Florence Bailey - Journal, California, undated

If something catches your eye and you want to remember it, do you reach for a notepad and a pencil? How legible would that be? Part of a family of naturalists, ornithologist Florence Merriam Bailey took part in expeditions with other naturalists including Frederick Coville, her brother C. Hart Merriam and Bureau of Biological Survey field agent Vernon Bailey who would go on to become her husband. At a time when the popular way to study birds was to examine dead specimens in laboratories, Florence Bailey advocated passionately that there was much to learn about them by observing them carefully in their habitats. From her handwriting, the entries seem to have been made while she was very literally in the field. It includes observations about birds and their habitat, the canyons she visited and the people she encountered. Although undated, it may be related to her 1907 journal also of California. We look forward to your help transcribing this pioneering ornithologists first hand observations.