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Numerous animals make their homes in burrows in the hills of this Santa Clara County park, but none dig as deep as the miners who hauled mercury-laden ore out of the ground for 125 years.
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Legacy of the Red Ore
January 1, 2002 •
Science & Nature
Art & Design | Botany | Climate Change | El Niño | Fire | Fungi | Geology | History | The Bay | The Ocean | Urban Nature | Water | Weather | Wildlife
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Often-Overlooked Lichens are Essential to the Bay Area’s Environment
January 1, 2002 •
Is it a mushroom? A moss? Bacterial scum? Trod on underfoot or passed by in blissful ignorance, lichens are perhaps the least understood element of the Bay Area landscape. But they are everywhere. And when we look closely at them, a colorful and diverse world opens up before our eyes.
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The Changing Nature of Joaquin Miller Park
October 1, 2001 •
Over 100 years ago, poet Joaquin Miller found a refuge in the Oakland hills. Today, thousands of residents from the cities below are doing likewise in the park that bears his name.
Sudden Oak Death Update
October 1, 2001 •
A lot has happened in the battle against Sudden Oak Death (SOD) since Bay Nature reported on it in January. To date, the disease has been identified in black oak, coast live oak, tanbark oak, and Shreve oak trees in … Read more
How have humans influenced wild animal behavior?
October 1, 2001 •
Most of the world’s 5,000 or so species of mammals are already nocturnal, so the effect of urbanization on their circadian activity is probably nil. Actually, even the nocturnal animals are mostly crepuscular in activity; that is, they have a … Read more
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The Dream Given by You
October 1, 2001 •
The return of endangered coho salmon to their ancestral spawning grounds in this west Marin watershed is an essential component of the connective tissue that holds a fragmented ecosystem together. Greeting the salmon tethers us to the landscape’s seasonal rhythms and reawakens a lineage that goes back to the first inhabitants of this place.
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The Vale of Tesla
October 1, 2001 •
Nestled in the hills southeast of Livermore, at the border between the San Joaquin Valley and the Bay Area, the old Tesla Mine townsite in Corral Hollow sustains a vibrant mix of inner south coast range plants and animals along with the traces of a rich human history. But a state proposal to create an off-road vehicle park in the hollow threatens to reopen old scars on this tranquil landscape.
Be Careful with Fiddlenecks
October 1, 2001 •
In his article on “The Changing Nature of Joaquin Miller Park” author Rex Burress wrote that the fiddle-heads of young bracken ferns are edible “either cooked or raw.” However, before you head out to pick ferns for your soup pot, … Read more
Resources about Salmon and Other Anadromous Fish
October 1, 2001 •
Anadromous Fish Symposium The Center for Ecosystem Mangement and Restoration (CEMAR) and the Oakland Museum are sponsoring a symposium on November 14-15 on “Salmon and Steelhead in Your Creek: Restoration and Management of Anadromous Fish in Bay Area Watersheds.” This … Read more
What’s the difference between bird songs and bird calls?
July 1, 2001 •
Q: What’s the difference between bird songs and bird calls? [L.R., Santa Clara A: Bird song, usually produced by the male, is an advertisement of territory and breeding availability, and, in most species, is limited to the breeding season. As … Read more