Museum Activities
Stories about my time working with the San Diego Natural History Museum.
2024
Memories of Granite Wells
2016-12-04 Camping at the Granite Wells site was the coldest excursion of all the museum outings. It was good that this was the last outing until spring next year. On…
2019
What’s An Avostilt?
I’ll never forget when in 2003 I first heard the expression “Avostilt”. The San Diego County Bird Atlas needed images of Elegant Terns, and author Phil Unitt introduced me to…
2017
Mammal Atlas Photo Credits
I received my copy of the San Diego County Mammal Atlas last Tuesday, December 19, 2017. Prior to this I’d seen only the individual species accounts that comprise the main…
2017-10-27 a Week at Clover Flat
As a part of project to study the inland wetlands of San Diego County, the San Diego Natural History Museum’s science team spent the week at a property in the…
2017-08-07 Warner Valley With The SDNHM Team
The science team from the San Diego Natural History Museum had taken on a project to survey the biology at several inland wetland areas. I missed out on the previous…
2017 June: Elf Owls In Riverside County
Authorities in California have listed these sparrow-sized owls as “endangered.” They believe that the Lower Colorado River is the limit of their range in California. That makes their presence in…
San Diego County Mammal Atlas Goes To Press
The process of getting the Mammal Atlas to print has been long and arduous, made longer by all the checks and balances required along the way. The book describes 122…
2017-06-17~20 Cottonwood Springs (Part 2)
On my previous post I shared images of the players in the Rat Theater, but I also had some nice avian encounters during this expedition. Mockingbirds, Mourning Doves and House…
2017-06-17~20 Cottonwood Springs
From June 12th to the 20th, the San Diego Natural History Museum science team focused their mission on Cottonwood Springs and the Pinto Basin at the southeastern corner of Joshua…
2017 June in Joshua Tree National Park
My trip to Joshua Tree National Park was not without its surprises. I promised to wait one month before speaking of one of them, but there is a good reason…
2017-04-19 With Round-Tailed Ground Squirrels
My involvement with the San Diego County Mammal Atlas project made me aware of the Round-Tailed Ground Squirrel species. Prior to this I had not a clue about this small…
2017-02-21~22 Clarion to Cabo, And Home
2017-02-21 Tuesday (Adios Clarion) The weather predictions for our departure from Isla Clarion were for rough seas, so I dosed myself with motion meds and braced for the worst. Though…
2017-02-20 Hiking Isla Clarión
I spent the day hiking on Clarión Island’s southern flanks. Most of the rest of the passengers on the voyage visited these locations on the previous afternoon while I stayed…
2017-02-18~19 Isla Clarion By Sea
Before we said goodbye to Isla Socorro, we drove the boat north along the island’s eastern flank and visited a different beach, called Playa Blanca, a little south from where…
2017-02-17 Isla Socorro, A Day At The Beach
Yesterday was a big day exploring the higher elevations on Isla Socorro. To investigate as much diversity as possible, we visited a beach on the opposite side of the island…
2017-02-16 Socorro’s Cloud Forest
We left the boat early this morning, and the Marines graciously offered to give us a ride in trucks partway up the mountain. When the trucks could go no further…
2017-02-15 Our First Afternoon At Isla Socorro
We left Isla San Benedicto early this morning and drove the boat 32 miles south to Isla Socorro and arrived to anchor about 8:00am. Even though we had all the…
Rat Theater Version 2.1
Processing images from the boat cruise consumed all my time this month. Recently Scott Tremor (San Diego Natural History Museum) and I camped out in our local desert to trap…
2017-02-14 Isla San Benedicto
Our company would meet Isla San Benedicto this morning. The object of our journey, the Archipiélago de Revillagigedo was finally at hand. On August 1, 1952 at 8:30 AM, the…
2017-02-13 Seafaring South
Monday was a travel day on board the Shogun. We had 350 miles to navigate, and at 10-12 miles per hour it would take a while. While the captain and…
2017-02-12 Isla Santa Margarita
We left Isla Asuncion late in the afternoon, and while we slept, the captain and crew drove all night towards our next destination: Isla Santa Margarita, ¾ the way down…
2017-02-11 The Rocky Islands
This was an exciting day for us. It would be our first contact with terra firma in three days. We’d travelled approximately halfway down the Baja peninsula. Our time on…
2017-02-11 Passage to The Rocks
Amy and Jorge are always up at the crack of dawn, forward of the bridge and counting birds. No matter how early I rose each morning, I would find them…
2017-02-10 Seafaring South
On the second day of our voyage the overcast and fog that met us at the start of our journey continued, making conditions for capturing images a challenge. For those…
2017-02-09 San Diego and Ensenada
We left San Diego through a shroud of fog and marine haze. We expected to see whales and dolphins on this first day of our voyage to the islands of…
Best Memories Of The 2017 Revillagigedos Trip
Having completed the “package” of 14 episodes about the recent trip to the Archipiélago de Revillagigedo (2017-February). I’ve assembled 52 of my favorite moments from the trip. Below, I display…
Revillagigedo Archipelago: We Did It!
