Volume 86

OUTDOOR EDUCATION: Experience and Perspective

OUTDOOR EDUCATION: Experience and Perspective

I grew up in a coastal city in Orange County. I was able to attend some very good public schools, and enjoy endless summer days riding bicycles to the beach with my friends. My hometown was often singled out as a hotbed of conservatism, and in some ways, this was quite true.

INTERPRETING NATURE: Making Connections Between Birding and Food Gardening

INTERPRETING NATURE: Making Connections Between Birding and Food Gardening

When I first started to garden, I began to see more wildlife visit my home. I began to see more birds, butterflies, and bees. I saw many birds use my fruit trees to eat, worms come up after a heavy rain, and hundreds of bees that swarmed my lime tree when it was flowering.

Call for submissions — Ralph W. Schreiber Ornithology Research Awards 2020

Call for submissions — Ralph W. Schreiber Ornithology Research Awards 2020

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: The Los Angeles Audubon Society presents an annual research grant, the Ralph W. Schreiber Ornithology Research Award, to support research relevant to the biology of birds. Award recipients are limited to students and amateur ornithologists with limited or no access to major granting agencies and who reside in southern California (from San Luis Obispo, Kern and San Bernardino Counties south) or are currently enrolled in a southern California academic institution. There is no geographical restriction on the research area. Between $1500 and $5000 are awarded each year. One or more awards will be given out in 2020.

The application deadline for the 2020 Research Award is September 1, 2020; grants will be awarded in November 2020.

PHOTO ESSAY: India Journal — December 2019

PHOTO ESSAY: India Journal — December 2019

The Rann of Kutch is a vast area of salt desert / salt marsh located in the north-west of the Indian State of Gujrat. It borders the Arabian sea on the west, the Indus river delta to the north and stretches east for about 250 miles. It is split into the Great Rann and the Little Rann, somewhat loosely, based on ability to access and administer the vast region. It is arguably the largest salt desert / marshland in the world, covering an area of about 10,000 sq. miles. Desert or marshland?

Birding Notes from the Ebell Club, 1917

Birding Notes from the Ebell Club, 1917

The regular meeting of the department of California History and Landmarks [of the Ebell Club] met on April 26 [1917] …

Miss Phillipson introduced Mrs. Harriet Myers, secretary of the Audubon Society and chairman of the Department of Birds, Wildlife and Flowers of the General and State Federations [of Women’s Clubs]. Her subject was California birds.

Western Tanager, Vol. 86 No. 6, July–August 2020

FROM OUR READERS: Top Ways to Preserve Nature While Hiking

Going for a hike is a popular way to get regular exercise. More than 30 million people hit the hiking trails across the country every year for both day hikes and multiple day hikes. However, all that foot traffic on trails and through the wilderness can decimate the local ecosystem.

CONSERVATION CORNER: Rio de Los Angeles State Park Riparian Breeders

CONSERVATION CORNER: Rio de Los Angeles State Park Riparian Breeders

Once in a while, it’s good to celebrate a conservation success story on public land, right in the heart of the city. Rio de Los Angeles State Park appears to be a real success story in terms of re-wilding a small section of a park that sits within an intensely urbanized setting. The park is located in northeast Los Angeles, approximately 2.5 miles north of downtown and is located next to the former Union Pacific Rail Yard called the Taylor Yard complex, which is also under active long-term planning as a city park.