Brown Pelicans, Victims of Extreme Weather

January 16, 2009 •  by

Recently, people have been finding debilitated, or even dead, brown pelicans up and down the West Coast. Initially baffled, scientists now believe the birds’ expanding range clashed with an unusually severe winter storm in December 2008.

Altamont Power Struggle

January 1, 2009 •  by

Cost-effective and quick to install, wind turbines seem to be a leader in the race to develop clean, renewable energy sources. But at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area east of Livermore, the country’s largest and oldest wind farm site … Read more

Coyote Valley Crossings

January 1, 2009 •  by

Students help document how wildlife cross Coyote Valley, a critical link between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range.

Dem Bones, Dem Bones

January 1, 2009 •  by

What can you learn from a skull or other bone you might find along the trail? A few simple tips will help you figure out what those bones have to say.

A Good Big Year

January 1, 2009 •  by

December 31, 2008, marked the end of the 2008 Endangered Species Big Year in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). The yearlong event was a call to action for people to observe, and do something to preserve, each of … Read more

Raptor Rapture

January 1, 2009 •  by

The Marin Headlands is justifiably renowned as a great place to see raptors. But did you know that the world’s highest density of breeding golden eagles is found near Altamont Pass? Indeed, the East Bay is a prime location for observing and studying native raptors, from prairie falcons nesting on cliffs near Mount Diablo to bald eagles fishing in local reservoirs and Cooper’s hawks snatching prey out of the air above the streets of Berkeley.

GGNRA Big Year Comes to a Close

December 31, 2008 •  by

What brings together professionals and amateur naturalists, butterfly specialists and evolutionary biologists, children and adults, all in the name of endangered species? Try the Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s Big Year for Endangered Species.

Time for Dungeness Crab

November 17, 2008 •  by

Fall is harvest time for crab fishermen, who place “crab pots” offshore to catch Dungeness crabs. The crabs, the largest species on the West Coast, have a complex lifecycle that takes them from the open ocean to the Bay and back again.

Return of the Coho

November 14, 2008 •  by

Every winter, coho salmon return to coastal streams, though only 1 percent of the half million fish that once filled local streams. But you can still see them, and even help them survive.