Turning a Weedy Island into Prime Habitat in Richardson Bay
Can a pile of dredge spoils covered in a jumble of invasive weeds be transformed into an island paradise for shorebirds, songbirds, and seals? The folks at the Richardson Bay...
Wildlife
Saving Bay Area Ecosystems, One Chorus Frog at a Time
If you happen to be in El Cerrito and hear a frog calling, or catch sight of a large yellow butterfly flitting through your yard, it might be Jim McKissock's...
Protecting the Little Fish, Food for Many
They're the little guys. Small, silver, nondescript fish that are so hard to tell apart that many people simply call them "baitfish." But though they don't command the attention of...
Seeing the Light with Bird Evangelist Alvaro Jaramillo
A self-described "bird evangelist," Alvaro Jaramillo loves to share his lifelong passion for birds both locally and on tours throughout the Americas. Born in Chile, Alvaro began birding in Toronto,...
Naturalist’s Notebook: Birding on Alcatraz
Alcatraz ranks right up there with riding the cable cars for most locals, but it turns out the island is a great place for watching birds.
Letter From the Publisher: On Porpoises, the Lure of the Bay, and a New Water Trail
There’s nothing like getting out on the Bay at water level. And now that harbor porpoises are again venturing daily inside the Golden Gate, there’s never been a better time...
Porpoises are Back in San Francisco Bay After Decades Away, and the Best Place to See Them is From the Golden Gate Bridge
When William Keener got a report of a harbor porpoise inside San Francisco Bay in 2008, he knew this was big news: They had been absent since World War II....
The Middle Way
Grizzlies may be long gone and mountain lions few and far between, but many smaller predators are thriving in Bay Area wildlands and even in cities and suburbs. From plentiful...
Top Shark: This One Goes to Seven!
The biggest shark in the Bay is the seven-gill--with two more gill slits than the average shark. Why the extras? Well, turns out they’re probably an evolutionary accident, but these...
Learn to Look for Them, and California’s Unique “Turret Spiders” are Everywhere
Tiny turret spiders, hiding in their silk-lined tunnels near your favorite trail, hold geologic secrets in their genes.
