Natural History Wanderings

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 24, 2026

Purchase of contentious 153-acre property permanently expands Big Basin Redwoods State Park

SF Gate reported

Big Basin Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the oldest state park in California, is now 153 acres larger, thanks to the $2.415 million purchase of a storied nearby property.

NoraBella, or “the Gateway to Big Basin,” was purchased by California State Parks from the conservation nonprofit Sempervirens Fund and permanently added to Big Basin’s now 18,376 acres, California State Parks announced on Thursday. The property borders Saddle Mountain at the park’s eastern entrance, and features creeks, waterfalls, canyons and a diverse forest habitat home to gray foxes and mountain lions.

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Posted in Park | Tags: Big Basin State Park, NoraBella

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 24, 2026

Numbers of Rare Butterfly Eggs are Best on Record After Hedges are Allowed to Grow Wild

Numbers of rare butterfly eggs have skyrocketed in Wales after landowners let their hedgerows grow wild to help the Brown Hairstreak survive.
— Read on www.goodnewsnetwork.org/numbers-of-rare-butterfly-eggs-are-best-on-record-after-hedges-allowed-to-grow-wild/

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Posted in Butterflies, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Butterflies and Hedges, Habitat

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 23, 2026

Newly discovered dinosaur species was a fish-eater with a huge horn

NPR reported

A newly discovered species of large dinosaur lived in marshy areas, hunted for fish and had an impressive horn protruding from its skull. It is the first time in over 100 years that scientists have discovered a new species of Spinosaurus dinosaurs, which are large fish-eating predators that first emerged during the Jurassic period more than 140 million years ago.

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Posted in Animals | Tags: New Species, Spinosaurus dinosaurs

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 23, 2026

Restoration efforts spark remarkable comeback for coho salmon on Mendocino Coast

The Mendocino Voice reported

After decades of decline, endangered coho salmon have returned to the coast in numbers that more than double the targets set by habitat restoration projects. In 2008, just 5,000 coho were estimated across the entire state, one percent of their historic numbers; over the winter of 2024-25, more than 30,000 were counted in Mendocino County alone, showing that recovery is possible. Conservationists say that while it’s still too early to tell what this season’s numbers might be, it’s looking promising for another good year.

Read more Restoration efforts spark remarkable comeback for coho salmon on Mendocino CoastRestoration efforts spark remarkable comeback for coho salmon on Mendocino Coast

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Posted in Animals | Tags: Salmon

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 22, 2026

Regional Parks Botanic Garden Photos 2/22/26

Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on February 22, 2026.

The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a California native plant garden. It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California, It is a 10-acre garden includes many of the state’s rare and endangered plants and a place for visitors to wander among trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses from plant communities throughout the state. There are free weekend and holiday tours. Admission and parking are free. For more information about the garden visit the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.

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Posted in Garden, Photos (Sandy's), Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: California Wildflowers, Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Botanic Garden

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 22, 2026

Upcoming UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events

See the events calendar for the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden at Garden Events

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Posted in Class/Workshop, Garden | Tags: UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 22, 2026

Sea lions make a home in Sacramento instead of near ocean, here’s why – YouTube

Officials discuss why Sea lions are making a home in Sacramento instead of by the ocean.
Watch on www.youtube.com/watch

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Posted in Animals | Tags: Sea Lions

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 21, 2026

Unknown Species Discovered In Great Salt Lake

Earth.com reported

A tiny roundworm living in Utah’s Great Salt Lake has now been confirmed as a species never before described by science.

Researchers say its ability to survive in the lake’s extreme salt levels not only expands what scientists know can live there, but also raises new questions about how it arrived and what role it plays in a fragile, bird-supporting ecosystem.

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Posted in Animals | Tags: Diplolaimelloides woaabi, New Speciers

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 21, 2026

Pesticides may drastically shorten fish lifespans, study finds

The Guardian reported

The lifespan of fish appears to be drastically reduced by pesticides, a study has found.

