birding

Message from The Chickadee

Chickadees are truth tellers in Indian mythology and knucklehead whisperers in modern California. Photo by Ingrid Taylar on Flickr.

"Der," thought I when the chickadee had finished. "The birds are thirsty!"

Meet The San Lorenzo River Alliance

The San Lorenzo Paddle Day on Oct. 12, 2013 was a preview of the kind of waterway the newly announced San Lorenzo River Alliance hopes one day to see. Photo by Sierra Ryan.

A new coalition gets serious about reclaiming the river.

Five Fingers Loop

The striking markings of the bufflehead are a common sight on Five Fingers Loop. Photo by Bill Bouton via Wikimedia.

1.5 miles; 1 hour; easy
An easy foray into a corner of the park favored by avian life.

Christmas Bird Count: Shrike 1, No Owls

A loggerhead shrike photographed on San Clemente Island. Photo by Fish & Wildlife Service/Creative Commons.

Good news, bad news and trivia from the Santa Cruz Christmas Bird Count.

Birding Season

A female burrowing owl bringing her owlet a tasty morsel. Birders are hoping to spot some of these birds, which have suffered significant habitat loss, during the three-week Christmas Bird Count. Kevin Cole photo.

On Dec. 14, the 2013 Christmas Bird Count is on!

Blue-Footed Boobies Glimpsed in Santa Cruz

A blue-footed booby photographed in the Galapagos Islands by Nicolas de Camaret (Creative Commons license).

A bizarre "invasion" of blue-footed boobies into southern California has extended north in recent days, with at least four of the odd-looking seabirds spotted around Monterey Bay since Sunday.

Elkhorn Slough Safari

The world's cutest marine mammal.  Photo provided by Yohn Gideon.

Otters and egrets and sea lions, oh my!

Monterey Bay Birding Festival: A Beginner's Bird Walk

Birds sure have good taste in real estate. Photo by Maria Grusauskas.

Birding for everyone...

Carbon Offsets for Birding?

Nice place for a bird, right? The common cuckoo thought so. Thank Watsonville Wetlands Watch for rehabbing what used to be an ag field. Hilltromper photo.

Birding, oddly enough, can be tough on the environment, what with all that driving and flying. But Scott Smithson's got an idea: why not ask traveling birders to donate to groups doing habitat restoration?

Clay Kempf, Soul Birder

Clay Kempf in his natural habitat: leading a birding outing to Pinto Lake. Photo by David Sidle.

It’s not about the lists for Clay Kempf, or about having a big year. He just loves being outside. If a bird happens to fly by while he basks in Mother Nature’s glory, so much the better.

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