Laminated Field Guide – Tracks of North America

Have you ever been stumped by an unfamiliar track in the mud? This handy laminated guide can fit in your back pocket and help solve trailside mysteries. It features photographs of common tracks, as well as hand-drawn illustrations, sizes, and even a ruler! Perfect for the naturalist-on-the-go. 

Laminated Field Guide – Birds of the Monterey Bay

This laminated, portable guide features common land and aquatic bird species in the Monterey Bay area. Perfect for new and seasoned birders alike! Fits easily into back pockets, glove compartments, and bags so you can ID on the fly. 

Local Butterflies & Wildflowers of the Monterey Bay Area

Live in the Monterey Bay area? Curious about butterflies? You won’t find a field guide more local than this one! This laminated, foldable guide is great for a hiking trail or your own backyard. 

Trees of the West: An Artist’s Guide

Artist Molly Hashimoto has appreciated trees all her life―they have shaped her as a hiker, outdoors lover, gardener, traveler, and artist. She pays homage to them through her art, working in many different media, each revealing different aspects of these stalwart companions: crisp lines, imposing silhouettes, and the subtle–or sometimes brilliant―hues of foliage. Hashimoto also delves into the process of creating art, discussing the mediums she used in the featured pieces and the reasons she chose them, as well as sidebars with tips and techniques.

As in her popular
Colors of the West and Birds of the West, Hashimoto emphasizes her personal experiences with nature, telling stories about her encounters with trees everywhere from her backyard to national parks and forests throughout the West. She focuses primarily on native trees, rather than cultivars, with a special interest in 46 major species found across the region, ranging from the stately Coast redwoods to the diminutive but distinctive Fishhook Barrel Cactus.

Rooted in place, trees offer endless opportunities for observation, admiration, relaxation, and inspiration.
Trees of the West invites us to pause and appreciate these sentinels in all their quiet glory.

Laminated Guide to Common California Wildflowers

An essential item for your next spring hike!

This portable guide covers 60 of the most common wildflower species in California, including perennials, annuals, and biennials, both native and naturalized.

 

Laminated Guide to Common Mushrooms of California

A sturdy, backpack-sized field guide to the most common California mushrooms. Great for your next rainy day hike!

A Californian’s Guide to Birds Among Us

This unique field guide provides a beautifully illustrative snapshot of California’s birdlife by closely studying 120 specific and easily-scene species. Far more than just an identification guide, the Californian’s Guide to Birds Among Us goes into fascinating detail about the habits, behavior, habitats of common California birds. The best field guides spark curiosity, and Charles Hood has written a book that will draw the casual birder ever deeper into the avian world. 

California Plants: a Field Guide to Our Iconic Flora

If you often find yourself pausing on a hike to wonder what that plant or tree might be, California Plants is just the book for you! Organized by habitat (including grasslands, forests, marshes, and coastal areas), Matt Ritter’s book is accessible for all levels of knowledge. Also available at the Natural Bridges, Wilder Ranch, Seacliff and Santa Cruz Mission ParkStores. 

Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast

A comprehensive and user-friendly field guide for identifying the many mushrooms of the northern California coast, from Monterey County to the Oregon border.

Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast will help beginning and experienced mushroom hunters alike to find and identify mushrooms, from common to rare, delicious to deadly, and interesting to beautiful. This user-friendly reference covers coastal California from Monterey County to the Oregon border with full treatments of more than 750 species, and references to hundreds more. With tips on mushroom collecting, descriptions of specific habitats and biozones, updated taxonomy, and outstanding photography, this guide is far and away the most modern and comprehensive treatment of mushrooms in the region. Each species profile pairs a photograph with an in-depth description, as well as notes on ecology, edibility, toxicity, and look-alike species. Written by mushroom identification experts and supported by extensive field work, Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast is an indispensable guide for anyone curious about fungi.

Birds of the West: An Artist’s Guide

If you’re curious about birds and interested in learning more about them from an artistic angle, this is the book for you! Covering sketching, watercolor, printing, and other mediums, as well as a wide variety of common birds and habitats, there’s something to learn on every page of this gem.

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Birds accompany us in our daily lives with their songs, flashes of bright color, and energetic activity. Even people who don’t consider themselves birders notice them; from urban wetlands to wilderness trails, we follow the sound of a distant twitter or song.

Award-winning artist Molly Hashimoto captures birds through different media, from quick sketches with pen and wash to more carefully planned block prints. Each medium has a unique way of revealing different avian qualities–elegant lines or imposing silhouettes, a delicate bill or brilliant plumage. In
Birds of the West, Molly shares this range of artwork as a way to encourage readers, whether artists or not, to observe more closely the feathered friends around us. Through her art and words, she explores specific Western habitats providing the natural histories of birds typically found in each, as well as intimate personal encounters and inspiring passages from others. And she teaches painting, drawing, and printmaking methods throughout the book with technique sidebars designed for all levels of experience.