Years ago, there was a quail refuge on the outskirts of the town of Bolinas. Seeking to restore her yard to the coastal prairie it used to be, Bolinas writer Judith Lowry decided to shape her garden to meet the quail's habitat needs. In the process, she discovered how a covey of quail can stitch together a sometimes fractious neighborhood.
The first ever comprehensive assessment of fish in Bay Area streams is now available to the public. From 1992 to 1998, EPA biologist Robert A. Leidy investigated 79 streams that empty directly into the Bay, and found 37 different species … Read more
Last January, “Ear to the Ground” wrote about the elephant seals at Año Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County, the area’s best known population of these large pinnipeds. But did you know that there is a growing population at … Read more
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.
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
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.
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
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