Jean Richmond's Birding Northern California

Local Bird and Nature Poetry/Prose:

Debbie Viess | Phila Rogers | Rex Burress Walter K. Fisher |

by Debbie Viess:

Debbie Viess has been a student of nature since she was a toddler growing up in Chicago. She was first seduced by the world of birds while a student at Prescott College in AZ. Her first job out of college was at the International Crane Foundation, in Baraboo, WI, and she met her late friend and mentor, Dr. Howard Cogswell, while managing Dr. Shusterman's pinniped lab at Cal State Hayward. She worked with Dr. Cogswell on a number of Bay Area birding projects, and was a former President of Ohlone Audubon due to his encouragement. She continues to be charmed and intrigued by all aspects of nature on her frequent forays into the Greater Bay Area wilds. Despite her current obsession with mycology, she still manages to look up and see the birds, as well as making time to stop and smell the flowers.

A Courtship of Snakes (16 April 2008)

R U Singin' ta ME? A Springtime Hike at Huckleberry Preserve (15 March 2006)

Avian Performance Art (1 December 2005)

Sylvia's Sapsucker and other Feathered Wonders (29 October 2005)

Summertime, and the Birdin' is Easy (16 August 2004)

by Phila Rogers:

Phila has been birding off and on since she was 10-years-old. Having retired as a science writer from Lawrence Berkeley Lab, she feels free to indulge her interest in natural history, especially birding. Phila has resided in the same Berkeley Hills home for the last 55 years.

Thinking of Thrushes (4 February 2007)

Cedar Waxwings (3 November 2006)

The Dog Days of Summer (22 August 2006)

A Chair in the Meadow (2 September 2006)

Rich In Wrens (10 July 2006)

Strawberry Canyon Over the Years (part II) (6 July 2006)

Strawberry Canyon and its Botanic Garden (part I) (1 June 2006)

Nature Vignettes by Rex Burress:

Rex was born in the No Creek country of northern Missouri. Eventually he found his way west to Oakland, where he worked at the Lake Merritt Waterfowl Refuge for over 30 years. He and his wife Jo now live on the Feather River, where he continues to explore nature, take photographs, and record his experiences and thoughts.

Wings in the Wind (25 February 2009)

Choice of a Bufflehead (9 February 2009)

The Hummingbird Watch (5 December 2008)

The Coming of the Crow Crowd (12 October 2008)

The Lone Gull (7 October 2008)

Those Clever Swallows (5 July 2008)

Grebes on Lake Oroville (11 April 2008)

The Cry of the Red-tail (25 March 2008)

Workers of Wood (12 February 2008)

The Scratchers (22 January 2008)

River Watcher (16 November 2007)

Dipper in the Falls (1 November 2007)

Jenny Wren (8 August 2007)

The Saga of Sammy Jay (4 July 2007)

Brink of the Bank Swallow (27 June 2007)

Songbird America (21 April 2006)

The Great Speckled Bird (20 February 2006)

Airborne (26 June 2004)

Left Behind (27 February 2004)

Birds of the Wind (26 February 2004)

A Time for Snow Geese (20 January 2004)

A Time to Rest (10 December 2003)

A Place to Perch (8 November 2003)

The First Migrant (19 October 2003)

A Time of Preparation (24 September 2003)

The Wildest of Birds (26 August 2003)

Flycatchers (29 July 2003)

The Jays of Oakland Camp (14 July 2003)

Home with a View (22 May 2003)

I've Got a Secret (5 May 2003)

Featured Feathers (31 March 2003)

The Pesky Beaks (5 March 2003)

The Way to Birds (4 February 2003)

A Mouth Full (16 January 2003)

Bushtit Barrage (28 December 2002)

The Love of Birds (12 December 2002)

Do You Hear What I Hear? (30 November 2002)

Gamebirds (16 November 2002)

Keeper of the Keys (22 September 2002)

Birds of America (12 September 2002)

Birds Stressed (28 July 2002)

Jaybird (2 June 2002)

An Evening of Owls (20 May 2002)

The Sound of the Wild (2 May 2002)

What a Way to Make a Living! (5 April 2002)

The Story of a Goose (4 March 2002)

Creature Contrast (31 December 2001)

A Hole in the Forest (26 November 2001)

The Wild Bird Returneth (6 November 2001)

Displaced (15 September 2001)

The Life of Birds (9 August 2001)

Egrets, Effort, and Energy (20 May 2001)

Gizzards (16 April 2001)

Showin' Their Stuff (24 February 2001)

Magic Flight (7 February 2001)

An Obligate Parasite (16 January 2001)

What Counts? (19 December 2000)

Winter Wonders (7 December 2000)

And What Is a Wood Duck? (3 December 2000)

Family Matters (6 November 2000)

Keep in Touch with Nature (30 October 2000)

Food for Birds (3 October 2000)

Turkey Tales (20 September 2000)

Lake Lines (1 June 2000)

High Flight (31 August 2000)

Birds in the Chimney (22 July 2000)

Those Funny Birds (16 July 2000)

The Blackbird Business (28 June 2000)

The Value of Vacant Land (21 May 2000)

A Bird in the Meadow (26 April 2000)

The Roadrunner of the Ridge (1 February 2000)

The Pied-billed Grebe and I (13 January 2000)

Something To See (23 December 1999)

For Fish and Birds (December 1999)

Wind Machine (9 December 1999)

Incident at Yellow Creek (26 October 1999)

Pelican Island (19 August 1999)

The Saga of Two Stones (20 July 1999)

Feather on the Trail (2 July 1999)

Beaver City (25 June 1999)

Feather River Birds (16 June 1999)

Duck of the Woods (16 May 1999)

On Nesting Again (4 April 1999)

How Much? (17 February 1999)

Pairs (10 February 1999)

Bird Count (7 January 1999)

Wings (25 December 1998)

by Walter K. Fisher:

The following reprint was written by Walter K. Fisher (1878-1953), son of Albert K. Fisher, one of the founders of the American Ornithological Union. Professor Fisher became the first Director of the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, serving from 1917 until 1943. At the time of his trip to Mono Lake, Fisher was an undergraduate student at Stanford, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1906. He was Editor of The Condor from 1902-1905.

A Trip to Mono Lake, Ornithological and Otherwise (The Condor, Jan-Feb, 1902)

Mount Diablo Audubon Society