Nature Apps for Sonoma Overlook Trail

Posted September 27, 2026

Filed under Birds, Insects, Mammals, Nature, Plant Life, Reptiles, Wildlife

by Jacqueline Steuer

So you are on the trail, and you hear a bird calling. You think it’s a Bewick’s wren, but you aren’t sure. It’s driving you crazy. What do you do? Turn to Merlin Bird ID. Just open the app on your phone, select “sound,” and the app records the bird sounds in your environment. Next thing you know, bird species’ names are popping up. And, as each species calls, its name is highlighted. Yes, it is a Bewick’s wren!

Or, you aren’t sure if that colorful, three-lobed leaf is poison oak or some other plant. Depending on its size, this plant can look like a woody vine, thicket or shrub, or just a bundle of sticks. What do you do? Turn to Pl@ntNet. Open the app, take a photo of the leaf or flower, give your location, and the name of the plant is provided. Now you know–don’t touch those pretty leaves!

Before you hit the trail, decide what apps are of interest to you and take time at home to download the apps to your phone. Or, depend upon built in phone tools that supply some plant IDs listed below. These are some of the best apps to consider:

Merlin Bird ID – provided by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Identifies bird species by: 1) sound recording you provide, 2) a photo for identification, or 3) use “Step by Step” to give location, date, approximate size, color, and location of bird (i.e., eating at a feeder, swimming or wading, on the ground…) to get an ID. Alternatively, in “Explore Birds,” obtain detailed information about a species, including its likelihood at your location. Creates a personal life list of birds you document. Free app.

Ebird – provided by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Provides a way to document birds seen or heard in a location. Observers must be able to identify the species by sight or sound to create a checklist for the event. Ebird requests observers spend at least five minutes during the event. Provides rare bird alerts. Provides detailed species information through Birds of the World. Allows exploration by Species Maps, Explore Hotspots, Search Photos & Sounds, and Bar Charts. Provides free birding skills courses. Gives eBird science information. Free app.

iNaturalist – A powerful app created by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. Take a photo of an animal, bug, or plant to identify it, and your findings help scientists track global biodiversity. Free app.

Seek – A child-safe, camera-based version of iNaturalist that works offline. It uses image recognition to identify species in real time and lets you earn badges for finding different types of wildlife. Free app.

Pl@ntNet – identifies native and non-native plants with a photo of a plant. Your profile lists plants you have identified. Can also search for a plant by starting with a family or genus name. Each species is listed with photos of its leaf, flower, fruit, bark, habit and “other” as well as a map of its location based upon observations. Backed by a scientific research consortium. Relies on crowdsourced citizen science. Free app.

Plantora – A good choice for a mix of plant identification, disease symptom checkers, and basic care reminders without being forced into a premium subscription. Free app.

Built-in Phone Tools (No App Required):

iPhone: If you have iOS 15 or later, open any photo of a plant in your Photos app and tap the info “i” icon at the bottom. A leaf icon will appear allowing you to select “Look up plant.”
Android: Use Google Lens directly through your camera or Google search bar to snap a picture and instantly identify local flora

With these tools in your pocket, you will no longer be left to rack your brain for what bird call that is. And you won’t discover, too late, that the pretty leaves you brought home to decorate with are poison oak! Happy trails!

Winter Birds on Sonoma Overlook Trail

Posted January 5, 2026

Filed under Birds, Nature, Winter

Ruby-crowned kinglet

Winter on Sonoma Overlook Trail brings a quiet beauty, and with it a lively cast of birds that thrive in the cooler, wetter season. As deciduous trees lose their leaves, birds become easier to spot, flitting through oak woodlands, chaparral, and open grasslands.

Who’s over there? Such a restless little bird! A Bewick’s wren, barely five inches long, keeps darting about, looking for tasty insects. Scritch, scraaatch…SQUEAK! And what is that? A male Anna’s hummingbird with its raspy call. When it makes a sharp dive, air passing over its tail feathers creates the loud squeak. Its crown and throat are brilliant, iridescent red. Look for this fellow at the ends of bare branches. How is that woodpecker walking vertically up a tree? It has two toes facing forward, and two facing backwards to keep it from falling backwards. This little “ladder-backed” woodpecker, a Nuttall’s, is just seven inches long. It forages for insects as it circles tree trunks and branches.

