This is part of my continuing project, the “Stay at Home Photo Project”. It includes many street photos from Berkeley and Albany as well as photos from the UC Berkeley campus, my yard and neighbors’ yards You can see larger higher quality versions of many of the photos at Flickr in my collection Stay at Home Photo Project which includes the following albums
Posted in Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Fall Color
from Anza-Borrego Foundation
ABF is looking for an enthusiastic communications professional to join our motivated and environmentally minded team. This position will design and implement our external communications strategies including our website, social media, newsletter and all written communications to engage and grow our audience. Please share with anyone you know who might be interested.
Applications will be accepted until November 9th. Get the Job Details
Anza-Borrego Foundation offers two research scholarship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students conducting field studies within southwestern deserts and the Peninsular Ranges of southern California. The focus of our two conservation grants is ornithology field studies and field studies in ecology, systematics, evolutionary biology, and conservation biology.
The application deadline for the 2021 grant cycle is December 15, 2020. Guidelines are available on our website. Learn More About our Scholarships
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Job Opportunity, Scholarship Opportunity
Today I did a birdwalk with friends at the Emeryville Shoreline, Park and Marina. Here are photos and a bird list.
Click Read more for bird list.
Posted in Birding Reports, Birds, Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Bird report, Birding Emeryville Shoreline
Share your love of Anza-Borrego by entering your best shots in our annual photo contest! Entries will be accepted from November 1-December 7. Photos may be from any year, so not to worry if you didn’t get to visit the Park this year! Contest categories include: Plants, Animals, Landscapes, People, Black & White and Cell Phone Photos, all taken in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Top submissions will be invited to a second round of judging, and winners displayed at the Borrego Art Institute.
Posted in Park, Photography | Tags: Anza-Borrego Photo Contest
From Los Padres ForestWatch
Trump Administration Proposes Rollback of Oil Drilling Regulations in National Forests Weaker regulations would apply to thousands of acres in the Los Padres National Forest.Read full story
Governor Signs Rodenticide Ban to Protect Wildlife and Pets from Poisoning he law will help protect mountain lions, bobcats, owls, and other wildlife in Los Padres National Forest and beyond. Read full story
Thousands Oppose First Federal Oil Lease Sale in California in Eight Years First auction of 1.2 million acres opened to new oil drilling and fracking announced. Read full story
Read more at Los Padres ForestWatch News
Posted in Park | Tags: Los Padres National Forest
This year the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count runs from Saturday, November 14 to Sunday, December 6.
The New Year’s Count runs from Saturday, December 26 to Sunday, January 10.
To learn how to participate and learn more about the counts go to Western Monarch Count
Posted in Butterflies | Tags: Monarch Butterfly Counts
See a current summary of California fall color conditions at Statewide Summary – California Fall Color
Posted in Fall Foliage | Tags: California Fall Color, California Fall Foliage
EarthSky reports
The first of this month’s two full moons fell on October 1, and the second one – for most of the world – falls on October 31 (Halloween). Halloween also marks 2020’s fourth and final cross-quarter day – the spookiest of the four – known in earlier times as All Hallows Eve and to us in North America as Halloween. By popular acclaim, the second of two full moons in a single calendar month is called a Blue Moon. Thus we have a Blue Moon this Halloween, but that’s not all. On this Halloween, bright red Mars – now just past its closest approach to Earth in two years – will appear in the sky near the full moon.
Read more at Blue Moon and red Mars on Halloween | Tonight | EarthSky
Audubon tells you how to make a pumpkin bird Feeder
Provide a seasonal feast for the birds in your area with this DIY activity.
See how at Pumpkin Bird Feeder Makes a Happy Harvest For Birds | Audubon
Posted in Birds | Tags: How To Make a Pumpkin Bird Feeder
Posted in Uncategorized
November Seasonal Programs & Workshops at UC Botanical Garden
For more information: https://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/public-programs/programs-2
Posted in Talks | Tags: UC Botanical Garden Prorams
Western Environmental Law News Release
Today, the Trump administration will announce its decision to prematurely remove endangered species protections for wolves in the lower 48 states, in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The most recent data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its state partners show an estimated 4,400 wolves inhabit the western Great Lakes states, but only 108 wolves in Washington state, 158 in Oregon, and a scant 15 in California. These numbers lay the groundwork for a legal challenge planned by a coalition of Western conservation groups.
In delisting wolves, the Service ignores the science showing they are not recovered in the West.
Posted in Animals | Tags: Endangered Species Act, Wolves
from the Academy of Sciences
Join us for a skele-ton of fun from the comfort and safety of your own home. Enjoy an entertaining evening of spirited science, kooky costumes, and tasty treats—livestreamed directly to you and your family! Our program will feature:
Plus, Vampire and Werewolf guests will also receive a Halloween @ Home scare package tailor-made for you and your little goblins, delivered to your door. All proceeds from this year’s SuperNatural Halloween @ Home event will directly support care programs for our nearly 40,000 live animals during our temporary closure.
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Posted in Talks | Tags: CNPS Talks
Raw Story reports
The Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is out.
Craig McLean, who until recently was the acting chief scientist, had sent a memo to political appointees at NOAA requesting that they, like everyone else, observe the agency’s scientific integrity rules, The New York Times reports.
Read more at Trump fires NOAA’s chief scientist for asking political appointees to follow scientific integrity rules – Raw Story
Posted in Environment | Tags: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Berkeleyside reports on Jewel Lake’s shrinking size, seasonal changes and the decisions the park district is considering about how he lake should be managed
Jewel Lake in Tilden Park is ‘a ghost of what it once was’ If you’ve visited Jewel Lake in Tilden recently, you’ll have noticed it’s looking more like a muddy puddle than a lake. Why is that — and is anything being done about it?
