Earlier this year, I celebrated a major birthday — well, “survived” is perhaps the better word. It was one of those milestones that falls on the far side of middle-aged, where it’s a lot harder to convince yourself the crackling sounds you hear when you heave yourself out of your cushy recliner are coming from […]
birding
Posted inLife + Outdoors
An Eye on the Sparrow
Sparrows, in my opinion, get a bum rap. Few species give birders — even expert ones — more ID trouble. They’re small and typically some shade of brown, hence their nickname “LBBs” (little brown birds). They favor dense brush or tall grass, occasionally making short, low flights before dropping out of sight again. Their markings […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Scouting for Beginner’s Birding Binoculars
For my 11th birthday, my parents surprised me with a pair of Jason Statesman zoom binoculars from a discount catalog. I was crazy about birds and while by today’s standards the Statesmans weren’t exactly cutting-edge, to me, they were perfect. It’s a common misconception that birding is an expensive hobby. It certainly can be. By […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Birding at the Arcata Marsh
Humboldt County has more than its fair share of great places to go birding but one of my very favorites is the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary. It’s not just that it’s chock full of birds — 342 different species have been recorded there, and during spring and fall migrations flocks of shorebirds literally fill […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
A Feast for Feathered Friends
When you love watching birds, you’re often willing to sacrifice the comfort of your cushy armchair for an hours-long vigil under a Humboldt downpour in pursuit of your hobby. But suppose you could have both — what if the birds came to you? That was my vision a few years ago when I decided to […]
Posted inNews
NCJ Preview: Strain on Healthcare Workers, Birding in Place and Self Care (sort of)
This week, the Journal talked with St. Joseph Hospital staff about caring for COVID-19 patients and the toll it takes. Their words are worth heeding as we head into winter. We’ve also got a stress suggestion: birding. It’s calming and cheap-cheap. As for buying your way out of pandemic stress, we’re taking a humor break […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Accidental Birder
I have yet to purchase my first pair of bird-watching binoculars. My Canon point and shoot camera is not fancy. The feature that sold me on it was its telescopic zoom lens. It’s the perfect tool for a budding bird-watcher, which is what I seem to be. Fortunately, my favorite bird, the red-tail hawk, thrives […]
Posted inEat + Drink
The List
Ken Burton and Cindy Moyer are on a mission. Again. For the second time, they are making their way through an alphabetical list of restaurants in Humboldt County — the Journal‘s online A-Z Restaurant Guide, in fact — and eating at every single one within an hour’s drive. Yes, in alphabetical order. The first time […]
Posted inNews
Duck!
Humboldt County’s latest visiting celebrity has a red head, greyish back and pale saddle on its bill. Birders from across the country have been visiting to snap pictures of the common pochard, first spotted Dec. 20 in Freshwater Lagoon, near Orick. The pochard, which is native to Europe and Asia, rarely makes its way to […]
Posted inNews
Return of the Great Gray Owl
Prior to last winter, it had been 30 years since the last sighting of a great gray owl locally (both times in Redwood National Park). And now we have another one here to make it two winters in a row. Seeing the owl was quite a gift in between continual snow/rain showers on Monday, Jan. […]
Posted inNews
The Early Bird: LeValley home from prison ‘sabbatical’
About nine and a half months after surrendering to federal prison, embattled local biologist Ron LeValley recently announced his return home with a grinning selfie taken somewhere on the North Coast and a plea for help paying down the debts incurred from his “sabbatical.” Since LeValley’s incarceration for conspiring to embezzle almost $1 million from […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Road Not (Yet) Taken
In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a veritable tsunami of public-access improvements sweeping Humboldt County: the Arcata Ridge, Humboldt Bay and Hikshari’ trails; the McKay Tract; the Eel River Estuary Preserve — wait, the what? The delta of the Eel River, extending from Table Bluff to Loleta, Fernbridge and Centerville, is a subtly beautiful agricultural […]