Mornings are For the Birds

plus, the best wildflower info and updates, plan for PNW flowers now, Ansel Adams stamps, how crowds may doom an iconic Joshua Tree coyote, the joy of tiny forests, and more

howdy

A few weeks ago, on a cold and rainy Saturday morning, I drove out to a remote wetland area on the Columbia River in Washington State to meet up with a group of queer birders for the first time.

Other than a handful of species from Southern California, I really don’t know that much about birds beyond the ones that look pretty and the ones I know that are really smart (California scrub jay!). I was a little apprehensive about signing up for an event where I would be surrounded by more experienced enthusiasts, but you’ve got to start somewhere, right?

The first thing I learned? Birding is a bit lower on the physical activity scale than hiking, so I definitely did not bring enough layers to be super comfortable. The second? Birders—especially those who are willing to brave chilly, rainy weather early on a Saturday morning—are extremely friendly and very willing to share knowledge about the hobby they love. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised by this, as I’ve done the same with people who have joined me outside, but sometimes you just have to be reminded.

They had extra pairs of binoculars for people to use, and a few people brought along high-magnification scopes—which I learned are basically small portable telescopes that really let you get an up-close view of birds, as long as they’re being relatively still. We spent a few hours roaming along the riverbanks and wetlands nearby, chatting quietly and occasionally all stopping to point our magnification devices along the river.

walking past an ADA-accessible bird blind

I have an ongoing theory about finding a second level of enjoyment in the outdoors, and it goes like this: let’s say you enjoy being outside—hiking, running, climbing, whatever. That’s your level one enjoyment, and if you just keep at that level, that’s totally fine! You’re still outside, you’re still having a great time, and everything’s good…

BUT … if you like being outside enough, you might find yourself searching for a way to forge or find a deeper connection with this environment that’s brought you a lot of joy. And that, too, can be a number of things. Maybe you learn the geology of your favorite mountains and can spot the layers of sedimentary rock folded up by tectonic action. Or maybe you become an expert on the dozens of species of oak tree that live nearby.

these help a lot when you’re looking at birds

As a long-time history nerd, for me the first deeper connection I felt was by learning the human history of the landscape and sharing those interesting stories with other people. Later, I began learning native plants, and suddenly the formerly broad-brush painting of “shrubs and cactus” became “chaparral and sage scrub,” and I was able to see which plants showed up early each spring, which leaves smelled great after a rainstorm, what would still be flowering late in the summer, and which plants held out to their green deep into the dry fall. It’s kind of amazing how much you can miss when you look at something without really knowing what’s going on.

And so, what would have been just ducks became northern shovelers, circling water in pairs to stir up food. The distant dark geese with the odd-sounding call became cackling geese. Great blue herons I recognized from the Los Angeles River, but were still stunning to watch walk around at the edge of the riverbank. And the enormous clouds of white taking off en masse became snow geese.

On my next hike, I know I’ll be looking at the birds I see a little differently … and I might have just justified a binocular purchase for myself, too …

The Big Story

Something to talk about

Wildflower Season is Here

flowers in Anza-Borrego’s Henderson Canyon from a previous superbloom

I’m talking specifically to the Californians on the mailing list here (and, ok, also any of my fellow desert rats out in Arizona), but wildflower season is officially here! And because we’ve had a pretty dang wet “Wet Season” in these areas, we can expect some really lovely blooms as well as the traditional accompanying breathless “superbloom” coverage that will swarm and trample said blooms with lookie-loos.

Here's the first pro tip I have for you: if you see a major newspaper or website splashing gorgeous full-color photos on a wildflower guide story, it’s already too late. You’ve got to get to these places before the crowds do, and that means doing just a little bit of legwork to keep yourself informed.

The legendary Theodore Payne Foundation has kicked off its annual Wild Flower Hotline, which is absolutely the best source of up-to-date, expert info on wildflowers in Southern and Central California. The hotline gets updated every Friday from March through the end of May, and now comes with an illustrated written report AND a Spotify podcast feed. If you’re old school, you can still call 818-768-1802 and hit extension 7 to hear Emmy Award-winning actor Joe Spano narrate the update, too—because it is a hotline, after all.

Low deserts will pop first, and the area around the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is already going strong. In addition to a downloadable map of wildflower hotspots, they also have an interactive park map with updated conditions, a blog with updates and spotlights on specific species (this year is looking really great for desert lilies!), and a hotline phone number at 760-767-4684. You can see it all at the Anza-Borrego Foundation’s website.

