Sightings through 1992

• Detailed Species Accounts can be found at here:
  • Species Accounts

Field Journal Entries

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October 31, 1971: Los Angeles County, California

This ☆Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)☆ is the first wild bird I have a clear memory of seeing. On Halloween night when I was around five years old, I was trick-or-treating with some neighborhood children (and parents) when an owl flew down right in front of us and landed in the middle of the Holzer’s front yard.

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1970s: Los Angeles County, California

These are all wildlife sightings that I remember happening at or very near my childhood home in Los Angeles. I don’t have dates for these sightings, as they are all from memory, but I have noted anywhere I have a doubt about the species identify.

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December 23, 1986: Kennedy Space Center, Florida

This was my first ever trip out of state, when my grandparents took my sister and I to visit our Aunt Andi and Uncle Larry in Florida. I wasn’t really keeping track of wildlife back then, but I saw a few things that made an impression.

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March, 1991: Pier 39, San Francisco, California

While visiting San Francisco with Kevin, we saw a ☆Pacific Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)☆ and a ☆California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)☆ swimming very near the boardwalk.

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1991 and 1992: Elkhart County, Indiana

Very soon after we moved into our new home in Indiana, I put up some bird feeders in the backyard. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but almost immediately, birds began to arrive, along with squirrels and chipmunks. The first I remember seeing were a deep, gorgeous red with black markings on the face, whose whistled song. I discovered that I wasn’t satisfied to just watch them go about their business anonymously – I needed to know their names. Field guide in hand, I was easily able to identify the ☆Northern Cardinals☆, as well as a good variety of other birds in the yard. And, just like that, I’d started out with this glorious (and sometimes consuming) pass-time of birding.

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December, 1992: Elkhart County, Indiana

A couple of new birds were seen in our backyard throughout the winter. ☆Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis hyemalis)☆ are regular winter visitors. I always enjoy these cute little birds hopping about in the yard, and miss them when they leave again in the spring. Another newcomer was a ☆Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)☆, who we saw and heard throughout the winter. This bird (we suspected it was always the same individual) was a regular and favorite visitor to our feeders and trees. We even had a name for him . . . Chubby, I think.

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December 19, 1992: Berrien County, Michigan, Christmas Bird Count

I signed up to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count for southern Michigan. We started out at Fernwood, and I was teamed with Fernwood naturalist Rob Venner. I arrived at the nature center before dawn, a little bit nervous and not really sure what to expect. But once we got started, I had a lot of fun, and learned a lot about the winter birds, as well. Rob is a great birder, and a nice guy, too. We drove around to various places and counted the species and individuals that we saw. Rob helped me to ID them and told me lots of interesting info, as well.

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List of Species Seen

Birds

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Other Wildlife and Plants

American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)
Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata)
Tasmanian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus)
Pacific Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)
House Rat (Rattus rattus)
Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)
Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)

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