The penultimate report on my 2018 Thoreauvian Big Year came at the end of October: today is the final chapter! Did I make it to 200 species?
Author: Jack
Day Island Wildlife Area
Day Island is one of our town’s best-kept secrets. Did you even know Novato had a bayshore?
Illustrious Birdfeeders #1: Aldo Leopold & A Conservation Esthetic
It’s time to get philosophical in the first entry of my new series on illustrious practitioners of that most local of nature-appreciation exercises: birdfeeding. First up is Aldo Leopold, father of American wildlife conservation.
Big Year #6: October Update
A number of birds are best seen in fall migration – what did autumn add to the species tally on Jack’s Thoreauvian Big Year?
The Winter Warblers
We have two migratory warblers who nest to our north and then fly south to our latitudes for the winter: the yellow-rumped and Townsend’s warblers. One is known as “butter-butt” and the other is my candidate for Most Beautiful Bird in Novato.
Pacheco Pond
Pacheco Pond is the best publicly accessible freshwater-ish pond we have in Novato. True, it may lack polish, bells, and whistles, but one good first step towards an eventual sprucing up would be for the birding community to give it some love and recognition. Starting right now!
Loch Lomond Marina
Want to see rocky shoreline and coastal birds like turnstones, oystercatchers, horned grebes, ospreys, and brown pelicans? Even the most partisan of Nature in Novato readers will admit these are good reasons to head south to San Rafael’s Loch Lomond Marina.
Bird-A-Thon 2018
How many birds can you find in Northeast Marin on a single fall day? The Wild Birders Unlimited try to find out in our first Bird-A-Thon.
Coast Live Oak
In my tree essays so far, I’ve rather tiptoed around the outskirts of our dendrological life, picking off the minor and adjunct species. But no more: coast live oak is the heart of our woodlands.
Doves & Pigeons
We have four doves and pigeons here: two much-loved native species and two impressively successful invaders. Do you know all four?