• See some exquisite Anza-Borrego wildflower photos from Sicco Rood’s Instagram account! via the California Sun newsletter.

Your Parks

Your Places

PNW Wildflower Permits

Columbia River Gorge wildflowers in mid-May

While Southern California is knee-deep in wildflowers already, wildflower season is just around the corner up in the Pacific Northwest. The red-flowering currants in my garden are starting to bloom right now, and the rhododendrons don’t look too far behind. In the Columbia River Gorge, the steep slopes on either side of North America’s fourth largest river by volume explode with yellow basalmroot, lupines, paintbrush, and many others. To control human impact, low-cost permits are required during peak times for iconic hikes like Dog Mountain, and they went on sale this week. Dog Mountain requires permits on weekends and holidays between the end of April and mid-June at $2 per vehicle.

The Last Morse Station

Volunteer Morse operators // Ann Hermes / The Atlantic

One of the things I’ve always loved about the National Park Service is that in addition to protecting, managing, and interpreting all of those iconic natural landscapes we know and love, they’re also basically America’s Storytellers. Sure, enjoy those wide-open vistas and snow-capped peaks, but at any NPS-managed site, you can also dig into the human history of the area, from wartime efforts to societal changes to new technologies and even forms of entertainment. And sometimes they’re all at the same spot! At Point Reyes National Seashore, a dedicated group of volunteers runs the last operational Morse-code radio station in North America. Even better, they call themselves the “radio squirrels.” Check out some great photos and more info via The Atlantic.

Tech Talk

Gadgets, Technology, and Hype

Adams Stamps

You don’t have to be a philatelist to get excited about new stamps … well, ok maybe you do, but you don’t have to be one to at least appreciate a nice stamp on a letter, right? In just a few weeks, a new set of beautiful Ansel Adams outdoor images will be available on USPS postage. The 16 images of the American West feature lots of iconic outdoor landscapes like Half Dome, the Sierra Nevada, Monument Valley, Mount Rainier, Sequoia National Park, and more. There are no pre-order links yet but the stamps will be available on May 15^th. Via Kottke.org.

Wildlife Crossing

Wildlife and the Outdoors

Save Tripod

Tripod on a mural on Grnd Sqrl in Twentynine Palms // Alex Wigglesworth / Los Angeles Times

Are we about to ruin Tripod, Joshua Tree’s local-celebrity three-legged coyote? It would appear so, based on this article in the Los Angeles Times, which talks to biologists and residents who are worried the fawning attention we humans are giving the coyote is making it too comfortable. Tripod has been seen begging on the side of the road, and locals say out-of-towners have been spotted feeding the coyote from their cars like a drive-through petting zoo. Although coyotes are not generally considered dangerous for humans, any wild animal that is socialized enough to humans can present special, accidental risks. So, hey—please don’t feed any wild animals, OK?

Leafing Out

Plants!

Tiny Urban Forests

A densely-planted Miyawaki Forest in Cambridge, MA // Kassandra Klos for New York Times

In an era of ever-growing deforestation and replanted-forest monocultures, people who dig functional ecosystems have a new, small weapon: tiny forests. Technically known as Miyawaki Forests for the Japanese botanist and ecologist who developed the idea, these forests often use native vegetation as a template (but often have other plants included), and the tiny forests are planted much more densely than traditional reforestation efforts. The result are ecosystems that become stable and fruitful far faster than traditional approaches, as well as boost biodiversity, improve air quality, and sequester carbon. The City of Portland—which already has an incredible Backyard Habitat program and notoriously small city lots—might just be the perfect spot to try this out on a larger scale. Read about the efforts (and some beginner tips) at Portland Monthly.

• More on Miyawaki Forests in the New York Times (UNLOCKED)

One More Thing

Oh yeah, before I go …

Apologies for missing y’all last week—I had some last-minute home improvement stuff that needed to get taken care of and a trip to Bend planned for later in the week, and I got a bit occupied.

It actually looks like that home project is going to hit this coming Monday, and I’m on deadline for a magazine piece this coming week as well—so I’m going to try to get out at least a truncated newsletter. But also, the forecast in Portland for this weekend is 70 degrees and sunny, so there’s also a good chance I’ll be outside praising that great ball of plasma instead of getting writing done.

Hope you get a chance to get outside somewhere great, and if you’re getting good wildflower photos, be sure to share them!

Until next time,

Happy Trails,