Hello from Eureka, CA, USA (1 Viewer)

Hello,

Picked up this e-mail and thought I'd start getting involved with birders back at home. I've been birding throughout California for the past 13 years, living in far Northern California (6hrs north of San Francisco) in Eureka. Came here to get a Master's degree in Wildlife from Humboldt State University. Got a job chasing Northern Spotted Owls, became a Wildlife Biologist and for the past seven years I've run my own bird consulting firm LBJ Enterprises (for once I don't have to explain the name choice).

Back in the mid-eighties I went to University of Essex and birded occasionally with the UEA crowd. The two birders whose names I specifically remember were Larry Wheatland (who got me started) and Gavin Haig. They were both East Londoners I lived in West Dulwich and Ramsgate as a kid. Stodmarsh and Sandwich Bay obs are my favorite local patches. Now I enjoy the yard (my garden) and Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Things a pretty perfect I have a CA bride, two boys 5 and 8, and they locally re-broadcast the World Service on the FM dail.

California Birding is great, the density of birders is less so perhaps there is a downgrade in intensity. You literally can have your own local patch all to yourself, sift the flocks to find your own rarity and compared to the UK there are just more birds. Resident birders' hair curls when I explain that even their best (US) are just jiz birders compared to the details of those Brits. But who cares about that, my philosophy is we're all birders first. To that end I look forward to any visitors to our wonderful part of the Redwood Coast and somehow connecting back to my roots.



Yours Rob

Welcome from another displaced Brit!

Hi Rob,
I've been in Texas for almost 10 years - will I ever get used to this heat & humidity - the birding is great though!! Lived in Southern California, near Pasadena, for 4 years, before moving here. Look forward to seeing reports for your area.

Welcome to Birdforum, Rob

Sounds like you have plenty of experience of birding. I look forward to reading your posts. It's great getting a different slant form other parts of the World on what is essentially the same hobby. Hopefully you will find some items to interest you, if not then pose a query/topic yourself :bounce:

The joy of overseas birding

Hi Rob,

This all sounds very interesting, and not entirely dissimilar to my own situation - I'm ex-UEA (mid to late 90s), worked for a few conservation organisations in blighty, and then moved to Brisbane with my partner. The consultancy stuff sounds interesting - what kind of work do you tend to get involved in, and what are the burning conservation issues in your neck of the woods?

I'm presently working in Adelaide on a multi-species bird recovery plan, along with a fledgling agri-environment scheme aimed at grazing properties, wine producers, and so on.

The lack of other birders sounds familiar - I noticed this especially in Queensland where the only other optic carriers that I encountered invariably transpired to be British or Dutch.

However, some of the people who do work in conservation in Oz (and again, particularly in Qld) have the most terrifying field skills I have ever encountered - they tend to turn over dead-wood and immediately reel off the latin names of the five skinks that I vaguely saw dissapear into fissures in the bark.

Look forward to reading more of birding in CA.

Cheers,

NW California Conservation Issues

Dear Steve and others who have replied,

It seems there a several diplaced british birders who have done much to improve the birding aspects of their new locations. An absolute stand out here in CA is Guy McKaskie a former Scot who has carved out a solid repuatation from San Diego. I wonder how many times a British Birding background has lead to better things.

Well anyway, it was interesting that you mentioned burning conservation issues as here in the west Fire mangement is a critical aspect. In the moist NW we don't normally get too many, but a recent big wildfire in Oregon has elevated this concern.

My company works either for private timber and gravel companies as well as public agencies such as the US Forest Service. Endangered Species are the focus and here that means Spotted Owls and Marbled Murrelets. Both dependant on forested habitats in varying ways. My crew does the basic surveys and I write reports and consult with the regulatory agencies to seek approval for any projects to move forward. I can't believe how lucky I was to be in the NW USA when the Spotted owl issue arose, my graduate work was looking at Urban Wildlife at the time. Well that got brushed aside and here we are conducting wildlife surveys all over the place and as an aside trying to promote the natural values of our area for eco-tourism.

A footnote to the work around here is that nothing would happen except for the Endangered Species Act ( 1976 Jimmy Carter). While many promote whole system management it's the legal protection of individuals that drives the system. The people I work for in most cases could care less about wildlife, except to the end that it will cost their project more money or cause time delays. Most American respect the law and don't go around harming endangered species if its stalling their project, but I don't think they sit back and reflect on the nice Spotted owl they have convieniently in the middle of the proposed harvest plan. Now I can't talk for everyone, but Humboldt County and Oregon are old school logging districts and attitudes are hard to change. I do see some moves towards progressive land managment and everyone around here regardless of what they do are nice people. It seems that politics and education are also subjects I should have studied in school if as a Biologist I really want to save the world.

Nice chatting

Yours Rob

what a truly interesting thread, thanx peeps

El Annie

Hello,
Welcome to the site.

I note that someone was looking for Larry Wheatland in the 'Lost Contact' forum. Perhaps you can help him out.


Colin

Larry Wheatland

Colin,

I don't think I asked about Larry Wheatland, so I assume somebody else is. Well I no longer have any direct contact with him either, much to my regret. Perhaps others know his whereabouts.

Rob

Larry Wheatland

Hi there Rob long time no see!!!!
You might remember when you and Larry were at Essex Uni, one of Larrys' friends came to visit for a couple of days [when you shared your halls of residence with about 20 japanese computer studies students, Larry & maybe 2 others.
That was me.
Larry said to me 'Rob has gone AWOL but won't mind you sleeping in his bed'
Of course you returned at about 3am to find a complete stranger tucked up in your bed but you were sooo cool about it.
Unfortunately I have managed to lose touch with Larry and recently posted a message on the lost contact part of this website in the hope that somebody may have come across him lately, or know anything about how he can be contacted.
I do remember that he said that he had run into you some-where and that you looked, talked, and to all outward appearances were American.
He was very proud of the fact that he had turned you on to Birding you know!!!
How many twitches did we suffer in his little red mini?
I last saw Larry about 6 years ago, and Gavin I haven't seen since we spent a week on Scilly in the spring of 86 or 87
Paul White

Laz

Well Paul,

I must say I thought I'd hear from you as I saw the name in the list of subscribers... or I think I did?

Larry said you still birded, he visited me here in CA for a summer prior to and after his Arizona trip (early 90's).

The floor and job market are always open to visiting quality birders, I've always thought it would be great to have Larry on the crew here. What do you do these days?

You can see a little of what I'm up to at the web site birdjobs.com

I'm off to a Mendocino County pelagic trip and a Hawk Watch from the Golden Gate headlands this weekend so I must rush. I will post a report next week.

Great to hear from you

Rob