Even low levels of common agricultural pesticides can stunt the long-term lifespan of fish, according to research led by Jason Rohr, a biologist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

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Posted in Animals, Environment | Tags: Impact Pesticides on Fish

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 20, 2026

Superintendent closes Yosemite National Park for safety reasons

SF Gate reported

Yosemite National Park has closed to visitors due to the impacts of a powerful winter storm, which has dumped copious amounts of snow over the park and caused trees to topple around Yosemite Valley and over park roads.

Superintendent Raymond McPadden officially closed the park Thursday afternoon, citing “high snow loading, multiple road closures into and within the park due to heavy snowfall, on-going tree and limb failures, and potential avalanche conditions” in a safety closure notice reviewed by SFGATE. “The closed area includes the entire park,” the notice reads.

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Posted in Park | Tags: Yosemite Closure

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 20, 2026

Tejon Conservancy Events

See the calendar of events for theTejon Conservancy at www.tejonconservancy.org/calendar

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Posted in Walks & Hikes | Tags: Tejon Ranch Event

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 20, 2026

San Francisco coyote swims to Alcatraz for first time ever

SF Gate reported

It was a late Sunday afternoon like any other on San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island. The day was winding down, and Aidan Moore, a guest relations employee for Alcatraz City Cruises, was at the dock of the tourist attraction helping visitors disembark. Suddenly, one of the tourists approached him, wide-eyed: They had just seen a coyote swimming to shore, something that has never been recorded before.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 19, 2026

National parks remove reservation systems despite crowds

SF Gate reported

In 2026, busy national parks, including Arches, Glacier and Yosemite, will be doing away with reservation systems that for years have helped control crowds, the National Park Service announced on Wednesday.

National Park News Release National Park Service Expands Access for Summer 2026 While Maintaining Safety at High-Visitation Parks

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: National Park Reservations

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 19, 2026

Severe wildfires threaten 30% of bird diversity hotspots in the West

Earth.com reported

A new study warns that some of the richest bird areas in the western United States could be hit hard by future high-severity wildfires, the kind that kill most trees and can permanently change forests.

Researchers estimate that roughly a quarter to nearly a third of bird diversity hotspots in the region fall in areas expected to burn at high severity in the future, putting important habitats and the species that depend on them at risk.

Read more Severe wildfires threaten 30% of bird diversity hotspots in the West – Earth.com

https://www.earth.com/news/severe-wildfires-threaten-30-of-bird-diversity-hotspots-in-the-west/

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Posted in Birds, Environment

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 19, 2026

Surprising discovery made about the nectar of carnivorous pitcher plants

Earth.com reported

New analyses show that Nepenthes khasiana, a carnivorous pitcher plant from northeast India, loads its nectar with a nerve-disabling chemical that quickly incapacitates ants and other insect pollinators.

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Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Nepenthes khasiana

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 18, 2026

Yellowstone’s apex predator seen emerging from hibernation incredibly early

SF Gate reported

Visitors spotted a grizzly bear that was awake earlier than usual in Yellowstone.

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Posted in Park | Tags: Yellowstone Grizzly Bears

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 18, 2026

Plant species that was presumed to be extinct reappears after nearly six decades

The Independent reported

Small Australian shrub with delicate pink and purple flowers was found thanks to a popular plant ID ap

A plant thought to be extinct has been rediscovered in northern Queensland after 58 years, with the help of a community-driven species identification smartphone app.

Ptilotus senarius, which belongs to a family of flowering plants called Amaranthaceae, is a small, slender shrub endemic to the dry regions of Western Australia.

It was last recorded to have been seen in 1967.

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Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: iNaturalist, Ptilotus senarius

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 17, 2026

Posted in Environment | Tags: Winter Storm Impacts

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 17, 2026

Upcoming Bay Nature Events

See the schedule of upcoming Bay Nature Events mailchi.mp/baynature/march-11

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Posted in Talks, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Bay Nature Events

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 17, 2026

Three new mushroom species discovered that smell like shellfish

Earth.com reported

Mushrooms that long looked the same across forests in Europe and North America turn out not to be the same at all. DNA and molecular analysis shows they are three different species.

