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Nature

How to Really Learn the Birds (Updated)

October 3, 2022 By Eric Caine 2 Comments

Killdeer display Gain

When Jim Gain started his “Learn 100 Valley Birds” series, we immediately thought of one our earliest posts, “How to Really Learn the Birds.” We thought a few changes might make it more relevant to Jim’s exciting project. “How to Really Learn the Birds (Updated)” doesn’t contain anything new; rather, we’ve shifted the focus just a bit toward Jim’s excellent series, making it even more local. ed. The therapeutic benefits […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Birds of Stanislaus County, San Joaquin Valley birding, San Joaquin Valley birds

Learn 100 Valley Birds #8: Northern Flicker

October 3, 2022 By Jim Gain 1 Comment

Northern Flicker by Jim Gain

We’re always excited to post another in Jim Gain’s “Learn 100 Valley Birds” series. See more of Jim’s excursions into nature at Reflections of the Natural World. Number 8 in our series, and number 13 overall, the Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Learn 100 Valley Birds, Northern Flicker # 8 in Learn 100 Valley Birds

Learn 100 Valley Birds #7: Valley Goldfinches

September 4, 2022 By Jim Gain 1 Comment

American Goldfinch by Jim Gain

This is a three-fer post featuring the three species of Goldfinch that occur in the Valley. The first two, American Goldfinch and Lesser Goldfinch are Common Year-round Residents of the valley, while the third species, Lawrence’s Goldfinch, is a bonus species Rare Year-round Resident here. American Goldfinch – Spinus tristis Introduction The American Goldfinch is a Common Year-round Resident. It is one of our smallest bird species and the only […]

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

Adam Gray Delivers for Valley Rivers

September 1, 2022 By Eric Caine 6 Comments

Javier Sandoval Dos Rios Preserve, July 2022

Elated nature lovers celebrated the end of August with news that California Assemblymember Adam Gray had acquired $40 million to further enhance development of wetlands and riparian forests at the confluence of the Tuolumne, San Joaquin and Stanislaus Rivers. Led by River Partners, the project will restore natural habitat and add tremendous value to the nearby San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge. With over 90% of Valley wetlands lost to […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Adam Gray for Congress, Assembly Member Adam Gray, Dos Rios State Park, Haley Mirts Restoration Ecologist, River Partners, River Partners Dos Rios restoration

Learn 100 Valley Birds #6: Loggerhead Shrike

August 28, 2022 By Jim Gain 1 Comment

The Loggerhead Shrike is a Fairly Common Resident in the San Joaquin Valley and can be found in grasslands, freshwater wetlands and chaparral habitats. There are two species of shrike regularly found in the US, the Loggerhead Shrike and the Northern Shrike. However, the Northern Shrike is a very rare vagrant to the Central Valley. Status Loggerhead Shrikes are currently considered a California Bird Species of Special Concern (breeding), priority […]

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

Remembering Bill Amundsen

August 26, 2022 By Eric Caine 3 Comments

Aleutian Cackling geese flying

Modesto resident Bill Amundsen, a founding member of Stanislaus Audubon Society, passed away earlier this week. He was on the Audubon Society’s Board of Directors for almost forty years. His only interruption in service after its establishment in 1973 was during the period he served as his son’s Boy Scout Master. He was a big man who during his college years served as a nightclub bouncer. His love of nature […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Bill Amundsen, Stanislaus Audubon Society

Learn 100 Valley Birds #5: Dark-eyed Junco

August 20, 2022 By Jim Gain 3 Comments

Dark-eyed Junco by Jim Gain

Among the many joys of birding, the arrival of winter visitors is an ongoing thrill. With September looming, birders and nature lovers will be looking forward to the arrivals of White- and Golden-crowned Sparrows as well as the distinctive “little birds with the hoods.” Here, Jim Gain gives us his usual spectacular images and the proper name of our distinctive winter visitors, those, “little birds with the hoods.” They should […]

