Featured Resource: Habitat Enhancement Guides
In times of drought, landscaping with native plants is a great way to improve the health of our soils, save water, and create wildlife habitat. Look inside our Habitat Enhancement Guides for Marin, Sonoma, and the Sacramento Valley for ways to provide quality habitat in your area.
Improving habitat can increase property value, improve water and air quality, reduce pests, and stabilize banks alongside the added benefit of providing homes for wildlife. Find bird species lists in each guide that will help you measure your success in improving habitat in your backyard or on your property.
More Nature Stewardship Resources
Tending the Edges: The Benefits of Hedgerows on Bay Area Working Lands. Spanish version. English version. A beautifully illustrated booklet created by the Marin Resource Conservation District with collaboration from Point Blue and other partners. It highlights the potential benefits of pollinator hedgerows for working lands in Marin County and beyond
Life Belowground on the Range, an introduction to the soil communities that support California’s rangelands. Produced by Point Blue Conservation Science in cooperation with TomKat Ranch. Written by Senior Soil Ecologist Chelsea Carey, illustrated by Rangeland Field Ecologist Mel Preston, and designed by Jordan Rosenblum.
Guide to the Pasture Plants of Coastal San Mateo County
A very cool guide to Central Coast pasture plants written and illustrated by Point Blue’s Mel Preston, published by TomKat Ranch, and supported by other partners in the region.
Being the Best Nestbox Landlord for Birds in the West
A handout with tips on how to build, maintain and monitor nest boxes for western cavity nesting species.
How to Help Quail on your Farm or Ranch
A handout on how to attract and support quail on farms, ranches or in yards.
A tip sheet discussing the actions you can take to keep birds at your feeder safe from disease and predators.
A two-page outreach handout discussing the challenges birds face while nesting on beaches, and tips for helping them survive.
A two-sided identification card to some of the most common waterbirds in California.
Join other nature lovers, fishers, and mariners to help reduce ship strikes to whales using your smartphone! Download the app on the Whale Alert- West Coast webpage.
Pocket Guide to Sierra Nevada Birds
A pocket-sized guide to common birds of the Sierra Nevada, containing tips for their protection and conservation.
Pocket Guide to Beach Birds of California
A pocket-sized guide to common birds of California’s beaches, and tips for their protection and management.
Pocket Guide to Sagebrush Birds
A pocket-sized guide to common birds of the sagebrush habitats, containing tips for their protection and conservation.
Pocket Guide to San Francisco Bay birds
A pocket-sized guide to common birds of San Francisco Bay, containing tips for their protection and conservation.
Rich Stallcup Focus Articles
Rich Stallcup (1944 – 2012) was an extraordinary naturalist and teacher who touched the lives of countless people. He played a pivotal role in the rise of birding as a national pastime—especially the love of birds as a motive for conservation.
A note from the author:
“In 1982 director Burr Heneman asked if I would write a bird piece for the newsletter. The idea was to present something for birders beside the scientific articles. Now, 25 years and 75 Focus columns later we’re still knockin’ them out. Some will be of little or no interest, others you will want to read twice. Thanks for visiting.”
-Rich Stallcup, 2007
View, read and print the articles below.
Rich’s Focus articles are also being carried on and reprinted in our Point Blue Quarterly.
If you would like to reprint any of these Focus articles in your newsletter or otherwise, please contact our Education and Outreach Director, Melissa Pitkin at mpitkin@pointblue.org.
Thank you and Enjoy!
