Alcatraz ranks right up there with riding the cable cars for most locals, but it turns out the island is a great place for watching birds.
John Muir Laws
Naturalist’s Notebook: Interrupt Your Commute and Find Natural Wonders
We pass fascinating natural hotspots every day. Try stopping between here and there — you may discover biodiversity where you least expect it, just like he did at Brisbane Lagoon off Highway 101.
Naturalist’s Notebook: How to Tell Grebes Apart
Grebes are always fun to watch. Jack Laws helps you tell one from another.
Naturalist’s Notebook: Go See the Beavers in Martinez
The town of Martinez has learned to love its beavers, who’ve become famous and opened a whole community to the idea that downtown is even better with a bit of biodiversity.
Naturalist’s Notebook: Bolinas Ridge Discoveries
Jack Laws finds new wonders at a familiar haunt.
Naturalist’s Notebook: Venn and the Art of Hummingbird Identification
In spring, not every hummingbird you see in the Bay Area is the same. John Muir Laws helps us tell the difference between the Allen’s, the rufous, and the Anna’s.
Naturalist’s Notebook: A Small Bird That Acts Big
Turns out this little songbird is a little fiercer than most.
Naturalist’s Notebook: One Year After a Fire on San Bruno Mountain
A year after fire burned through San Bruno Mountain, artist Jack Laws visited to see the recovery of Buckeye and Owl canyons.
Naturalist’s Notebook: A Worm Ties Together Crabs, Otters and Scoters
Find out how a little worm ties together the lives, and deaths, of several ocean animals, from sea otters to surf scoters to common sand crabs.
Naturalist’s Notebook: Kestrels Pick Out Prey in the Ultraviolet
The kestrel hovering over that vacant field has a vision superpower.