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How the heck do all those ants find you every time you sit down at a park for a nice picnic? The short answer is: sheer numbers and good communication. But there’s a lot more to know about ants than that…
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Despite the fog, we still think of summer as beach season here in the Bay Area. And that’s one thing we have in common with the western snowy plover, a small bird that needs a lot of help to brave the crowds on San Francisco’s beaches. Volunteering to watch, walk, and talk for the snowy plover at Ocean Beach or Crissy Field may be just right for you.
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At the western edge of the Delta lies a most unexpected gathering of wildlife. Here peregrines hunt from tall towers, beavers lodge in protected waters, and hummingbirds nest in the least likely of spots. What was once among the busiest, noisiest, smelliest, most crowded, most unsafe places to earn the name “habitat” has become a haven for dozens of species.
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Imagine raising your kids on a precarious bunch of sticks on a tree branch. Some birds had the same thought: Yikes! These cavity-nesters take shelter by excavating nest holes in trees, or by using existing holes–in trees, cliffs, buildings, bridges, tractors…
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On June 7, butterfly lovers in San Francisco will be out taking a count, and you can help.
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The Pacific Coast of North America has only one species of native turtle: the western pond turtle. Just 80 years ago, a naturalist found more than 100 of these creatures thriving along an unremarkable stretch of a local creek. Today, a similar survey turns up a fraction of that, as natives compete with plentiful escaped pet turtles and other exotics. But a new conservation plan could tip that balance, and public awareness, back in the western pond turtle’s favor.
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Odds are you’ll never see a puma. But if you spend enough time outside in local open space, there’s a good chance a puma will see you. We know surprisingly little about how these secretive top predators persist alongside millions of people in the Bay Area, but they’re certainly here. And learning more will help us figure out how to better accommodate this icon of wildness in our midst.
Q: I recently saw a video of a cloud of birds moving in wild patterns. Then I saw shorebirds doing the same thing. Why do birds do this–other than because they can? [Michael, El Cerrito] A: There are several kinds … Read more
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For the first time in a century, condors are nesting in Pinnacles National Monument, a park of towering cliffs in the Gavilan Mountains east of Monterey Bay. The discovery is thrilling news for park biologists, who have coordinated a condor reestablishment program here since 2003.
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It’s an old story. Another species that once flourished is being pushed to extinction by modern human encroachment. The callippe silverspot has been gradually pushed into a few remaining islands of habitat, including San Bruno Mountain south of San Francisco. Critics say a long-simmering development proposal threatens that habitat.
