Volcano Baby
How the Sutter Buttes turned up, all alone, in the Central Valley.
Sensing Is Becoming
How a rootless parasitic plant blossoms in spring.
The Spring 2026 Issue
Naturalist’s Notebook: See the World in a Velella
Did you know that you an find an echo of the spin of the planet in the sails of the by-the-wind sailors that wash ashore in spring and early summer?
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LATEST STORIES
Meet a Newly Named Nudibranch With a Unique Approach to Sex
Scientists spotted Doto urak 40 years ago but are just discovering the full glory of its weirdness.
Solving the Mystery of Point Reyes’ Purple Waves
Meet the wildly complex, lilac-hued squishy that has been arriving in droves in our coastal waters.
Restoring Salt Ponds to Marshes Is a Win. Unless You’re a Snowy Plover.
Yet amid a sea of bad bird news, San Francisco Bay plovers are doing very nicely.
IN SEASON IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
How Do Wildfires Affect Ocean Ecosystems?
How does wildfire ash affect the organisms in our waterways? Since plankton form the foundation of our coastal ecosystems, what happens if their equilibrium is disrupted?
To Protect Plovers, We’ll Have to Outwit the Ravens
For the past several years, wildlife photographer Sarah Killingsworth has been shadowing biologist Matt Lau’s work helping the western snowies at Point Reyes National Seashore. But tricky ravens have become a problem of late.
The Disappearing Language of Sparrows
San Francisco white-crowned sparrows have their own dialects. As the city gets louder, those dialects are disappearing.
Staff picks
A Rare Closeup on the Delta Green Ground Beetle, a Predator of the Pools
The quarter-inch-long, brilliantly colored Delta green ground beetle is “still a bit of a mystery,” even to experts.
Where Do Morel Mushrooms Grow in Northern California?
They’re one of the most sought-after edible mushrooms in the world. At least 10 species live in the Bay Area.
What Species Are San Francisco’s Parrots? It’s Complicated.
A new genomic study suggests they’re their own thing. That’s probably thanks to one bold bird.
Voracious Flowers of the Tidepool
Some of the most conspicuous animals in Northern California tidepools don’t look like animals at all. They resemble flowers more than any animal you’re probably familiar with.
