they look like fairies when they fly up from the grass.

The past year’s warm dry weather followed by a moderate winter with normal rainfall has enhanced grass growth. Crane fly larva prosper in grass and we seem to be having an unusually large population of adults this spring. The females are considerably thicker in body. One source said that females are unable to fly. There appear to be far more males than females, and I saw a group of males mobbing a single female all trying to mate with her.

Is anything eating these crane flies? So far I haven’t seen any birds or other animals munching on the flying adults. If you look at them closely, they are mostly long brittle legs and glassy wings. There isn’t much to eat. However, I’m sure that as larva they are consumed by a number of our yard birds, Bewick’s wren, California and spotted towhee. Perhaps their availability added to the Bewick's decision to nest in our yard. Bewick's wren nest.

So don’t be alarmed by a large long-legged crane fly headed your direction. It isn’t a mosquito and it isn’t going to hurt you. Part of being a good gardener is getting to know the species in your yard. The common crane fly isn’t going to harm you or your garden. In fact I noticed a young alligator lizard sunning itself about a foot from the breeding crane fly group. Maybe it was waiting for the soon to be laid, crane fly eggs.

Letting Go of the Word “Weed”

2010-04-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

The dictionary defines a weed as “a wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants.”

I’m letting go of this notion that wild free-growing plants are unwanted. And in doing so, amazing things are growing in my yard.

This wild cucumber or manroot (Mara macrocarpus) creates a beautiful delicate vine with white flowers in early spring. Now the fruit, these amazing prickly orbs the size of baseballs, are maturing and creating an exotic look. Because this vine is a native, it won’t grow out of control. It will die back to just its root during the summer.

But I didn’t plant this beautiful vine; it appeared.

The easiest way to increase native plants in your yard is to embrace the wild plants that show up on their own.

In an attempt to “control” nature, we label things as “weeds” and yank out the hearty native foliage that sprouts in our yards. Yet these plants typically are best suited for our soil, climate and water availability. These plants often are transported by native animals that depend on this vegetation for food and thereby spread the plant’s seeds.

Some plants that appear can be very invasive, but usually these are not native species. In my own yard I have a terrible problem with Oxalis pes-caprae, a South African species. Nothing eats it, it spreads uncontrollably and it pushes out other plants.

Native species usually have some creature or climate adaptation that controls their growth or spread. Before you pull out a new plant in your yard, identify it. Know What You Grow.

Earlier this year I discovered a black nightshade that had been introduced to the yard. At first I didn’t know what it was. But a friend saw my photos and identified the plant. A little research revealed that the black nightshade is an important native food source for some animals. I left it in. It is growing beautifully with purplish fruit, but the two plants have stayed small and have not spread.

I also have stopped trying to control my natives. I let a young mallow take hold about a yard from its original planted parent. Wild plants grow in the spots that are best suited for them. Yes, if a plant sprouts in a pathway I will remove it, but these self-starters are more likely to thrive in the locations they have chosen.

The valley scrub oak (Quercus agrifolia), that we lovingly planted 12 years ago, died in last year’s drought. But the four valley scrub oaks that were naturally planted by scrub jays are all healthy and growing. Toyon, Catalina cherry and holly cherry, are all natives reproducing naturally and becoming vital to erosion control on our hillside.

It’s my intention to create habitat in my yard, so I am letting go of the word “weed.” I’m embracing the wild plants that find their way to grow in our corner of the city and increase our backyard biodiversity.

You Can Compost

2010-04-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

I admit that I am challenged by composting.

Part of my problem is that most of my yard is shady and most of my plant waste is green, not dry. Keeping the composter cooking is tricky.

But as part of my effort to Garden with Intent, I am trying to increase my composting efforts.

If you really gather up all of the veggie food remains, flowers from the house, yard trimmings, and unbleached paper, there really is a lot that can be kept out of landfills and other trash systems.

I use my compost mulch around my yard and I never have enough.

You don't need a special composter to make a difference. Even just an area in the yard where you can pile plant waste can be an effective composting system. Turning the decaying greenery helps increase air flow and helps encourage efficient composting. My hanging composter is on a pivot so that it can be tumbled or turned.

Composting completes the circle of life in your yard and creates a more sustainable system. Nutrients are returned to the soil and your plants grow better. Composting is a Green Action for your garden that is easy and important.

Bewick's Wren

2010-04-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

An added benefit of creating a more natural garden...increased animal biodiversity.

A pair of Bewick's wrens patrol the yard and eat unwanted insects. I trust them to help keep balance in the yard and they have honored us with their trust. They have made their nest on our patio.

Right next to the back door there is a chicken-shaped pot. I was planning to grow some herbs in it this spring but the wrens had their own plan.

Apparently the position of the small pot created just the right protection for the pair to build a nest in the tail section of the chicken pot.

If you look closely you can just make out the curve of the female's beak as she sits on the three eggs in the nest.

Soon we will have our own insect patrol squad, a family of Bewick's wrens.

When you garden with the intent of providing habitat, wild creatures will participate in your efforts and further enhance the beauty and sustainability of your garden. Gardening with Intent.

A Yard That Produces Food

2010-04-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Now that I am getting ahead of the brown snails, another Green Action for my garden is to increase the sustainable nature of my yard by harvesting more of my own food. My growing area is small but I still have hopes for a productive garden.

I have trouble with fox squirrels. (baby squirrel) They are an introduced species in the Los Angeles area and their territory is dramatically increasing. But I have found a way to protect my tomato plants.

I'm growing them in my old chicken house. Not only are the tomatoes protected from squirrels (and other rodents), the mesh keeps out most sphinx moths which are the parents of tomato worms. An added benefit is the soil in the chicken house is rich with natural fertilizers. The chickens have been gone for 5 years but they are still benefiting the vegetables.

I've planted squashes and I'm trying cucumbers for the first time.

I pruned back my herbs during the winter and they all seemed to have appreciated the trimming. The mint, oregano, rosemary and scented geraniums are all flourishing.

Growing my own vegetables means producing food that I know was grown without pesticides. If we all could grow some of our own food on the land that we have already developed, we could reduce the need to destroy natural habitats for agriculture. Maybe we could even let more land that has already been developed be returned to a natural state.

We are still harvesting lemons. Hopefully, we will also have grapes, herbs, tomatoes, squash, cucumber, limes, and edible flowers.