California Nature Year 2027
Everything Birch Compass knows about a year of nature in one state — the book, the posters, the sky calendar, the life list, and a weekly note through 2027.
- The full year as a book — twelve chapters, every zone's garden notes
- A week-by-week layer: 52 entries, not 12
- Four printable posters, at letter size and 18x24
- The 2027 sky calendar for your latitude
- A life list built to last three seasons
$34.00one-time
Instant download · yours to keep, with no account and no renewal · full refund within 30 days
A look inside
What the California pages actually look like
Download a two-page sample — real pages from the California edition, not a mock-up.
From the California edition
Some of what is actually in it
The garden chapters carry 69 native species for California, each with its bloom window and zone timing. Among them:
- Showy Milkweed
- Cardinal Flower
- Blue Vervain
- Pink Muhly Grass
- Sideoats Grama
- Blue Grama
- Lanceleaf Coreopsis
- Prairie Smoke
- California Poppy
- Rocky Mountain Penstemon
- Firecracker Penstemon
- Desert Marigold
How the California year breaks down
Counted, not claimed
Something in the California list is in bloom from March through October, and May is the peak — 43 of the 69 species are flowering then.
9 of them are caterpillar host plants and 9 support specialist bees — the ones that do the most work in California yards.
In the box
Exactly what you receive
| The book | 65 pages, twelve chapters — one per month of the California year |
|---|---|
| Sky calendar | 5 pages, computed for California's latitude, dated to 2027 |
| Printable posters | 8 files — four designs, each at letter size and 18×24 inches |
| Life list | 1 page with first-sighting columns for 2027, 2028 and 2029 |
| Weekly note | One short California email a week through 2027, from this same data |
| Files | Eleven in all, on one California library page — each downloadable on its own |
| Format | PDF, laid out for both Letter and A4 |
| Delivery | An instant download link, plus a link you can re-open for 72 hours |
| Access | Yours to keep — no expiry, no account, no subscription |
| Refunds | Full refund within 30 days, no questions |
How it works
From checkout to the field
Buy it
Checkout takes a card and an email address — no account to create.
Open it straight away
The download link appears immediately and the California files are yours to keep.
Use it through the year
Every week through 2027 a short California note arrives — what to look for in the days ahead, from the same data.
Free and paid, side by side
The California pages here stay free. Here is what the edition adds.
| The free California pages | California Nature Year 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | The month California is in, free and always | All twelve California months, planned before they arrive |
| Garden timing | The notes for your zone, once the site knows it | Every California zone from 5a–10b, side by side on the page |
| Where you can read it | On a screen, wherever California has signal | On paper, in the field, with no signal at all |
| Through the year | You come back and look it up | A short California note each week tells you what is happening now |
| Price | Free, and staying that way | $34.00 once — no renewal, no account |
Before you buy
Who this is for
Made for
- Someone who wants the whole California year in one place, planned ahead
- Households where more than one person goes outside
- Anyone who would rather print it once than look it up twelve times
Not for
- Anyone who only ever needs one month — the free California pages already do that well
Everything here describes typical timing across California, drawn from long-run records — weather, elevation and how close you are to water all move the real dates around. So the California pages say "usually early May" and never "May 4th", which is not hedging but the most the data can honestly carry.
Where it comes from
Compiled from
USGS Breeding Bird Survey · State fish & wildlife agencies · USA National Phenology Network · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center · The Xerces Society · USDA PLANTS Database · GBIF occurrence records · USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map · Cooperative Extension (land-grant directory) · International Meteor Organization. How each of these is used in the California edition, and which figures are measured rather than modeled, is set out in the methodology.
Questions
Before you decide
Is this specific to California, or a national guide with the name swapped in?
It is built from California's own data. Every chapter is California's — its species, its timing, and garden notes for every zone from 5a–10b.
California spans several hardiness zones — which one does this cover?
All of them. California runs 5a–10b, and the guide carries each zone's timing rather than picking one and hoping it fits your garden.
How accurate is the timing for California?
It describes typical timing across California drawn from long-run records, and because weather, elevation and habitat move real California dates around it says "usually early May" rather than "May 4th".
Is it worth paying when the California pages here are free?
The free California pages are the month you are in; this is the whole California year, planned before it arrives and printable, so you are not holding a screen in the garden.
Will it work for my part of California, or just the big cities?
It is written at state resolution — California as a whole, with regional notes where California genuinely differs end to end, and nothing behind it is recorded finely enough to honestly promise more than that.
What format is the California edition, and can I print it?
A PDF laid out for both Letter and A4, one page per sheet — printing it is the point, since the California pages are made to be carried outside.
What is the weekly California note, and does it stop?
One short email a week through 2027, built from this same California data — what to look for that week. It runs the edition year, then stops; it is not a subscription and there is nothing to cancel.
What if the California guide is not what I expected?
Email hello@birchcompass.com within 30 days for a full refund on the California edition, and keep the files either way — asking for them back would be theatre.
Every month of this book has a free page on the site — start with the California guide. The book carries every zone's garden notes; the page only ever shows you yours.
The rest of the California shelf
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The California Nature Journal
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Birds of California
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