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Pursuing truth toward justice

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Nature

Learn 100 Common Valley Birds # 19: Burrowing Owl – (Species #29)

April 9, 2023 By Jim Gain Leave a Comment

An educator and naturalist, Jim Gain is also a superb photographer. We’re proud to publish his series, “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds.” Here is post #19. Be sure to visit Reflections of the Natural World for more of Jim’s fine work. ed. The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is a small, ground-dwelling owl that is native to North and South America. In the Central Valley of California, Burrowing Owls can be […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Common birds of the San Joaquin Valley, Learn 100 Common Valley Birds by Jim Gain

Fanciful Flycatchers: #18 in “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds” (Species 27 and 28/100)

April 2, 2023 By Jim Gain 2 Comments

Ash-throated Flycatcher by Jim Gain

An educator and naturalist, Jim Gain is also a superb photographer. We’re proud to publish his series, “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds.” Here is post #18. Be sure to visit Reflections of the Natural World for more of Jim’s fine work. ed. Ash-throated Flycatcher: Species # 28 The Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) is a medium-sized bird species found throughout the Western United States, including in the Central Valley of California. […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Birder Jim Gain, Jim Gain nature photography, Learn 100 Common Valley Birds by Jim Gain

Learn 100 Common Valley Birds #17: Colorful Spring Migrants

March 28, 2023 By Jim Gain Leave a Comment

Bullock's Oriole by Jim Gain

An educator and naturalist, Jim Gain is also a superb photographer. We’re proud to publish his series, “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds.” Here is post #17. Be sure to visit Reflections of the Natural World for more of Jim’s fine work. ed. Bullock’s Oriole – Species #24 The Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii) is a strikingly colored songbird found throughout the Central Valley of California during its breeding season. Adult males […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Central Valley birding, Learn 100 Common Valley Birds by Jim Gain, San Joaquin Valley birding

Learn 100 Common Valley Birds #16: Common Valley Swallows

March 18, 2023 By Jim Gain 1 Comment

An educator and naturalist, Jim Gain is also a superb photographer. We’re proud to publish his series, “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds.” Here is post #16. Be sure to visit Reflections of the Natural World for more of Jim’s fine work. Once there, you’ll be rewarded with a couple of bonus birds for this post. ed. Tree Swallow – Species #21 The Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) is a small, insectivorous […]

Filed Under: Nature

Audubon Bird Count: An Umbrella for All

January 3, 2023 By Eric Caine 3 Comments

Tundra Swans Faith Ranch 2 January 2023

When the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1987, its primary purpose was to protect winter habitat of the then-endangered Aleutian cackling goose. Since that time, the refuge has provided an “umbrella effect” for over 200 species of birds, ranging in size from the tiny Bushtit, which weighs in at less than an ounce, to Tundra Swans, which average around twenty pounds and fly over 4,000 miles […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Caswell/Westley Christmas Count, San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, Stanislaus Audubon Christmas Count

Black Phoebe: Post #15 in Jim Gain’s “Learn 100 Valley Birds”

December 17, 2022 By Jim Gain 1 Comment

Black Phoebe by Jim Gain

Jim Gain’s “Reflections of the Natural World” is one of the finest sources for nature’s beauty and bounty anywhere. His images of birds are especially inspiring. We’re proud to publish his ongoing series, “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds.” Here is post #15 in that series. Introduction The Black Phoebe is a dapper flycatcher of the Central Valley with a sooty black body and crisp white belly. They sit in the […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Learn 100 Common Valley Birds by Jim Gain

Learn 100 Common Valley Birds #14: Wild Turkey

November 24, 2022 By Jim Gain Leave a Comment

Wild Turkey by Jim Gain

Perfectly appropriate for Thanksgiving Day, Post #14 in Jim Gain’s “Learn 100 Common Valley Birds” series is the Wild Turkey. We’re proud to post Jim’s fine work, and urge you to visit his Reflections of the Natural World for more of his fine work and spectacular images. Introduction The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is the heaviest upland ground bird native to North America. It is the ancestor to the domestic […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Learn 100 Common Valley Birds by Jim Gain, Learn 100 Valley Birds

