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.

• UC Environmental Stewards Program Certified Naturalist ( https://calnat.ucanr.edu/ )
• Trail runner, hiker, cyclist and kayaker, I love observing the natural world in my spare time.
• Professional info: www.linkedin.com/in/aliciadirado
• eBird: @adirado | https://ebird.org/profile/MjkzNzY1NA
• Interests: Aves, 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, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, and Houston Audubon.

Oh, and I love sea life, too.

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. ✉️

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

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

Favourite Taxa

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