As the Gottlieb Native Garden’s naturalist, Scott Logan documents the ever-changing array of wildlife species as they vary with the garden’s blooms, seasons and migratory patterns. While bringing these observations to life for all to experience, he also coordinates scientific research projects, and monitors the overall health and biodiversity of the garden. The Naturalist’s Journal also highlights the work the Gottliebs and Scott are doing to educate and inspire people to start gardening for wildlife with native plants.
White-banded crab spider part 2
Our White-banded Crab Spider has been living in this Coast sunflower bush for over a month now. It took much effort to change color from white to yellow, so she will spend as much time as possible within yellow its flowers. Crab spiders are ambush […]
White-banded crab spider
The female White-banded crab spider has the ability to change color. She uses this super power of cryptic coloring as camouflage, changing between white and yellow depending on what color flowers are in her territory. She does this by secreting a liquid yellow pigment into the […]
Vivid Dancers
This has been a great season for damselflies, especially Vivid Dancers. There are dozens of them in the garden at the moment and they can be found just about everywhere, not just near the water features. This Black Phoebe is taking advantage of the abundant damselflies […]
cool drink in the lower pond
Nothing better than having a cool drink in a shady spot on a 100° day…
Lost its Prey?
At the beginning of this video, the owl seems to be looking at its feet to check if it captured prey. Seeing that there was no animal in its talons, the owl takes off running (maybe in the direction it thinks the prey went?). Well […]
She’s been visiting for over 2 years
This female bobcat has been visiting the garden for about 2 ½ years now and we had high hopes that this season she would show-up with kittens. Unfortunately, this year’s “kitten” window is closing fast and if we don’t see any little ones soon, there […]
Leaf-cutter Bees
With Summer just around the corner, the garden is beginning to fill with bees. NATIVE bees! Over a dozen species and hundreds of individuals were found during a causal stroll this weekend – the diversity of the garden’s plants is doing its job. One family […]
Oak Titmouse Nest
Many of the garden’s nesting boxes get used every season by secondary cavity nesting birds (birds that nest inside a cavity but have no ability to excavate that space themselves). This particular box is occupied by a family of Oak Titmice. About two weeks into the […]
Nesting Nuttall’s Woodpeckers
A pair of Nuttall’s Woodpeckers chose one of the garden’s old elderberry trees to excavate this season’s nesting cavity and we couldn’t be happier! This cavity will not kill the tree and will become an important part of the garden’s ecosystem. They will not use this […]
Magic spot for Migratory Birds
From March through mid-May, the lower water feature is always busy with migratory bird life. This year has been no exception and at the moment it’s full of Western Tanagers taking a break from their northern travels. Prior to the tanagers, waves of warblers, orioles, […]