Read article at Jewel Lake is more like a muddy puddle than a lake. What happened?
Posted in Park | Tags: Jewel Lake, Tilden Park
Posted in Park | Tags: Channel Islands National Park
Wed, October 28, 2020 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM PDT
The San Francisco Bay Trail currently stretches 350 miles and when completed will encompass more than 500. Millions of people live within just a couple miles of the Trail, and many enjoy visiting its nearby parks and other public spaces for hiking, biking and other pursuits. But most are unaware of the wide variety of landscapes and experiences that await them on other sections of the Trail, even many that are nearby.
Posted in Park | Tags: SF Bay Trail
30-minute delays are in place on weekdays from 8 am–6 pm, Oct. 19–28 and Nov 19–Dec. 31 as road crews work to repair drainage pipes and stabilize road shoulders damaged by the 2018 Ferguson Fire. From Oct. 29–Nov. 18, Wawona Road will be fully closed on weekdays from 8 am–noon and 1–5 pm to address active slide areas above the road. These full closures are to prevent vehicles from being hit by slide material or blast rock as crews work to remove loose rocks and boulders from unstable hillsides. Glacier Point Road and Yosemite West will still be accessible from Yosemite Valley.Posted in Drives, Park | Tags: Yosemite Road Conditions
Climate News Network reports on Beijing’s plan to cut greenhouse gases could mean a global expansion of green industries following China’s climate lead.
Whatever mixture of motives lies behind the announcement by President Xi Jinping that his country’s carbon dioxide emissions will peak before 2030, resulting in carbon neutrality before 2060, China’s climate lead offers the prospect of a new era in world affairs.
It alters the face of international negotiations to tackle the climate crisis and boosts hopes that catastrophic global heating can still be avoided.
Read more China’s climate lead offers the planet new hope | Climate News Network
Posted in Environment | Tags: China's Climate Plans
Posted in Park | Tags: East Bay Regional Parks
Photographed in the North Berkeley Flatlands on October 25, 2020.
This is part of my continuing project, the “Stay at Home Photo Project”. It includes many street photos from Berkeley and Albany as well as photos from the UC Berkeley campus, my yard and neighbors’ yards You can see larger higher quality versions of many of the photos at Flickr in my collection Stay at Home Photo Project which includes the following albums
Posted in Photos (Sandy's) | Tags: Berkeley Street Photos, Flowers
The Denver Post reports
At Rocky Mountain National Park, this weekend’s snow has helped slow down the East Troublesome Fire and Cameron Peak Fire.
Firefighting efforts in Rocky Mountain National Park received a significant boost over the weekend thanks to more than a foot of fresh snowfall.
The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, very near where a wildfire erupted last week in Spruce Creek just 10 miles west of Estes Park, received 15 inches while higher elevations received 18 inches.
Read more at Rocky Mountain National Park fire is slowed down by weekend snow
Posted in Park | Tags: Rocky Mt. National Park Fires
The New York Times writes about the growth of backyard birding during the pandemic and how to get the birds to come to you
Backyard birding has become the perfect pandemic pastime. Here’s how to draw more species to your yard, and maybe get a good photo, too.
Hosting a gathering of friends at your home may not be advisable at this time, but getting together with a flock of feathered friends is a great diversion. During the pandemic, birding has become a popular escape with sales for seed suppliers, birdhouse builders and other bird related businesses “through the roof,” according to Audubon Magazine.
Extending an invitation to the bird community is simply a matter of offering a meal. A backyard rich with trees and shrubs is an ideal place to hold the get together, but a patio or rooftop will suffice. Provide a bounty of goodies and birds will gather like eager children. Once the birds become regular guests, you can enjoy hours of entertainment watching the beauties, identifying them and, if you wish, photographing them.
read more at Backyard Birding – The New York Times
Posted in Birds | Tags: Backyard Birding
Photos from a visit to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley. It was an excellent morning for photography as we arrived when the garden was first opening and it was a foggy/overcast morning.
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a botanic garden of California native plants. The garden is open for visitors Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free but reservations are required. For reservations click here.
You can see other photos from the Regional Parks Botanic Garden on the garden’s Flickr group page at Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
from the Sonoma Land Trust
Join our next virtual presentation for a chance to learn about the magnificent butterfly that inspired a longstanding Mexican tradition shared around the world. The monarch butterfly’s migration has represented the return of spirits of the dearly departed and is celebrated through the El Dìa de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday.
Posted in Butterflies, Talks | Tags: Monarchs
“The Vascular Plants of Northwestern California,” by James P. Smith, Jr., and John O. Sawyer, Jr., contains a wealth of handy information, including the list of families and genera as currently recognized but also what families or genera that have been changed are now; chapters on common names, endemic plants, rare plants, weeds, food plants, wild edible plants, ethnobotanically important plants The area covered includes all of Mendocino County (north to the Oregon border) most of Lake County, adjacent counties west of Hwy 5. The identification section includes a chapter “Distinctive Plants That You Shouldn’t Have to Key” as well as very practical dichotomous keys. A mere $29. Order from CNPS: https://store.cnps.org/…/the-vascular-plants-of…
Lassen National Park reports the following weather alert
A red flag warning is in effect starting tomorrow night due to windy conditions and low humidity. Wood fires are prohibited throughout the park, including in campgrounds (gas stoves and charcoal grills are permitted). There are four active fires burning in the Yosemite Wilderness, all of which started from lightning strikes in July–August. Smoke from the large Creek Fire south of the park continues to impact views and air quality; check current conditions at fire.airnow.gov.
Natural History Wanderings 