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
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 10, 2026
Anza-Borrego Foundation Upcoming Events
Posted in Talks, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Anza-Borrego Foundation Events
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 10, 2026
Why birdwatching has become a favourite pastime for Gen Z
The Week reported
Birdwatching is the fastest-growing outdoor hobby for Gen Z, according to a study commissioned by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
The research found a 47% increase in birdwatching across all ages since 2018, but a 1,088% surge among those aged 18 to 24, suggesting around 750,000 Gen Zers are budding ornithologists.
Read more at Why birdwatching has become a favourite pastime for Gen Z
Posted in Birds | Tags: Gen Z Bird Watching
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 9, 2026
Xerces Society Upcoming Events
See all Xerces Society upcoming events at Xerces Society Webinars
Posted in Butterflies, Talks | Tags: Xerces Society Webinars
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 9, 2026
Bird Webinars and Recordings
See links to many webinars and recordings at Bird Alliance and Audubon chapters at https://smbasblog.com/zoom-recordings/
Posted in Birds, Talks | Tags: Bird Webinars
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 8, 2026
Job Announcement: Director of the University and Jepson Herbaria
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Posted in Job Openings | Tags: Job Opening
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 8, 2026
Sonoma Land Trust Events
Check out the latest events and news for Sonoma Land Trust at OUTINGS & EVENTS
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 8, 2026
Beneath our feet lies a fungal superhighway stretching 68 quadrillion miles
Science Daily reported
- Beneath our feet lies a vast hidden fungal superhighway that helps sustain much of life on Earth—and scientists have now mapped it for the first time. Researchers estimate that these underground networks stretch an astonishing 110 quadrillion kilometers, move about 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide into soils each year, and play a major role in supporting plants and regulating the climate.
Read more Beneath our feet lies a fungal superhighway stretching 68 quadrillion miles
Posted in Mushrooms | Tags: fungal superhighway stretching 68 quadrillion miles
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 7, 2026
Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association Upcoming Events
See upcoming events calendar of hikes and programs at https://www.abdnha.org/calendar1.htm.
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 7, 2026
7 Podcasts About the Joys of Bird-Watching
The New York Times has 7 Podcasts About the Joys of Bird-Watching
These shows offer expert advice and fun facts that will help both novices and enthusiasts get the most out of tuning into the winged world.
See the podcasts at 7 Podcasts About the Joys of Bird-Watching
Posted in Birds | Tags: Joys of Birdwatching
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 6, 2026
Tejon Ranch Upcoming Events
See All Upcoming Tejon Ranch Events at Events
Posted in Walks & Hikes | Tags: Tejon Ranch activities
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 6, 2026
Condor flies into Oregon for first time in over 120 years
The Oregonian reported
A young California condor flew into Oregon last month, marking the first time in more than 120 years that one of the critically endangered birds has flown free in Oregon’s sky, according to the Yurok Tribe–led Northern California Condor Restoration Program.
Read more at Condor flies into Oregon for first time in over 120 years
Posted in Birds | Tags: California Condors
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 5, 2026
Upcoming UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events
See the events calendar for the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden at Garden Events
Posted in Class/Workshop, Garden | Tags: UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 5, 2026
Florida May Play a Bigger Role in Monarch Butterfly Survival than Previously Thought
Xerces Society reported
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Posted in Butterflies | Tags: Florida Monarch Butterflies
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 4, 2026
East Bay Regional Parks Upcoming Events
See the calendar of upcoming events for the East Bay Regional Parks at https://www.ebparks.org/calendar
Posted in Park, Walks & Hikes | Tags: East Bay Regional Parks
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 4, 2026
A Fungus that Hijacks and Controls Carpenter Ants
Science Daily reported
The fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis infects carpenter ants in tropical forests, hijacks their nervous system to compel them to climb to a precise height and humidity, locks their mandibles onto a leaf vein, then sprouts a stalk from the ant’s head to rain spores onto colony-mates passing below.
