Like the rest of us, Jim Gain couldn’t have imagined that 2020 would bring a devastating pandemic when he retired last year. Gain was Supervisor of Educational Technology for the Modesto City Schools district. A gifted photographer and naturalist, Gain was looking forward to updating his Reflections of the Natural World website, visiting some of the nation’s most famous birding hotspots, and enjoying family life with his wife and son. […]
Stanislaus County bird list
Birder on a Run with 321
These days, Harold Reeve says he’s only running, “12 to 15 miles a week.” He runs more when he’s training for a marathon or shorter race, but no matter how often or how far he runs, he always carries a pair of binoculars. The binoculars are Reeve’s way of combining passions; he loves running, but he also loves birding. Combining the two sports sounds implausible, but in addition to keen […]
Reeve Notches another New Bird
Whenever Harold Reeve has a few minutes away from family, work, and church, he generally squeezes in a little birding. He’s been compiling lists of Stanislaus County birds for over thirty years, including lists of nesting birds, wintering raptors, and, most especially, all species ever present in the county. Late last Saturday afternoon, Reeve had a few minutes before a concert in Denair. He decided to drive east and look […]
318 for Stanislaus County
Gary Zahm did a double-take when he saw an Eastern Kingbird on private pastureland west of Modesto. When he was stationed in Oklahoma and Kansas he saw plenty of these handsome flycatchers, but this was the first he’d seen in California. Though he assumed other birders had seen the species in Stanislaus County, he had the presence of mind to grab a quick photograph with his trusty Canon camera. Eastern […]
Watch a Film, Learn Your Birds
People have been recording bird species in Stanislaus and Merced Counties for over a hundred years. Both counties now have bird lists of over three-hundred species. And despite the seeming improbability, almost anyone can learn a hundred local birds—it just takes a jolt of awareness and a willingness to open your eyes to the hidden world around you. Getting started is always a major hindrance to acquiring such knowledge, but […]
Reeve Rolls 300—Birds
When Harold Reeve moved to Modesto in 1983, one of the first things he decided to do was keep a list of all the bird species he saw in Stanislaus County. “County birding is the coming thing,” he told a friend. “I want us to have a good list.” To Reeve, “good” means several things, but it especially means “accurate” and “thorough.” Like many birders, Reeve is more than a […]
Stanislaus County Has a New Bird
It was only fitting that Stanislaus Audubon President Sal Salerno and Board member Ralph Baker were along when Harold Reeve added another bird to the Stanislaus County list. Reeve has been counting birds in Stanislaus County for over thirty years. He’s kept meticulous records of species, high and low counts, and rare occurrences. Periodically, the Stanislaus Audubon Society publishes an updated list of Reeve’s additions to the county bird list, […]