CNDDB News Blog

Today's photos come from Sacramento poet Charles Smith. He notes, "[The photos] were taken at a rather well-known location by the side of the road in the fields east of Davis, where they nest despite severe habitat loss due to development pressures. While I don't get over there as often as I once did, my (unscientific) impression is that their numbers have continued to decline at this site."

We asked Charles if he had any burrowing owl poems, and he responded with the following excerpt from a longer piece. We think it conveys the sentiment of taking hope and courage from the resilience of the natural world.

From [ground|underground]:

I feel my body
age

& its discontents, physical
& otherwise

drive-by's

owls in the ground

still
alive

Have you seen any owls in the ground lately? Help document local burrowing owl populations via our Online Field Survey Form.

Charles Smith is a poet, photographer, and videographer living in Sacramento. The three pursuits sometimes commingle.

CDFW Photos by Annie Chang, Tammy Dong, Rachel Powell

February 14-17, 2020 marks the 23rd annual Great Backyard Bird Count! Take 15 minutes out of your day to appreciate your avian neighbors this weekend, and report your count through eBird. In 2019, over 6,600 species of birds were counted worldwide and Californians submitted over 10,000 checklists, but you can help make those numbers even higher this year! As always, if you happen to spot one of the 157 bird species tracked by CNDDB, fill out an Online Field Survey Form. Happy birding!

2020 is here, and we continue our monthly spotlight of talented photographers and their wonderful photos of rare plants and animals submitted through the Online Field Survey Form. Here are a couple of our favorites to start off the year with:

Navarretia ojaiensis – Ojai navarretia

Submitted by Ryan Myers, SWCA Environmental Consultants

This extremely rare, endemic plant was found by Ryan Myers in Ventura County. It is listed as a 1B.1 (rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere, seriously threatened in California) in the California Rare Plant Ranking system. Navarretia ojaiensis can be found in openings in chaparral and coastal scrub as well as valley and foothill grasslands. It blooms from May to July, bringing a little color to those summer hikes. A big thank you to Ryan for this amazing photo and all the hard work you do!

Rana aurora – northern red-legged frog

Submitted by Risa Okuyama, Mother Earth Engineering

Risa came across this camouflaged northern red-legged frog near Big Lagoon in Humboldt county. The northern red-legged frog inhabits the northwest portion of the state in Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties and is one of nine true frog species the database tracks. Their relatively long rear legs allow them to leap far distances making this their main mode of defense from escaping predators. They can be found in grasslands, woodlands, humid forests, and plant covered stream sides. Populations of Rana aurora face threats such as predation by the introduced American bullfrog and poor water quality. The northern red-legged frog was previously known as a subspecies of Rana aurora along with the California red-legged frog before being split into two separate species. Currently, CNDDB has 292 mapped occurrences of the northern red-legged frog all along the northern coast. Thank you, Risa, for catching a picture of this steadily posed amphibian!

Do you have some great photos of rare plants or wildlife detections? Submit them along with your findings through our Online Field Survey Form and see if your photos get showcased!