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a fungus that creeps along the forest floors of Thailand, Brazil, and the Amazon basin, gets into a carpenter ant through a single spore that lands on its cuticle, drills inward with enzymes, and then spends the next two to three weeks doing something biologists still cannot fully explain: it takes the wheel. The ant keeps foraging, keeps grooming, keeps responding to nestmates. Then, on a schedule the fungus appears to dictate, it leaves the trail, climbs down from the canopy to a leaf roughly 25 centimeters above the ground on the north side of a sapling, bites into the central vein with a grip that will not release, and dies. A stalk grows out of the back of its head within days and begins raining spores onto the foraging trail directly below.
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 3, 2026
Upcoming CNPS Events
See the calendar of upcoming events of the California Native Plants Society at https://www.cnps.org/events
Posted in Talks | Tags: Upcoming CNPS Events
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 3, 2026
A new fanged frog species that builds mud nests on the forest floor
Monga Bay reported
- Scientists have described a new species of fanged frog, Limnonectes motijheel, from Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh.
- This is the first recorded species in India where males call from within cup-shaped nests on the forest floor covered by leaf litter.
- This discovery highlights the region’s rich biodiversity that remains underexplored, as well as the need to monitor and protect overlooked amphibian habitats.
Read more Researchers describe a new fanged frog species that builds mud nests on the forest floor
Posted in Animals | Tags: Fanged Frog, Limnonectes motijhee, Namdapha Tiger Reserve
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 2, 2026
Upcoming Events at East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden
See upcoming events at East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden at events.
Posted in Garden, Park, Talks, Walks & Hikes | Tags: East Bay Regional Parks Upcoming Activities
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 2, 2026
France adds 157,000 hectares of protected forest as nature preserves
Euro News reported
France aims to protect an additional 250,000 hectares of forest by 2030, including 180,000 hectares in French Guiana.
From the rainforests of French Guiana to ancient woodlands in eastern France, thousands of hectares of forest are gaining new protections.
Read more at France adds 157,000 hectares of protected forest as nature preserves face pressure elsewhere
Posted in Environment | Tags: New French Forest Protections
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 1, 2026
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Events
See a list of all active events and virtual events of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy at Events in the Parks | Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.
Posted in Park, Talks, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 1, 2026
Theodore Payne Foundation Upcoming Events
Theodore Payne Foundation inspires and educates Southern Californians about the beauty and ecological benefits of California native plant landscapes.We are located on 22 acres of canyon land in the northeast corner of the San Fernando Valley. Our full-service native plant nursery, seed room, book store, art gallery, demonstration gardens, and hiking trails are open to the public year round. We offer garden tours and classes for adults and families, as well as field trips to TPF and in-classroom programs for children. Friendly on-leash dogs are welcome and there is no admission charge!
See upcoming events at Theodore Payne Foundation Events – Upcoming Activities and Tickets | Eventbrite
Posted in Class/Workshop | Tags: Theodore Payne Foundation Upcoming Events
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 1, 2026
Ornithologists Describe New Bird Species from Remote Indonesian Islands
Sci New reported
A small songbird inhabiting the Babar Islands, in the Banda Sea, Indonesia, has been identified as a new species after a duo of researchers discovered that its distinctive song sets it apart from its closest relative. Named the cheerful fantail (Rhipidura laguceria), the bird had previously been treated as identical to the cinnamon-tailed fantail (Rhipidura fuscorufa), found 135 km (84 miles) to the east on the Tanimbar Islands.
Read more at Ornithologists Describe New Bird Species from Remote Indonesian Islands
Posted in Birds | Tags: cheerful fantail, Rhipidura laguceria
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 30, 2026
Bright purple seal appears on Bay Area beach, baffling state park officials
SF Gate reported on this unusual sighting at Ano Nuevo State Park
Last week, park docents at Bight Beach discovered an elephant seal sporting a “strange” shade of bright purple from its flippers to its tail. This was no mishap involving Violet Beauregarde and a certain chocolate factory, however. While docents initially thought the source of the strange coloring may have been a diet of sea urchins or a more troubling cause, such as internal bleeding, they soon found the answer.
