Ilana DeBare via Berkeleyside

Berkeleyside is Berkeley, California’s independently owned local news site and a content partner of Bay Nature.

At Oakland’s Christmas Bird Count, 177 species in 177-square miles

December 19, 2012 • by Ilana DeBare via Berkeleyside

177 species was a normal year’s count at Audubon Society’s 2012 Christmas Bird Count in Oakland. But there were nevertheless some pleasant surprises: hermit warblers, a snow goose and a Ross’s goose.

Burrowing owls, and docents, return to Berkeley marina

February 17, 2012 • by Ilana DeBare via Berkeleyside

This year, five burrowing owls have been documented at the Berkeley marina. The small ground-dwelling birds spend much of the day sitting alertly near their burrows, astonishingly close to all those humans with dogs, kites and strollers.