A recent visitor to Los Gatos’ Vasona Park was startled by the appearance of a “mystery rodent”.
What do you want to know about the natural world? Thanks to donations from readers like you, Bay Nature has teamed up with the naturalists at the California Center for Natural History to answer your questions about the world every other Tuesday. Some questions find their way to naturalist Michael Ellis, whose answers appear in our quarterly print magazine. Email us your questions at atn@baynature.org!
Ask the Naturalist: Which Bird Migrates Farthest to Get to the Bay Area?
A reader wonders which bird travels the farthest each year to arrive in the Bay Area
Ask the Naturalist: Shady Bay Area Hikes?
Where to find some shady hikes in our state parks on sunny fall days? Guest naturalist – and BN publisher David Loeb – had some suggestions.
Why Would A Mountain Lion Attack a Child?
“I hear lion attacks are rare. Why would a mountain lion attack a child in the midst of a large group, as we’ve seen in the Santa Cruz Mountains last weekend?”
Ask the Naturalist: Wall-to-Wall Blue Jays?
A Berkeley reader asks why he’s seeing so many jays lately.
Ask the Naturalist: Best spots to photograph Bay Area butterflies?
Doesn’t get much better for eye candy than a butterfly on a flower, right?
Bear, Elk and Talking Ape in Post-Apocalypse Muir Woods: What Are the Chances?*
A herd of elk and a grizzly bear make an appearance in Muir Woods in the opening scene of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Would such megafauna stage a comeback 10 years after humans are mostly killed off?
“By the Wind” Sailors: Seasonal Velella beaching mystery solved
Recently, Bay Area beachcombers have been spotting dozens of mysterious blue jelly-like creatures littering the beaches. What are they, and why are they here? Bay Nature naturalist Michael Ellis explains.
How Can You Tell If a Lichen Is Dead?
Lichens by nature are mottled and brittle looking. So how do you know when they are dead?
Ask The Naturalist: How Will the Drought Impact Amphibians?
Question: Will newts, frogs and salamanders be out in full force in the Bay Area this spring?