(Thanksgiving 2017. I was sitting in a ditch watching Savannah Sparrows when suddenly this male Northern Harrier, a winter migrant, swept low over the ravine as it hunted. When it noticed me it veered away and this is the only image I got!)
Greetings and salutations!
My name is Gregory, and I'm an amateur historian and naturalist from the fertile San Joaquin Valley in central California. I live in Dinuba, where my family has previously farmed raisin grapes and tree fruit for nearly a century before the last property was sold a few years ago. I grew up working out in the fields at various tasks, and at a young age a developed a fascination for nature. However, as I grew older I swiftly began to discover new things and eventually my heart settled on the study of history. After graduating from Dinuba High School in 2007, I attended St. Mary's College in Moraga and Reedley College, and finally earned a Bachelor of Art degree in European History from San Francisco State University in 2012.
I moved home and spent the next four years working as a substitute teacher (K-12), as a quality control technician at a corporate fruit packing facility, and working at farmer's markets in the Bay Area selling local organic produce. During some months deliberately set aside from work, I managed to travel to Greece via Istanbul to work on a friend's pear orchard during harvest season, and then spent time in Croatia working on a retired couple's very traditional farm and helping with the numerous dogs they rescued. It was a great time to appreciate life!
(One of those Savannah Sparrows I was watching while the Harrier surprised me.)
When I was home between and after these trips, my longing for exploration led me to begin taking long drives throughout the San Joaquin Valley, often leading to no where in particular. Because there are no castles and great museums here like in Europe, my passion for nature was slowly rekindled as I began finding destinations like wildlife refuges and riparian preserves. In such places I walked in wonder, and felt a harmony that I never knew so close to home - I had always assumed that everything that made me feel passionate was far away.
I re-enrolled at Reedley College in January 2017, this time in the Forestry & Natural Resources associate's program. Today is November 28th, and I am nearly done with my second semester, having completed courses such as wildlife management and watershed ecology. I have become passionate about riparian habitat restoration and birding in particular.
(Long-billed Curlews are regular visitorss in flooded alfalfa fields, where this one was among many last weekend.)
This blog comes during a new phase in my birding career, which already demands much of my time for observation, study and journaling. Last week I was fortunate enough to borrow a Canon Rebel XTi DSLR camera, and coupled it to a Sigma 70-300mm lens that my brother loaned to me. Between these two generous deeds, I am finally capable of getting involved in proper bird photography, which has been a hope of mine for over a year.
During this new chapter as a novice birder, I have decided to begin publicizing my adventures around the San Joaquin Valley, and also from my infrequent trips further afield. I also regularly walk in a unique agricultural landscape near my home and will certainly share the best of what I discover there as well! Cheers!
-Gregory
(A view of the Sierra Nevada mountains from the fields east of my home in the countryside between Dinuba and Visalia.)
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