Naturalist’s Notebook: The Nuances of Yellow-Rumped Warblers
Yellow-rumped warblers are around in winter. But which variant are you seeing?
Science and Nature
A Battery Fire Deposits Heavy Metals into Elkhorn Slough
Lithium-ion battery components—nickel, manganese, and cobalt—were found at concentrations thousands of times greater after the fire. The implications for wildlife hang in the balance.
Winter 2025 Almanac: Salamanders and Sperm Whales
Life during winter is full of conversation.
Paddling the Cosumnes River Preserve, a Lush Refuge in the Central Valley
Restoration dollars from the IRA mark the latest chapter in stewardship across the Cosumnes River watershed, where sandhill cranes flock.
A Mussel Bed is Full of Life, 80 Years Later
The invertebrates found in a mussel bed on Dillon Beach in western Marin County are just as abundant as they were in 1941. But the types of organisms have changed.
The Adder’s-Tongue—Our Fetid Friend in the Shadows
Deep in the shadows of redwood understory, when winter rains still drip on the mosses and ferns, an unusual flower heralds the beginning of the blooms—a sort of “flower new...
In Surprising Turn, Crabbers Take to Whale-Safe Crab Pots
Yet again this winter, Dungeness season was delayed to keep whales safe. In a surprising turn after years of adamant resistance, more Dungeness crabbers are trying out—and pretty darn happy...
A Sapsucker Superspecies Is Evolving In Our Midst
Rows of pea-size holes, drilled in the trunks of thin-barked trees, are the beginnings of a story that stretches back millions of years.
Editor’s Letter: 25 Years of Cover Stories
With the arrival of January, Bay Nature begins its 25th year of publication.
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