Several boaters spotted and photographed a sea otter feeding in Tomales Bay this week, the first confirmed sighting of a sea otter in the bay since 2005. Nature photographer Richard Blair took the above photo from the boat of longtime … Read more
The San Francisco Bay is our region's dominant geographic feature.
Richardson Bay Sets Winter Bird Count Record
At 23,000 birds, the tally in Richardson Bay this December was higher than any year since the surveys began in fall 2006 — much higher. The previous high was 13,000 birds.
Mavericks: The Science Behind the Killer Surf
After a forecast of surf swells upwards of 40 feet, the Mavericks big-wave surf competition has been called for this Friday, January 24th. But what does it take to create a monster wave?
Why Mud Matters
English-born geomorphologist Jeremy Lowe is serious about wetlands and serious about mud, though he’s got a wicked sense of humor that shows he’s not taking himself too seriously. We caught up with the senior scientist from San Francisco-based environmental planning … Read more
Radio Road: A Place for the Birds — and Birders
The wastewater treatment ponds of Radio Road in Redwood Shores attract a wide range of birds species by the thousands and with them, come the birders.
Avian Cholera Outbreak in Redwood Shores Pond
An avian cholera outbreak at a Redwood Shores wastewater treatment pond and popular birding site -had killed more than 200 birds as of Tuesday, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Photographer Tory Kallman Gets His Orca Breach
On a whale watching trip in the Monterey Bay, photographer Tory Kallman witnessed one of nature’s great events—an orca in pursuit of lunch. One of the resulting photographs became Bay Nature’s January 2014 cover image.
Richardson Bay Herring Return, With an Entourage
The North Bay played host to one of nature’s great spectacles this week, the annual Richardson Bay spawning of Pacific herring, an event eagerly anticipated by hungry animals and curious people — and an event all the more precious for how close it once came to disappearing.
A Child’s Book of Habitat
Wildlife biologist and environmental science writer (and former Bay Nature contributing editor) Matthew Bettelheim temporarily switched out of his academic mode to write a children’s book that is coming out this week. Sardis and Stamm takes young readers on a … Read more
The Rise of Cyanobacteria at Pinto Lake
This past fall a cyanobacteria known as, Microcystis aeruginosa, spiked toxin levels above the state’s safe recreational exposure limit at Watsonville’s Pinto Lake. Scientists and the community have begun tackling the problem and hope that conclusions drawn at Pinto Lake will help remedy cyanbacterial blooms elsewhere.