Talking El Niño with Daniel Swain
“This will profoundly affect California.”
El Niño, from Nature’s POV
An oak tree, a seabird, an anchovy, and a kelp forest have very different takes on this extraordinary weather event.
Life in a Burn Scar
Five years after the Dixie Fire, a writer takes stock of her community and the forest around it.
Fire Walk with Me
A defensible space inspector is always looking for fire trails.
Bay Nature Events
LATEST STORIES
Western Black Widow Spiders Really Do Not Want to Bite You
Get to know the shy, retiring spider in the corner that’s taking care of your household pests.
East Bay Park District Agrees to Take On Golden Gate Fields
The district approved the $175 million deal to turn the racetrack into a park on Wednesday, though several boxes remain to be checked before the sale is final.
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Bay Nature’s Hall of Botanical Horrors
For those who dare—meet the Bay Area’s spookiest plants (and two freaky fungi).
COMMUNITY VOICES
Articles written by our readers from the San Francisco Bay nature community.
Celebrating 50 Years of the State Coastal Conservancy
You can’t travel more than 30 minutes in any direction in the San Francisco Bay Area without seeing its impact—if you know where to look.
Remembering Jerry Kent, a Champion of East Bay Parks
Kent served the East Bay Regional Park District for more than 50 years. He died July 14, 2026.
Vote No on Prop 45 to Protect California’s Environment
An op-ed by Green Foothills, a longtime grassroots South Bay environmental organization.
IN SEASON IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Where to Watch Birds Migrate in the North Bay This Fall
Longtime birder David Wimpfheimer has intel for us.
Naturalist’s Notebook: How Pelicans and Humpbacks Stretch For Their Food
Pelicans don’t, as you may have heard, stick their spines out of their mouths. They do, however, do some pretty crazy yawn-stretching. From John Muir Laws.
Burrowing Owls Return to César Chávez Park
Editor’s note On a Saturday evening in late October, my boyfriend and I were walking around César Chávez Park in Berkeley when we came across a man with a camera and tripod near the Burrowing Owl Sanctuary. I asked him if he’d seen any owls. He had. Two Western burrowing…
Staff picks
Dorothea Lange, Water Prophet
New performances of Last West: Roadsongs for Dorothea Lange in fall of 2026.
Why Do Ants Enter My House When It’s Warm or Raining?
Why do ants do what they do, and what makes them leave? Naturalist Michael Ellis explains.
A Better Way to Forage Matsutake Mushrooms
“Xayviish has far more personality than any grocery-store mushroom,” writes Sara Calvosa Olson, a Karuk tribal member. “It’s a meaty but delicate time machine, whisking your spirit back to your gathering place.”
An Enduring Oak Mystery: Synchronized Acorn Booms
How do the trees synchronize their reproductive efforts? Oaks, the dominant tree genus throughout much of low- and mid-elevation, temperate California, are full of mysteries.
