Leader Details

Ben Kolstad I'm a bicoastal amateur naturalist; I have two hobbies, astronomy and birding. Both pursuits get me in the out-of-doors, which is absolutely critical to maintaining my sanity. I grew up in a fairly large city (Los Angeles), and even then, although I didn't really realize it at the time, I always sought a connection with the natural world. My hikes through Griffith Park, even when I came home covered in poison oak, were formative experiences. Even earlier, as a youngster in Colorado, we would always go fishing and camping on the weekends.
Astronomy used to get me outside at night, which is a completely different experience from the daylit pursuit of birds. But these days I'm more interested in solar astronomy, which allows for a reasonable bed time. Nevertheless, both astronomy and birding seem to me to be two sides of the same coin. Both are intellectual pursuits, requiring careful study and planning to make the most of that precious time in the field. They each make use of technology (binoculars, scopes, cameras) to enhance the experience, but each can be enjoyed just as well "au naturel." And the objects of each study are both infinitely complex and beautiful.
And both of these hobbies can be pursued productively in my own backyard. In the past, I wished I had a bigger backyard (my entire lot when I lived in Boca Raton was the typical <1/4-acre plot), but as long as there are native plantings to attract birds and butterflies, and I have a relatively decent view of the sky, most my naturalizing occurs on my own soil. Now I'm enjoying the elbow room I have here in northern SLO county and am working on upgrading the habitat for our central coast birds.