Southeastern Arizona is an ecological dreamland. I don't know how I've managed to live in North America for 39 years without visiting this incredible region that is at the intersection of Mexico's Sierra Madre, the Rocky Mountains, and the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. In this region, the Santa Rita Mountains, the Huachucas, and the Chiricahuas,... Continue Reading →
I am really hoping to use this blog in more of a "real-time" manner, but I already have so many adventures to catch up on! I think have been procrastinating with my final batch of South Africa photos because, on some level, I just don't want it to end. The process of sorting through photos,... Continue Reading →
I was soooo close to finishing and publishing my last South Africa post, recounting our final, and most exciting, adventure of the trip....our drive up the Sani Pass to Lesotho. In writing this post, it quickly became abundantly clear that the Bearded Vulture deserves its very own post. So, here it is....my second "Beak of... Continue Reading →
Ahhhh, just a few more days of my South Africa adventures to recollect! We left St. Lucia bright and early (actually, not bright at all, but very, very early) and made our way to the Dlinza Forest, a subtropical indigenous forest near the town of Eshowe and one of The Great Five Natural Forests in... Continue Reading →
Although I have primarily been using this blog to document my travels and adventures, I would like to also occasionally highlight an interesting bird behavior, or interaction, or a particular species that piques my interest or curiosity. I will call these posts, "Beak of the Week". First Beak of the Week: the Sage Thrasher. Sage... Continue Reading →
I am back in California and have spent the past couple of weeks exploring California's deserts and Oak Woodlands as spring begins to show signs of emerging. Before I venture back out again, I want to spend a bit more time reflecting on my South African adventures. I've recently highlighted some of charismatic birds of... Continue Reading →
Before leaving the Umkhumbi Lodge for the coastal town of St. Lucia, we had one more morning of local explorations, including a Sand Forest. One of the first birds of the morning was the African Golden Weaver. By this point in the trip Weavers, and their nests, have become a fairly common sight. We've seen... Continue Reading →
The San Diego Bird Festival was a fantastic few days of exploring San Diego and its birding hotspots. Despite living just a short distance north of San Diego, I seldom explore this portion of Southern California (instead, tending to indulge that constant northern pull on my heart strings). I arrived just in time to hop... Continue Reading →
In preparation for my trip to South Africa, I purchased a few bird books of the region and attempted to familiarize myself with families of birds of which I had no previous knowledge. The exception: Red-billed Oxpeckers. I can't recall the first nature documentary that introduced me to one of these birds pecking away on... Continue Reading →
After some final early morning birding in Wakkerstroom, we made our way south to Mkuze, an area in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Mkuze is another birding hotspot, with its variety of savanna, forest, and wetland habitats. The Mkuze Game Reserve is 40,000 ha in extent and forms part of the tremendous iSimangaliso Wetland Park. We left the... Continue Reading →
Feathers & Flora 