I’m a full-time writer, editor and communications leader who has worked in academic scientific communications (mostly medicine) for nearly 25 years. As a Certified California Naturalist and an avid trail runner, hiker, cyclist and kayaker, I love observing the natural world.

Interests include California endemic species and ecosystems of the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains and the Sierra Nevadas. I volunteer as an image analyst and species identifier for Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy’s Urban Wildlife Team camera trapping project in the wildlife-urban interface in northern Los Angeles County (Verdugo Hills/Arroyo Seco/San Gabriel Mountains).

Occasionally I dabble in marine environments, especially during the summer when it gets hot inland in Los Angeles!

BS in product design (engineering) and BA in history from Stanford. So nope, I don’t have a degree in biology.

I learn from all ID corrections accompanied by explanations.

While Spanish was my first language, I mostly function in English these days. Si quiere comunicarse conmigo, favor de escribirme en inglés o en español. ✉️

eBird user @adirado: https://ebird.org/profile/MjkzNzY1NA

Macro images shot with

• Canon EOS Rebel T8i (from 2023 onward) or T3 and Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM macro lens, or
• iPhone 12 with Xenvo clip-on Clarus 15x macro lens

Most bird images from 2023 onward shot with Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III lens.

FAVORITE SITES & RESOURCES

Tidepools and Marine Environments
*** Tide charts (site)- https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/
*** CA tidepool locations (site) https://californiatidepools.com/
*** "A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes: From Alaska to California," Kells, Rocha, and Allen (book) https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/10801/field-guide-coastal-fishes

Birds
*** "Birding Guide to the Greater Pasadena Area" (book) - https://www.pasadenaaudubon.org/birding-guide
**"Sibley Birds West: Field Guide to Birds of Western North America," Sibley (book) https://www.sibleyguides.com/product/sibley-field-guide-birds-western-north-america-second-edition/
** Feather Atlas - a tool to ID flight feathers from North American birds (site) - https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas
*** Rufous v Allen's hummingbirds - https://underclearskies.com/2020/07/25/green-backed-rufous-hummingbirds/

Favorite Taxa

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