Outdoors
Recent Chilly Days And Nights Are A Reminder that San Diego’s lowest temperatures (according to more than a century of weather records) tend to occur during the month of January. January’s mean temperature at Lindbergh …
Hike Off Those Holiday Calories in San Diego County’s High Places and take advantage of December’s characteristically clear air. From spots such as Cuyamaca Peak in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Wooded Hill in the Laguna …
Toyon, or “Christmas berry,” one of the more distinctive shrubs of southern California’s native chaparral plant community, has begun to flaunt clusters of red berries. Hollywood (California) derives its name from the holly-like appearance of …
Shorebird-Watching Enters Its Most Agreeable Season This Month, with migrant and resident birds sharing common winter grounds. Egrets, herons, terns, pelicans, and a variety of other species provide endless entertainment as they go about the …
Atmospheric Ice-crystal Effects Are Often Observed, starting about this time of year, because of the frequent appearance of high clouds made of tiny bits of ice. The most familiar of these optical effects is the …
Acorn Dropping Reaches A Crescendo This Month in the Cuyamaca, Laguna, and Palomar mountains. Wiry scrub oaks, massive canyon live oaks, and the golden-leaved black oaks all contribute to the growing collection of acorns littering …
Santa Ana Winds in San Diego County often reach their greatest intensity during November, particularly in the mountain passes, where dry air from a high-pressure area over the interior deserts swoops coastward toward a low-pressure …
The White-Crowned Sparrow Is A Common Winter Visitor throughout San Diego and even deep into southern Mexico. Its range is due to its unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, in which one half of the brain rests while …
The Smoggiest Days of the Year are most likely to occur during the next several weeks. Persistent temperature inversions (warmer air overlying cool marine air) are frequent this time of year, and those inversions conspire …
The Floss Silk Tree, a conspicuous “autumn bloomer” here and there around San Diego, has been showing off its pinkish (or purplish) hibiscus-like flowers for at least a month now. The broad, heavy trunks of …
The Surf Scoter Is A Small Sea Duck that typically arrives in Southern California in the fall. By winter, they are the most common bird found in the San Diego Bay. Males are mostly black …