Ongoing research

by Adina Merenlender and Kerry HeiseOaks ‘n Folks – Volume 14, Issue 1 – March, 1999Residential development is expanding in California, resulting in a larger number of houses and roads in wooded areas. This increased demand for property in rural areas has resulted in land fragmentation and conversion of oak…

 by Justin VreelandOaks ‘n Folks – Volume 12, Issue 2 – September, 1997Red-tailed hawks are a common resident of much of California’s oak woodlands.Large, powerful raptors, red-tailed hawks are a member of a group of birds called Buteos, sometimes called “buzzard hawks” for their soaring nature. The…

by Jerry TecklinOaks ‘n Folks – Volume 11, Issue 1 – June, 1996Oak woodlands provide habitat for California’s most diverse array of terrestrial wildlife. At least 331 vertebrate species utilize these habitats, including 160 species of birds. We can now expand this list with the addition of a very unexpected…

by Gregory A. GiustiOaks ‘n Folks – Volume 10, Issue 2 – December, 1995Autumn makes many people think of the holidays and family gatherings. Traditional feasts this time of year often center on domestic turkeys served in a grand fashion. The domestic bird, raised in large flocks, is quite different than its…

 

 

 

by Bill TietjeOaks ‘n Folks – Volume 10, Issue 1 – April, 1995In outward appearance, the dusky-footed woodrat is almost identical to the Old World rats. Similarity, however, stops there. Taxonomically the two species are unrelated and very different ecologically. Unlike the Old World rats, the dusky-footed…

by Bill TietjeOaks ‘n Folks – Volume 7, Issue 4 – May, 1992The spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) is a medium-sized owl that inhabits thickly wooded canyons, woodlands, and forests of Western North America. It has a round head, dark eyes, and dark brown coloring with whitish spotting on the head and…

by Barret A. GarrisonOaks ‘n Folks – Volume 7, Issue 4 – May, 1992IntroductionSome of California’s most conspicuous and important wildlife habitats are the oak woodlands that ring the central valley and hardwood-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada, Cascade and Coast ranges. Oak trees in these woodlands and…