The Fremont Peak Experience
Discover rare rocks, distant stars, beautiful wildflowers, and a bit of California history all at one small state park south of San Juan Bautista.
Science and Nature
The Grunion’s One-Night Stand in the Sand
Solstice is nigh, the tide is high, the full moon illuminates the midnight beach, and before us, thousands of glimmering fish wiggle out of the surf to spawn in the...
Ask the Naturalist: Why Do Dragonflies Swarm?
What causes dragonflies to take flight in swarms of thousands or millions?
Black Coal, Bright Flowers
The peaceful hills of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve weren't always so: One hundred twenty years ago, you'd have found bustling towns full of miners and their families and, nearby,...
2007-2008 Salmon Decline
During the 2004-2005 winter salmon spawning season in Redwood Creek, which passes through Muir Woods National Monument before reaching the ocean at Muir Beach, scientists and volunteers with the Coho...
Invasion of the New Zealand Mud Snail
The scientists and volunteers with the Coho and Steelhead Monitoring Program don’t yet have to deal with New Zealand mud snails. Barely larger than a grain of rice, this snail...
Flower Power
Sepal, stigma, stamen, style; pollen, pistil, petal. Say what?! Like all scientists, botanists have a specialized language for talking about the things they study, in this case, flowers. Next time...
Allen’s Hummingbirds in Town
Starting in February in coastal areas, keep an eye out for a change in your local hummingbirds. Our resident Anna’s will be sharing the stage with the Allen’s flying in...
Martinez Beavers
Standing in the first light of dawn at the corner of Castro and Escobar streets in downtown Martinez, I searched the dark water for the town’s newest celebrities: four members...
Plastics in the Ocean
Nurdles bobble but they don’t go down. Nurdles are industrial-grade plastic pellets that get melted to make all manner of plastic products, but in the process of packaging and transportation,...
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