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Jim Gain nature photography, Learn Valley Birds, San Joaquin Valley birds

Learn 100 Valley Birds #4: Western Kingbird

August 13, 2022 By Jim Gain 1 Comment

Western Kingbird by Jim Gain

Number 4 in Jim Gain’s “Learn 100 Valley Birds” series is the Western Kingbird. Anyone who’s driven along the Valley’s many country roads during spring and summer has seen Western Kingbirds, whether or not they know the name. Below, Jim describes the field marks for these beautiful birds, and also alerts observers to watch for the far less common Cassin’s Kingbird. Western Kingbirds are Common Summer Visitors to the San Joaquin Valley […]

Filed Under: Nature

Learn 100 Valley Birds #3: Common Valley Owls

August 7, 2022 By Jim Gain 4 Comments

Great Horned Owl by Jim Gain

Today’s post is another three-fer offering that includes the three owls that most Valley Visitors are likely to encounter in an urban setting: Great Horned Owl, Barn Owl and Western Screech-Owl. There are other possible owl species that one might come across in the grasslands and foothill woodlands away from town. One of those, the Burrowing Owl, will have its own future post and the others are considerably less likely […]

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

Learn 100 Valley Birds #2: Anna’s Hummingbird

July 31, 2022 By Jim Gain Leave a Comment

Male Anna's Hummingbird by Jim Gain

Jim Gain calls Anna’s Hummingbird, the second in the “Learn 100 Birds” series, a “three-fer” because it illustrates one of the basic tactics for building a local birding list. This tactic involves knowing a birding fundamental: Learn the most common bird and you will often also learn one or two other similar but less common birds. The Anna’s Hummingbird offers a classic case. In the San Joaquin Valley, if you […]

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

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Off The Wire

California faces catastrophic flood dangers ? and a need to invest billions in protection
California faces catastrophic flood dangers and a need to invest billions in protection
A new state plan for the Central Valley calls for spending as much as $30 billion over 30 years to prepare for the dangers.
www.latimes.com
Oakland will get millions for the ?inhumane? crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it?s not enough
Oakland will get millions for the “inhumane” crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it’s not enough
Gavin Newsom’s administration has awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to come up with…
www.sfchronicle.com
Alaska?s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Alaska’s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Mary Peltola won her election by campaigning on a platform to save the state’s prized fisheries. A powerful fishing lobby is standing in her way.
www.politico.com
Jimmy Carter's final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
Jimmy Carter’s final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
One of former President Carter’s biggest hopes is wiping out an infectious parasitic disease that’s plagued humans for millennia. How close is he?
www.latimes.com
Climate Extremes Threaten California?s Central Valley Songbirds - Eos
Climate Extremes Threaten California’s Central Valley Songbirds – Eos
A “nestbox highway” in California’s Central Valley is guiding songbirds to safe nesting sites and giving scientists a peek at fledgling success in a changing climate.
eos.org
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Republican David Eastman suggested the death of child abuse victims could be a “cost savings” to wider society.
www.newsweek.com
Editorial: Newsom's drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Editorial: Newsom’s drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Gov. Gavin Newsom has effectively ended environmental regulations protecting California rivers and migratory fish by extending drought-year waivers.
www.latimes.com
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
As of Thursday, just two of the more than 70 residents of McPherson Square had been placed in permanent D.C. housing.
www.washingtonpost.com
More Building Won?t Make Housing Affordable
More Building Won’t Make Housing Affordable
America’s housing crisis has reached unfathomable proportions. But new construction isn’t enough to solve it.
newrepublic.com
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Housing advocates are about to deliver a message to the Bay Area: Comply with state…
www.sfchronicle.com
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty 'Law of the River' holds sway
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway
At the heart of tensions over water allotments from the Colorado River is a complex set of agreements and decrees known as the ‘Law of the River.’
www.latimes.com
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America’s largest rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a focus of political battles over old-growth logging and road-building in forests for decades, has received new protection from the Biden administration.
theconversation.com

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