Naturalist’s Notebook: What Color is a Mallard’s Head Really?
Naturalist John Muir Laws explains bird feathers that look shiny or iridescent.
Wildlife
Berkeley Delays Plan to Exterminate Ground Squirrels
Water officials said they were concerned that ground squirrel tunnels were sending toxins into the San Francisco Bay.
Swimming for Sharks
Emmy-award-winning filmmaker and marine scientist David McGuire has not only swum with sharks, he’s swum FOR them. As founder and executive director of the Sausalito-based marine research and advocacy organization...
The Elusive Black Rail May Adapt Better Than You’d Think
Black rails are one of the most secretive of birds. But new research is showing that the scurrying marshland species can pick up and move if it must.
Rains Lure California Newts Home to Mate (Video)
The rains have sent a strong signal to California newts — time to mate. A graceful, underwater mating dance is the prelude to this season's replenishment of the species. (VIDEO)
Bottlenose Dolphins Move North Into the Bay, Creating a Research Puzzle
About 60 coastal bottlenose dolphins have been spotted traveling from Southern California to the waters off Bodega Bay, pushing the northern limit of their range and leaving the scientists who...
Bay Nature Annual Awards Dinner 2014: Silent Auction Preview
We’re delighted to be able to offer some wonderful wilderness getaways — plus mouthwatering wine, art, music, and gardening packages — for Bay Nature’s Annual Awards Dinner silent auction this...
The Beauty and the Cheeseweed, a San Francisco Butterfly Love Story
Of the 35 breeding butterfly species in San Francisco, 25 have now found a non-native host plant they can work with. In an area this urban, undesirable weeds growing in...
Connecting the Dots for Pacific Marine Life
National Park Service ecologist Sarah Allen has been looking at the “big picture” of marine ecosystem health since the mid-1970s when she worked as a field biologist on the Farallon...
What’s Small, Ladybug-Like, and Golden All Over?
A few years ago a Bay Nature reader spotted something golden and shiny on her carpet. Suspecting it was a piece of jewelry she picked it up, only to find...
