On a national level, the FWS sponsors an annual celebration of International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) on May 11. Here in the Bay Area, the SFBNWR and the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society have issued a call to all artists … Read more
On November 28, 2001, the president of the National Audubon Society, John Flicker, came to the Bay Area to launch the U.S. component of the international “Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program.” The announcement was made here to underscore the global … Read more
It's small, it's restless, and it changes sex halfway through its life. Plus, the humble bay shrimp occupies a crucial niche in the complex food web of San Francisco Bay. It once played a significant role in the economy and culture of the local Chinese community. Today, both the shrimp and those who fish for it are still hanging on, but it hasn't been easy.
October is the final month of tule elk rutting season, when the males fight it out for dominance and the right to mate with the females of the herd. Our local elk are the smallest subspecies of the “wapiti,” or … Read more
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.
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
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
The Blackhawk Quarry in Danville points to a time, nine million years ago, when the Bay Area was inhabited by elephant-like browsers, herds of three-toed horses, packs of bone-crunching dogs, and an eight-foot-long-sabertooth salmonid, Where did they all go?
Best known for its topknot and characteristic call—”chi-ca-go”—our state bird, the California quail, was recently named “Official Bird of the City of San Francisco.” Once abundant and an important food source for the Ohlone people and early settlers, California quail … Read more
Rarely seen and, until recently, poorly understood, bats are a significant component of the Bay Area's natural environment. Now, researchers are filling in the gaps by studying several of the area's most at-risk species.
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