My journey south this past 3 weeks to visit this seldom visited island set (roughly pronounced ReVEEya-He-HAY-dough) was the most interesting, exciting, educational trip I’ve ever undertaken. My fellow passengers…
2016
Now Showing at Rat Theater
I’m not sure if there’s much curiosity out there about how I’ve been capturing images of small rodents these past six months, but I thought it might be fun to…
2016 Final Mojave Excursion: Birds
Perhaps it was because of the cool weather, perhaps because it was the last expedition of the season, or the combination of team members on this trip, but there was…
2016 Final Mojave Excursion: Mammals
Camping at the Granite Well site has been the coldest excursion of all the museum outings. It is good that this is the last outing until spring next year. On…
2016-11-29 Tuesday At Cottonwood Spring
Some of you may recall I stayed at this location at the end of September with the science team from the San Diego Natural History Museum. It was my first…
2016 – November Birds In The Mojave
When I’m camping with the science team from the San Diego Natural History Museum, I try to find time to meet the local birds. Autumn migration can provide some pleasant…
2016 November- Rodents in the Mojave
The expedition into the Mojave Desert with the San Diego Natural History Museum’s Bird and Mammal Science Team is almost two weeks past. With all the travelling on my return…
2016-11-08~14: Camping In The Mojave
I left Poway on Tuesday, November 8 to catch up with the Bird and Mammal team from the San Diego Natural History Museum. The science team had been at their…
2016-11-06 Mammal Atlas Update
The Brush Mouse was the last subject for the San Diego County Mammal Atlas we added to the image collection. When I took on the role of ‘image wrangler’ for this…
The Hideous Norway Rat
Call it the brown rat, common rat, street rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, brown Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat, Rattus norvegicus is one despicable rodent. As…
2016-10-13 Pinyon Wells Critters
I recently posted about the trip I took last week to Pinyon Wells in Joshua Tree National Park with the Bird and Mammal Department of the San Diego Natural History…
2016-10-16 Mammal Atlas Update
Here is the status of the San Diego County Mammal Atlas project: Last week, the first sections of the book went to the typesetter. When the typesetter completes the work,…
2016 – Early October Camping At Pinyon Wells
I spent the second week of October with the bird and mammal department of the San Diego Natural History Museum in Joshua Tree National Park. The site is called Pinyon…
2016-10-07 Joshua Tree Park: Birds Too!
Though the main course on the menu for my outing to Joshua Tree National Park wore fur, when feathers showed up I had to take a bite or two. I…
Joshua Tree National Park (Part 2)
It’s time to share the rest of the story about the week I recently spent with the museum’s science team a week ago. Some people choose their route on trips…
Late September at Joshua Tree NP
Last Sunday (2016-09-24) I left Poway for Cottonwood Spring in southern Joshua Tree National Park to stay with members of the museum’s science team for the week. With the San…
2016-09-17 Mammal Atlas Update
Over the last several weeks, I have been gathering, grooming, and sorting images for the upcoming San Diego County Mammal Atlas, and unfortunately have neglected to update my website with…
A New Project With “The Nat”
The San Diego Natural History Museum’s Science Team has long been working a project called the “Mammal Atlas“. I’ve been working with this team on other projects, and it’s always…