Still trying to sort through the confusion of rocks and minerals that make up the Bay Area? Then you might want to visit the Menlo Park offices of the U.S. Geological Survey. Stop by the library’s California Center to see the display of common Bay Area rocks and minerals; browse through their collection of books, […]
Archive | Geology

On the edge of the tidal marsh fringing Suisun Slough, a streaky dark-brown sparrow gleans seeds of tules and other rushes from the exposed mud. A shadow passes: a northern harrier, cruising for mice. The sparrow vanishes into a tangle of winter-brown stems. The bird is a Suisun song sparrow, and its presence is part […]
Paddling | The Bay | Trails

Bob Walker was a passionate defender of Bay Area open space and a brilliant landscape photographer with an amazing eye for light and shape. A former chair of the San Francisco Chapter of the Sierra Club, Bob was also a co-founder of the Gay and Lesbian Sierrans. His death from AIDS in 1992 at the […]
Archive | History

Late fall and winter are the time to witness the return of endangered coho salmon to their natal streams in west Marin. After many years of declining populations, this spectacular fish finally received listing as an endangered species in 1996. It has also received enormous help from the passionate advocacy and hands-on restoration work of […]
Archive | Wildlife

It’s time to make your reservations to witness one of local nature’s most dramatic spectacles: the annual return of the world’s largest mainland breeding colony of Northern elephant seals to Año Nuevo State Reserve on the San Mateo coast. Weighing in at up to two- and-a-half tons, with torpedo-shaped bodies 14 to 16 feet long, […]
Archive | Wildlife

If pedal power is your preferred mode of travel and you want to help protect the local greenbelt, shape up and sign up for this year’s Go Greenbelt bicycle tour. From April 22-28, up to 50 robust cyclists will cover 480 miles around the Bay on some of the region’s most scenic backroads. From the […]
Archive | Stewardship

A special section of BAY NATURE devoted to understanding San Francisco Bay, produced with the support and collaboration of Save The Bay.
Uncategorized

For most of the nearly four years it has taken to turn BAY NATURE from an idea into the magazine you now hold in your hands, I worked out of my house in north Berkeley. Could be worse: there’s a creek out back, and the house is surrounded on three sides by coast live oaks. […]
History

Lake Merritt changed dramatically over the centuries, but it still supports estuarine habitat -- in addition to the recreation needs of a growing city.
History | Urban Nature

Explore land, nature, and conservation issues from a literary perspective by attending the Peninsula Open Space Trust’s annual Wallace Stegner Lecture Series. The line-up for spring includes retired journalist Ross Gelbspan, author of the acclaimed book on climate change, The Heat is On (Wed., Feb. 28); nature writer Rick Bass, author of 16 books of […]
Archive

That depends on what you mean by hibernation. All but one of the Bay Area’s 13 species of bats are capable of hibernating; the exception is the abundant Mexican free-tailed bat. But according to bat rehabilitator Patricia Winters, “No bat takes hibernation very seriously in this area.” Although they can remain torpid for weeks when […]
Ask the Naturalist | Wildlife

Over the past 16 months, there have been three separate sightings of the Shy Albatross(Thalassarche cauta) off the coast of northern California. These very large (nine-foot wingspan), powerful seagoing birds breed on rocky islands off the coasts of Tasmania and New Zealand. While they are known to fly enormous distances, there have been only five […]
Archive | Wildlife

In five coastal counties of central and northern California, thousands of oak trees are dying. The cause of this increased mortality in coast live oaks, tan oaks, and black oaks is not yet fully understood, but the syndrome seems to be associated with a new species of the Phytophthora fungus. Termed “Sudden Oak Death” because […]
Archive | Botany

San Francisco Bay presented a thrilling—yet possibly lethal—mystery to a young Spanish captain as he sailed up to probe the entry to the Golden Gate for the first time on the morning of August 5, 1775. Juan Manuel de Ayala had heard the accounts of a vast, shimmering expanse of water seen by members of […]
History | The Bay

The air over Cullinan Ranch is cool and moist. Only the faintest gray line marks the location, south across San Pablo Bay, of the East Bay hills. The wetlands here, just north of Route 37, bear imprints of human use. Power pylons cut across the plain toward a naval installation; a half dozen double-crested cormorants […]
History | Stewardship | The Bay