Black Rock Abalone Endangered
A favorite food of the southern sea otter is black abalone, a marine mollusk that has historically put down roots in rocky intertidal zones from Southern Oregon to Baja. This...
Wildlife
Least Terns at Alameda Naval Air Station
In late spring, a thumb-size least tern chick emerges from its egg on Alameda Point. The chick’s eyes are open at birth, and it can walk soon after hatching. Its...
Otters at Elkhorn Slough
At the Moss Landing Marina halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey, I slip into a kayak and paddle toward Elkhorn Slough, one of California’s largest tidal salt marshes. Just beyond...
April Fooling!
Would you believe a twig is watching you? That some leaves can walk? And that if you brush against a piece of bark, it just might fly away? Insects play...
Farallon Island Fur Seals
Two hundred years ago, the captain of a 280-ton whaling vessel reported seeing a bounty of fur seals on the Farallon Islands, 28 miles west of San Francisco. Subsequently, the...
Heron and Egret Atlas for the Bay Area
No matter where you live in the Bay Area, you’ve likely noticed the sinewy, graceful forms of great blue herons and great and snowy egrets. These sylphlike birds are mostly...
Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program
From November to February this past winter, biologists scoured lower Russian River tributaries in search of spawning coho salmon. The fish they were hoping to find were no ordinary salmon,...
Is it OK to catch crawdads?
Q: A group of families goes out every year, catching up to 300 crawdads for a big feast, releasing those with eggs. We often wonder if we’re depleting the supply....
Islands in a Sea of Grass
The East Bay hills are dotted with hundreds of ponds, many of which offer welcome habitat and shelter to native wildlife, from threatened California red-legged frogs and tiger salamanders to...
Letter from the Publisher
About 15 years ago, I took a solo backpack trip in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness near Ebbets Pass in the Sierra. On the first morning, camped beside a small lake, I...
