Edward A. Goldman and the Birds of Tulare Lake in the Early 1900s

Abstract

In the summer of 1907, U. S. Bureau of Biological Survey biologist Edward A. Goldman visited Tulare Lake and nearby lakes and wetlands in the southern San Joaquin Valley (Goldman 1908). Though greatly reduced from its former extent, the lake still hosted considerable numbers of waterbirds, and the associated marsh and riparian vegetation supported a diverse array of land birds. Goldman’s visit provides a window into the avifauna of the Tulare Lake basin, the southernmost drainage basin of the Central Valley, early in the 20th century, and contributes to our knowledge of the historic status and distribution of a number of species that are now rare in the Central Valley of California.