A Joy to Behold— San Diego’s Spotted Towhee
When I started working at the wildlife rehabilitation center 15 years ago, I knew nothing about wildlife rehab. But as a birder, I knew birds and their habitats. The staff knew a lot about healing birds but they weren’t birders. So when they asked me to check on a Spotted Towhee they were worried about…
Read MoreThe Greater Roadrunner Beep! Beep!
A “tall, thin tramp in a swallow-tailed coat.” A “long striped snake on two legs.” A lanky, blue and purple cartoon character with a flopping crest, constantly foiling Wile E. Coyote. What do these descriptions have in common? They all belong to the Greater Roadrunner. A large, loping, ground-loving member of the cuckoo family, this…
Read MoreA Wren for All Seasons
Walking past the sage-scrub open space in the pre-dawn winter twilight, I heard a number of birds singing loudly. Some sounded like Song Sparrows improvising a different intro and jazzier closing notes—maybe a different song for winter than summer? Others made me think of extremely musical Spotted Towhees, although Spotteds (and most songbirds) don’t sing…
Read MoreThe 2019 Christmas Bird Count Results are in!
Summary, Oceanside (CAOV) Christmas Bird Count—2019 Kirsten Winter (CBC Compiler) Download a PDF copy of the results here. The 74th Oceanside Christmas Bird Count was held on December 21, 2019. It was a clear and pleasant day, with light breezes. Temperatures ranged from approximately 35−40 degrees F in the morning to about 60−70 degrees in…
Read MoreYES ON PROP “A” & NO ON PROP “B”
In March, there are two important ballot measures regarding land use in San Diego County. One is Measure B, the Newland Sierra development in North County (Vote NO), and the other is Measure A, Safeguard Our San Diego Countryside (SOS), a countywide measure (Vote YES). MEASURE B-NEWLAND SIERRA The proposed Newland Sierra project, located north…
Read MoreLike Rogers and Astaire The Western Grebe
I had done my homework before releasing a Western Grebe from the wildlife rehabilitation center. “Western Grebes are incapable of walking on land,” due to how far back their legs are set on their bodies. Even the ultimate resource, the Sibley Guide to Birds, agreed. I’d need to wade a few feet into the reservoir…
Read MoreWinter Spectacle — Cedar Waxwings
Christmas Bird Count 2018, Anstine Audubon Preserve in Vista. Our small group climbs a hill and checks for birds. Craning my neck, I mutter, “I hear Cedar Waxwings.” We all start scanning the tops of trees, the sky, in all directions. Nowhere to be seen. As the enumerator, I could just mark down “1” and…
Read MoreA Study in Contrasts House Wren — The 21st-Century Caveman
When I used to monitor nestboxes, I would listen carefully as I approached a box, trying to hear what birds were in the area. One especially bubbly, bouncing song would alert me to potential problems for the other cavity nesters in the vicinity. A 21st-century “troglodyte”—a.k.a. a House Wren—was looking to set up housekeeping. …
Read MoreHe May Not Be Pavarotti, But…
Anyone who enjoys bird song dreads summer’s end as a bit of an auditory desert. But if you live near California Thrashers, you can take heart. These songsters will actually begin ramping up their voices again in late August. Slightly larger than a California Scrub-Jay, a California Thrasher features a long, heavy, and distinctly…
Read MoreNature’s Path Back
Wildfire and wildlife—what’s the first image that comes to your mind? I’m 7 years old, sitting in a darkened movie theater, watching the fire scene in the Disney animated classic Bambi. Birds, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, our protagonist deer all flee through scorching embers, swirling smoke, and crashing, flaming branches. That scene seemed to last for…
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