By separating the three, quietly distinct fungi that had been bundled together for decades, researchers correct records that shape how biodiversity is counted and protected.

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Posted in Mushrooms | Tags: New Mushroom Species

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 16, 2026

Gray wolf roams into north Los Angeles County from Plumas County for the first time in more than a century – ABC7 Los Angeles

ABC Los Angeles reported

For the first time in over a century, a gray wolf has ventured into Los Angeles County. A 3-year-old female ventured near Pyramid Lake on Saturday.

Read on abc7.com/post/gray-wolf-roams-north-los-angeles-county-plumas-first-time-more-century/18571055/

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Posted in Animals | Tags: Wolf in L. A..

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 16, 2026

Plant found that appears to have stolen genes from another species

Earth.com reported

On sheer rock walls in West Africa, a small, unassuming plant carries a genetic trait that does not belong in its family, disobeying the usual rules of inheritance.

This discovery challenges long-held assumptions about how plants change, adapt, and pass traits forward across generations.

The plant, Virectaria stellata, was identified at three sandstone sites in Guinea after botanists noticed its unusual star-shaped hairs and traced their origin to possible gene transfer rather than ordinary mutation.

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Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: plant gene transfer, Virectaria stellata

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 15, 2026

More Photos From My Garden

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Posted in Garden, Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Garden Photos

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 15, 2026

Tropical Spiders Make Fearsome ‘Puppets’ of Themselves For Protection

Science Alert reported

Some spiders build delicate little nets, others colossal web megacities, and now some in Peru and the Philippines have been found sculpting giant doppelgängers out of silk, prey carcasses, and debris.

This remarkable behavior has just been formally documented for the first time, based on a handful of discoveries dating back to 2012.

“They don’t just decorate their webs – they meticulously arrange detritus, prey carcasses, and silk into a structure that’s not only larger than their own body, but clearly resembles the silhouette of a bigger, menacing spider,”

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Posted in Animals | Tags: Animal Defenses, Spiders

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 14, 2026

Calif. mountain lions gain landmark protections weeks after SF sighting

SF Gate reported

California mountain lions from the Bay Area to the Mexican border are now officially protected under the state’s endangered species act after a yearslong push by activists.

The California Fish and Game Commission approved the protections on Thursday six years after wildlife advocates initially petitioned for the safeguards in 2019.

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Posted in Animals | Tags: California Mountain Lions

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 14, 2026

Rare 9ft-tall ‘camel birds’ released into Saudi Arabian desert

Discover Wildlife reported

Five red-necked ostriches or ‘camel birds’ have been released into a Saudi Arabian nature reserve as part of a large rewilding project.

The critically endangered flightless birds, also known as North African or Barbary ostriches, were introduced into the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve, in the country’s northwest.

REad moe at Rare 9ft-tall ‘camel birds’ released into Saudi Arabian desert

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Posted in Birds | Tags: Camel Birds.Flightless Birds

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 13, 2026

Upcoming Events at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum

See upcoming events at the Santa Barbara Natural HIstory Museum at https ://mailchi.mp/sbnature2.org/general-events-13930336?e=693571bfe8

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Posted in Talks | Tags: Santa Barbara Natural History Museum

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 13, 2026

Anza-Borrego Foundation Upcoming Events

Anza-Borrego Foundation hosts a variety of events and educational programs, including hikes, botany walks, photography workshops, and more. See the schedule at Events | Anza-Borrego Foundation

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Posted in Talks, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Anza-Borrego Foundation Events

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 13, 2026

Upcoming Events at East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden

See upcoming events at East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden at events.

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Posted in Park, Garden, Walks & Hikes, Talks | Tags: East Bay Regional Parks Upcoming Activities

Posted by: Sandy Steinman | February 13, 2026

Beware the spray: Skunk mating season is underway in the Bay Area

SF Gate reported

Complaints from Bay Area residents about the smell — not to mention about sprayed dogs and skunks in the road — have streamed in.

— Read on www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/skunks-spray-valentine-21350189.php

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Posted in Animals | Tags: Skunks

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