I’m a full-time writer, editor and communications leader for a major research university in L.A. I've been telling stories about science, medicine and nature -- with a purpose -- for 25 years. As a certified UC California Naturalist ( https://calnat.ucanr.edu/ ) and an avid trail runner, hiker, cyclist and kayaker, I love observing the natural world in my spare time.
Professional bio: www.linkedin.com/in/aliciadiradodingsdale

Interests include birds, Lepidoptera, Odonata, California endemic species, and ecosystems of the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains and the Sierra Nevadas.

• Volunteer: 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).
• Member and supporter: Pasadena Audubon Society, LA Birders, Natural History Museum of LA County, The Arboretum, and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.

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, Stanford University.

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 or Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 is STM lenses.

FAVORITE SITES & RESOURCES

Tidepools and Marine Environments
*** Tide charts (site)- https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/
*** "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/
California birds = https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/1827
** 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/

California Butterflies
Southern California Butterflies guide - http://socalbutterflies.com/
Butterflies and their Larval Foodplants - https://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/bflyplnt.htm

California Plants
CNPS California vegetation guide - https://vegetation.cnps.org/
CNPS Calscape - https://calscape.org/
Wildflower search - https://wildflowersearch.org/

Galls and Gallformers
California oak gall guide - https://www.inaturalist.org/posts/44142-california-oak-galls

Favorite Taxa

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