Read more and see photo at Bright purple seal appears on Bay Area beach, baffling state park officials
Posted in Animals, Park | Tags: Ano Nuevo, Purple Elephant Seal
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 30, 2026
Physicists Discover How Slime Mold ‘Makes Decisions’ Without a Brain
Science Alert reports
Slime molds are slippery, nebulous beings.
They’re not true molds. They’re not even fungi. For most of their lives, they exist as either plasmodia or amoebae, and they refuse to be held back by the rigid structures that govern other life forms.
Slime molds are also renowned for somehow, without brains or even nervous systems, exhibiting behavior that could be described as intelligent.
Read more Physicists Discover How Slime Mold ‘Makes Decisions’ Without a Brain
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Slime Mold
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 29, 2026
Albanian ‘Flamingo Revolution’ Aims to Stop Kushner-Backed Resort on Protected Delta
The Revelator reported
Conservationists say the crisis exposes a pattern of broken promises around the celebrated Vjosa Wild River National Park.
In late April, heavy machinery began moving into the Pishë Poro-Narta protected landscape on Albania’s Adriatic coast without permits or public notice. Bulldozers and excavators felled coastal pine trees, flattened sand dunes, and cut new roads through previously untouched habitat. Then, barbed wire fences went up along the shoreline.
Read more at Albanian ‘Flamingo Revolution’ Aims to Stop Kushner-Backed Resort on Protected Delta
Posted in Park | Tags: josa Wild River National Park
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 29, 2026
A Beginner’s Guide to Types of Rock: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorhpic – Earth.com
Earth.com reported
Just as biologists must distinguish between different kinds of animals, geologists depend on being able to classify different types of rocks.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Geology
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 29, 2026
700,000-year-old squirrel poop helps scientist recreate an ancient world
Popular Science reported
A treasure trove of prehistoric squirrel poop is painting a picture of a lost world. Some of the oldest DNA ever discovered and sequenced lies deep inside these ancient rodent droppings. That fossilized poop (or coprolite) is full of 700,000-year-old environmental DNA from numerous plants, insects, microbes, and large mammals that once lived in Canada’s Yukon, many of which are long gone. A study published today in the journal Nature Communicationsdescribes the findings.
Read more at 700,000-year-old squirrel poop helps scientist recreate an ancient world
Posted in Animals | Tags: 000-year-old squirrel poop, 700
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 28, 2026
Are Crows Really Our Friends?
From Audubon
The popular corvids often get to know their local humans. We probe if these relationships go deeper. Follow along.
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 28, 2026
Mangrove Loss Worldwide Is Now Reversing—with More, Denser Forests Than 20 Years Ago
The Good News Network reported
In what is both literally and figuratively a “landmark” study, research has shown that mangrove forest destruction has not only stopped in the last 20 years, but reversed—the world has more than it did at the turn of the century.
Additionally, the degree of age and robustness among intact mangrove forest, known as “closed canopy” forest, has increased far more.
Read more at Mangrove Loss Worldwide Is Now Reversing—with More, Denser Forests Than 20 Years Ago
Posted in Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Mangrove Forest Restoration
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 27, 2026
Hidden bird species discovered in Japan after DNA reveals a stunning secret | ScienceDaily
ScienceDaily reported
A bird long thought to be a single rare species in Japan has turned out to be two. Scientists discovered that the elusive Ijima’s Leaf Warbler and a newly identified Tokara Leaf Warbler look almost identical, but their DNA and songs reveal they are distinct species. The finding marks Japan’s first new bird species discovery in more than 40 years and highlights how modern genetic tools are uncovering hidden biodiversity that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260620100430.htm
Posted in Birds | Tags: Ijima’s Leaf Warbler, Tokara Leaf Warbler
Natural History Wanderings 