Dark-eyed junco

Resident birds remain active year-round, relying on familiar territories to survive the colder months. Dark-eyed juncos and California towhees hop among the leaf litter at the trail’s edge, while Ruby-crowned kinglets and Oak titmice flit among leafless branches, searching for insects.

A Toyon shrub, also known as California Holly, full of red berries is an ideal stop for a flock of Cedar waxwings. When other fruit is scarce, the Toyon feeds these beautiful birds. As one nears the Upper Loop, the open skyline reveals Red-tailed hawks and Turkey vultures soaring over our rolling hills. Turkey vultures are nature’s garbage collectors–they eat carrion so it doesn’t sit around too long.

Cedar waxwing

Winter birds play a vital role in Sonoma’s ecosystems, dispersing seeds and controlling insects. They also bring joy to winter hikers.

by Jaqueline Steuer, Sonoma Overlook Trail Steward
Photos: Unsplash

Grateful

A rafter of wild turkeys relaxing on Montini Open Space Preserve last evening, fate working in their favor another year.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all; we hope to see you on the trail during this very lush, thriving time on Montini and the Overlook!

New Trail Video

Posted May 16, 2020

Filed under Birds, Flowers, Fungi, Hiking, Insects, Mammals, Photography, Plant Life, Reptiles, Scenic Views, Seasons, Trees, Wildlife

Sonoma Overlook Trail & Montini Preserve from Roy Tennant on Vimeo.

Why We Fight

Posted June 30, 2019

Filed under Birds, Insects, Invasive Species, Italian Thistle, Mammals, Plant Life, Reptiles, Stewardship, Yellow Star Thistle

I’ve posted a lot about invasive species removal from the Overlook and Montini Preserve properties. Anyone but me would likely say too much, and who could blame them? Not me.

But in reviewing what I’ve written over the years about it, I realized I’ve never explained why we fight this fight. So now I rush to make good this oversight, and try to explain why I go out, nearly every day I can from January through July or beyond, and fight something that will very likely never be defeated.

First and foremost, it’s necessary to highlight the fact that species such as Italian and yellow star thistle will completely take over an ecosystem. You don’t need to go far to see this happening. The picture here was taken at the Sonoma Valley Regional Park, and shows how Yellow star thistle in the foreground, and Italian thistle in the background, have essentially taken over a meadow. This crowds out native plant species and even mammals.

Thistle creates a “no-go” area for wildlife, who avoid such patches until they can’t be avoided at all, and then they move elsewhere. This of course leads to a an ever-increasing monoculture and “dead zone” where only the invasive species thrive. “Invasive species are among the leading threats to native wildlife,” states the National Wildlife Federation, “Approximately 42 percent of threatened or endangered species are at risk due to invasive species.” This is clearly a serious threat that must be addressed.

The impacts of this monoculture are many. Wildlife doesn’t have the food sources they should. The lack of diversity in plant life affects the diversity of everything else — insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Invasive species can also affect the chemistry of the soil, as well as the intensity of wildfires.

There are, then, many reasons why we fight this fight.

Recently as I walked along the main path in the Sonoma Valley Regional Park, I was in despair seeing the extent of Italian and Yellow star thistle invasion. It was heartbreaking to see. But I had to turn away, knowing that I have my own battle to fight on the Overlook and Montini Preserve properties. Thankfully, the Yellow star thistle is nearly eradicated on those properties except right along, and next to, Norrbom Road. But we have a long, long way to go against the Italian thistle, let alone Scotch and/or French broom and other invasive species that we have yet to assess, let alone seriously address.

In the end, we fight this fight because the alternative is so much worse. We fight because we love the native ecosystem and we believe deeply in saving it. We fight because we have no choice but to do so, loving these properties and trails as we do. Frankly, that’s the absolute best reason ever to fight for something — for love. So if you see me or my comrades out there, with a large bag and a glove, you’ll know what we are doing. We are fighting for something we love.

That’s why we fight.