Flora and fauna musings from the Pacific Flyway and beyond
Dum spiro spero.
There’s much to observe in our environment. Learning about the ecosystems we inhabit is a lifelong curiosity.
As a new Californian, I am curious to know the names of the plants and animals which grow and live in this part of the world. Malibu’s marine layer climate provides a razor-thin margin of moisture which supports an array of life. This will capture some of my learnings. Feedback is always welcome.
Sharp-Shinned Hawk or Cooper’s Hawk?
We have two bird feeders in the pergola and enjoy the daily chittering and alarm calls of lesser goldfinches, juncos, house and purple finches, and the dedicated mourning doves who pick up any spillage. But in the last few months, we’ve noticed these birds are being eaten by neighborhood hawks. Just last week, the hawkContinue reading “Sharp-Shinned Hawk or Cooper’s Hawk?”
Consider the Whale
I have been a naïve consumer. Plastic shower curtains. Thermometers. Pine nuts. I only recently learned that my purchasing decisions were, and are, causing mayhem in the ocean. You see, the ships that deliver goods from other continents traverse the ocean, in which reside marine mammals: orcas, blue whales, dolphins, to name a few. Continue reading “Consider the Whale”
By-the-Wind Sailor
One delight of walking the shore is seeing what treasures have washed up with the tide. Yesterday morning, we spotted several blue-gray colored oval shapes in the wrack. At first glance, I thought that a trove of rare blue beach glass was underfoot. On closer examination, I realized the sapphire blue-rimmed discs had translucent triangular sailsContinue reading “By-the-Wind Sailor”
- Birds (16)
- Raptors (2)
- Family (1)
- Flora (2)
- Insects (3)
- Butterflies (1)
- Mammals (4)
- Marine Mammals (1)
- Mollusks (2)
- Ocean Life (2)
- Oceans (1)
- Sea Shore Species (2)
- Uncategorized (1)
- Word origins (2)
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