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The Ants Go Marching One by One

July 1, 2010 •  by

How the heck do all those ants find you every time you sit down at a park for a nice picnic? The short answer is: sheer numbers and good communication. But there’s a lot more to know about ants than that…

Welcome Back, Snowy Plovers

July 1, 2010 •  by

Despite the fog, we still think of summer as beach season here in the Bay Area. And that’s one thing we have in common with the western snowy plover, a small bird that needs a lot of help to brave the crowds on San Francisco’s beaches. Volunteering to watch, walk, and talk for the snowy plover at Ocean Beach or Crissy Field may be just right for you.

New Plan for the “Hidden Bay”

June 18, 2010 •  by

Every day, millions of people drive over it on a half dozen bridges. Ferries and freighters cross it. Windsurfers and kayakers and boaters ply its waters. It’s the picture-postcard backdrop for thousands of tourists along the San Francisco waterfront. And yet much of the real action in San Francisco Bay is hidden from us beneath murky waters. A new plan aims to change that…

Charting Climate Change on the Central Coast

June 7, 2010 •  by

The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, along with its sister sanctuaries to the north and south, Cordell Banks and Monterey Bay, are sentinels for the effects of global warming on ocean waters. And, as documented in a new report released, Central California’s offshore waters and coastline are already showing the effects of global warming.

The Sounds of the Sea, Performed

June 1, 2010 •  by

A team of artists has collected more than 1,000 recordings of people sharing their thoughts about the oceans. Hear voices from from scientists and schoolchildren, people in the United States, Europe, Asia. A sound collage from the collection premieres at Cal Academy on June 3.

A Most Unlikely Refuge in Pittsburg

April 14, 2010 •  by

At the western edge of the Delta lies a most unexpected gathering of wildlife. Here peregrines hunt from tall towers, beavers lodge in protected waters, and hummingbirds nest in the least likely of spots. What was once among the busiest, noisiest, smelliest, most crowded, most unsafe places to earn the name “habitat” has become a haven for dozens of species.

A Bird in the Hole

April 1, 2010 •  by

Imagine raising your kids on a precarious bunch of sticks on a tree branch. Some birds had the same thought: Yikes! These cavity-nesters take shelter by excavating nest holes in trees, or by using existing holes–in trees, cliffs, buildings, bridges, tractors…