Waldo’s Dike- Rails, Predators, 74, and Birders, Fall 2007
Spectacled Vireos, 73, Spring 2007
Our State Bird- Callipepla californica, 72, Winter 2007
Birds of Shollenberger Marsh, 71, Fall 2006
Oceanic Wildlife, 70, Summer 2006
Keeping Warm: Thermoregulation, 69, Winter 2006
International Heartbeats, 68, Fall 2005
Kinglets – Curious and Feisty, 67, Summer 2005
Fall Landbird Migration, 66, Summer 2004
Brant – The Sea Goose, 65, Winter 2004
Second Chances, 64, Fall 2003
Seeking Seabirds, 63, Summer,2003
Feeder Responsibility, 62, Winter 2003
Birds and Weather, 61, Fall 2001
Fall Treasure Hunt on the O.P., 60, Summer 2002
Birding with PRBO, 59, Winter 2002
Migrants Astray, 58, Fall 2001
Three Amigos, 57, Summer 2001
Ospreys, 56, Winter 2001
Christmas Bird Count, 55, Fall 2000
Listing for Life, 54, Spring 2000
Good News 2000, 53, Winter 1999/2000
Fall Shorebird Migration, 52, Summer 1999
Big County Year, 51, Winter 1998/99
Longspurs, 50, Fall 1998
Wrentits of the World, 49, Summer 1998
Housing Opportunities – Wood Ducks, Winter 1997/98
Lumps & Splits, 48, Fall 1997
Prehistoric California Birds, 47, Summer 1997
Lumps & Splits, 46, Spring 1997
Deadly Eucalyptus, 45, Fall 1996
Accipiters, the Forest Hawks, 44, Summer 1996
Cormorants Revisited, 43, Winter/Spring 1996
Fire in Birdland, 42, Fall 1995
Chickadees on the Move … Slowly, 41, Summer 1995
Seeking Vernal Vagrants, 40, Spring 1995
Year of the Varied Thrush – Invasions, 39, Winter 1994/95
Loons, 38, Fall 1994
Launching Babies, 37, Summer 1994
Pishing, Squeaking & Impersonating Owls, 36, Spring 1994
Butter-Butts, 35, Winter 1993/94
What We Can Do At Home, Fall 1993
Territory and Personal Space, 34, Summer 1993
Another Silent Spring?, 33, Spring 1993
Sparrows in Winter, 32, Fall 1992
Extirpation, Extinction and Shrikes, 31, Spring/Summer 1992
An American Dream – Hummingbirds, 30, Winter 1991/92
Cats – A Heavy Toll on Songbirds A Reversible Catastrophe, 29, Spring/Summer 1991
Spring: Timing is Everything, 28, Winter 1990/91
Springtime on the Tioga Road, 27, Spring 1990
White-bellied Shearwaters, 26, Winter 1989/90
Rails, 25, Autumn 1989
Flitty Little Flycatchers, 24, Spring 1989
Wild geese, 23, Winter 1988/89
Merlins, 22, Fall 1988
Peeps, 21, Summer 1988
Spotty Thrushes, 20, Spring 1988
The Grebes, 19, Winter 1987/88
The Small Terns, 18, Fall 1987
Owls and Owling, 17, Spring 1987
Golden Plovers, 16, Winter 1986/87
Storm – Petrels, 15, Summer 1986
Swallows, 14, Spring 1986
A California Birder’s Library, 13, Winter 1985
Winter Buteos, 12, Fall 1985
Yellowish Warblers, 11¸Spring 1985
Murrelets, 10, Winter 1984/85
Big Bright-billed Terns, 9, Fall 1984
Eye-Ringed Leaf Gleaners, 8, Spring/Summer 1984
The New AOU Checklist, 7, Winter 1984
Female Ducks, 6, Autumn 1983
Loons, 5, Summer 1983
Pink-Legged Gulls, 4, Winter 1982
The Red Finches, 3, Autumn 1982
Accipiters, 2, Summer 1982
Cormorants, 1, Spring 1982
Coming Soon:
A Few Tips on Birding, 88, Fall 2012
Whisper Song, 87, Spring 2012
Hummingbird Diversity, 86, Winter 2012
(accompanied by reference to An American Dream – Hummingbirds, 30, Winter 1991/92 )
A Bird-A-Thon Youth Team, 85, Fall 2011
Rookie Mistakes and Rotten Luck, 84, Spring 2011
Charles Allen’s Hummingbird, 83, Winter 2011
Focus on Focus, 82, Fall 2010
Feeding Frenzies, 81, Spring 2010
Adaptable Within Limits, 80, Winter 2010
Birding the O.P., 79, Fall 2009
Think Globally, Bird Locally, 78, Spring 2009
Staving Off Those Birdless Wintertime Blues, 77, Winter 2009
Bird-A-Thon Tales, 76, Fall 2008
A California Birder’s Library, 75, Winter 2008
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