Western Meadowlark: #13 in Learn 100 Valley Birds

November 23, 2022 By Jim Gain Leave a Comment

Western Meadowlark by Jim Gain

We’re proud to post #13 in Jim Gain’s Learn 100 Common Valley Birds series. The Western Meadowlark is actually species #18 in the series; some posts feature more than one species. Introduction The buoyant, flutelike melody of the Western Meadowlark ringing out across a field can brighten anyone’s day. The Western Meadowlark is a Common Year-round Resident throughout the open country of the San Joaquin Valley. The Western Meadowlark is […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Learn 100 Valley Birds by Jim Gain

Learn 100 Valley Birds #12: Wintering “White” Geese – Part II

November 18, 2022 By Jim Gain 1 Comment

Snow Goose and Ross's Goose by Jim Gain

In Part I of the Our Wintering “White” Geese post, we learned about the larger “white Goose with the Grinning Patch”, the Snow Goose. In this post, the star of the show is the smaller Ross’s Goose. Introduction The Ross’s Goose is a Fairly Common Winter Visitor found almost exclusively in winter in the Central Valley. Similar to the Snow Goose, its preferred habitats are fresh emergent wetlands, adjacent  waters […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Birder Jim Gain, Jim Gain nature photography, Learn 100 Valley Birds, Learn 100 Valley Birds by Jim Gain

Learn 100 Valley Birds #11: White Geese Part I, Snow Goose

October 29, 2022 By Jim Gain Leave a Comment

Snow Goose by Jim Gain

“Your first indication of their presence is the distant sound of baying hounds. As you look up, you see the sky flecked with tiny white moving shapes, which appear like snowflakes drifting lazily across the azure sky.” naturalist J. B. Grinnell There are two species of “white” geese in the Valley. The Snow Goose — Anser caerulescens —  is the larger and more widespread species compared to its cousin, the […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Birder Jim Gain, Jim Gain nature photography, Learn 100 Valley Birds by Jim Gain

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Off The Wire

?This is where society fails to have an answer?: Poll reveals Bay Area residents? frustration with street homelessness
“This is where society fails to have an answer”: Poll reveals Bay Area residents? frustration with street homelessness
Data includes support for possible measures, including a court system with the power to order people into mental health treatment.
www.mercurynews.com
?Monster Fracks? Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
“Monster Fracks” Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
A Times analysis shows that increasingly complex oil and gas wells now require astonishing volumes of water to fracture the bedrock and release fossil fuels, threatening America’s fragile aquifers.
www.nytimes.com
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has 'paralyzed' California cities
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has ‘paralyzed’ California cities
The Democratic governor’s intervention lays down a mark in a legal dispute with potentially profound implications for one of California’s most pressing issues.
www.politico.com
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
www.propublica.org
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How bad is hunger in California? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but now is being reduced.
calmatters.org
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento County had nearly 9,300 homeless people in 2022, based on data from the annual Point in Time count. That was up 67% from 2019. Roughly three-quarters of the county’s homeless population….
www.mercurynews.com
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
After decades of minimal action, Congress passed the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Will we make the most of this opportunity?
www.audubon.org
How the fentanyl crisis' fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
How the fentanyl crisis’ fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
The epidemic’s staggering scale and infiltration of communities is laid bare in a new study.
www.bbc.com
Can licensed tent villages ease California's homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Can licensed tent villages ease California’s homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Taking people off the street and into tents is a new twist on homeless shelter being explored by the San Francisco-based Urban Alchemy in two tent villages operating in Los Angeles and Culver City.
www.latimes.com
Mississippi has problems, but it's handling homelessness better than L.A.
Mississippi has problems, but it’s handling homelessness better than L.A.
The public tends to blame homelessness on poverty, drug use, crime or even warm weather. But other cities don’t have L.A. levels of street homelessness because they have more available housing.
www.latimes.com
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
The demonstrators raised “Heil Hitler” salutes and waved flags with swastikas.
www.thedailybeast.com
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom's CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom’s CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Gov. Gavin Newsom?s experiment to push Californians with mental illness off the streets and into treatment, CARE Court, starts soon.
calmatters.org

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