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.
Over 200 years ago, Swedish naturalist Karl von Linne (or, as he Latinized the name, Carolus Linneaus) devised a system for classifying all living things based on anatomical structures. Although Linneaus lived before Darwin, his method presaged later concepts of … Read more
The largest concentration of raptors in the Pacific States occurs over the Marin Headlands every fall when tens of thousands of hawks, falcons, and eagles are on the move. From August through December, volunteers from the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory … Read more
Springtime is mating time, and the Bay Area provides its residents with a splendid opportunity to view the new families of one of our most majestic birds—the great blue heron. The largest heron in North America, great blues average nearly … Read more
Late fall and winter are the time to witness the return of endangered coho salmon to their natal streams in west Marin. After many years of declining populations, this spectacular fish finally received listing as an endangered species in 1996. … Read more
It’s time to make your reservations to witness one of local nature’s most dramatic spectacles: the annual return of the world’s largest mainland breeding colony of Northern elephant seals to Año Nuevo State Reserve on the San Mateo coast. Weighing … Read more
That depends on what you mean by hibernation. All but one of the Bay Area’s 13 species of bats are capable of hibernating; the exception is the abundant Mexican free-tailed bat. But according to bat rehabilitator Patricia Winters, “No bat … Read more
Over the past 16 months, there have been three separate sightings of the Shy Albatross(Thalassarche cauta) off the coast of northern California. These very large (nine-foot wingspan), powerful seagoing birds breed on rocky islands off the coasts of Tasmania and … Read more
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
