Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 31, 2016

CNPS Field Trips January 2017

January Field Trips for the California Native Plants Society:

(for more information on trips go to chapter websites; also check out late trip postings at chapter websites)

Bristlecone (Mono, Inyo and NE Kern counties) http://bristleconecnps.org/index.php

East Bay CNPS http://www.ebcnps.org/

  • Sunday, January 8, 2017, 2:00 pm, field trip to Huddart County Park to see Fetid Adder’s Tongue

Marin CNPS http://www.marin.edu/cnps/

Milo Baker (Sonoma county) http://milobaker.cnps.org/index.php/events/field-trips

  •  Ruth Bancroft Garden, 1552 Bancroft Rd, Walnut Creek Saturday, January 14, 2017 9:15am-meet for carpooling, should be back by 3:30pm

Napa Valley http://www.napavalleycnps.org/

North Coast http://northcoastcnps.org

  • Jan 11, Wed. 7:30 p.m. “€œPlant Exploring in the Marble Mountains”

Santa Clara Valley http://www.cnps-scv.org/

  • Sun Jan 1 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.   Año Nuevo State Preserve (Hwy 1 coast-southern San Mateo County)
  • Sun Jan 8 10:00am – 3:00pm St. Joseph’s Hill Preserve, Mid Pen Open Space Preserve (Los Gatos)
  • Sat Jan 14 10:00am 3:30pm Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, Portola Valley

Santa Cruz http://www.cruzcnps.org/field_trips.php

  • Saturday January 14, 10am-12pm 12pm -2pm Lunch Further exploration  Lehi Park Fungus Festival w/ Mark Kiene Trailmaster Lehi Park
  • Saturday January 28, 10am-2pm  Treasures of Henry Cowell SP w/ Deanna Giuliano

Yerba Buena (San Francisco/Northern San Mateo) http://www.cnps-yerbabuena.org/

  • Saturday, August 06, 2016 11:00am to 3:30pm
    Walk: Montara Mountain Manzanitas in Summer

If you are interested in information on other chapters go to: http://www.cnps.org/cnps/chapters/

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 30, 2016

China Bans Its Ivory Trade

The New York Times reported

China announced on Friday that it was banning all commerce in ivory by the end of 2017, a move that would shut down the world’s largest ivory market and could deal a critical blow to the practice of elephant poaching in Africa.

Read full story at  Bans Its Ivory Trade, Moving Against Elephant Poaching – The New York Times

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 30, 2016

January 2017 Birding Field Field Trips

January Golden Gate Audubon Birding Field Trips

For information on above trips go to Golden Gate Audubon Field Trips

  • San Francisco Botanical Garden Sunday, January 1, 8:00 — 10:30 a.m.
    (First Sunday bird walk)
  • Tilden Nature Area, Berkeley Friday, January 6, 8:30 — 11:00 a.m. (First Friday bird walk)
  • Abbott’s Lagoon, Pt Reyes National Seashore Friday, January 6, 9:00 a.m. — about 2:00 p.m.
  • Palo Alto Baylands and Mountain View Shoreline Saturday, January 7, 8 a.m. — 3 p.m.
  • Bay Farm Island: Coast/Canal Walk, with shuttle Friday, January 13, 8:30 a.m. — 12:30 p.m. 
  • Fort Mason Community Garden, San Francisco Sunday, January 15, 8:00 — 10:00 a.m.
  • Dimond Park and Sausal Creek, Oakland Wednesday January 18, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.
  • Corona Heights, San Francisco Friday, January 20, 8 — 10 a.m.
  • CANCELLED Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont Saturday, January 21, 9:00 a.m. – noon
  • Livermore and Patterson Pass, Alameda County GGAS Centennial Field Trip
    Sunday, January 22, 8:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m.
  • Hilltop Lake Park, Richmond Wednesday, January 25, 9:00 — 10:45 a.m. 
  • Lake Merritt and Lakeside Park, OaklandWednesday, January 25, 9:30 a.m. – noon
  • Arrowhead Marsh-Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline (Oakland) by bicycle Saturday, January 28, 10 a.m. — ~2:00 p.m.
  • Cosumnes River Preserve and Staten Island (Optional overnight stay in Willows for Sacramento and Colusa NWR) Saturday, January 28, with optional extension to Sunday, January 29

For more Bay Area birding  field trips through out the Bay Area click on the Mt. Diablo Audubon Society Calendar 

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 29, 2016

2016 San Francisco Christmas Bird Count

Golden Gate Audubon reported that this past Tuesday’s Chrismas bird  found 175 species, including 14 rarities. That’s a decrease from last year’s total of 186 species and the 2014 total of 184 species. Read full article and preliminary report at  Golden Gate Audubon Society2016 SF CBC – low numbers, high spirits – Golden Gate Audubon Society

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 29, 2016

Endangered Species Success Texas’ Tobusch Fishhook Cactus

Center for Biological Diversity News Release

Another Endangered Species Act Success Story for 2016: Texas’ Tobusch Fishhook Cactus Downlisted From Endangered to Threatened

More Endangered Species Found to Be Partially or Fully Recovered in 2016 Than Any Year Since Endangered Species Act Passed in 1973

AUSTIN, Texas— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed today to downlist the Tobusch fishhook cactus from endangered to threatened, reflecting protection and recovery of the tiny, spiny plant guided by the Endangered Species Act. Found in oak woodland savannahs of the Edwards Plateau in central Texas, the cactus faces ongoing threats from livestock grazing, urban sprawl, loss of periodic fires, insect parasites, small population size and climate change. Since it was protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1979, however, many more populations have been found and several have been protected.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 29, 2016

Find Owls By Listening To Bird Language

In the last few years I have taken a number of classes in bird sounds. Although birding-by-ear is a slow skill develop it helps enormously in identifying birds. This is especially true in woodland areas. Birding by ear isn’t only about identifying what bird is making the sound, but also paying attention to the alarm calls of birds. These alarm calls are clues that predators such as hawks or owls may also be present.

Brain Mertins has an article on ” How To Find Owls by Listening to Bird Language” on the Nature Mentoring website

what I do when I want to use bird language to find an owl.

I’ll go over how to look at the landscape from a big picture perspective so that you can figure out in which areas you’re most likely to have success.
I’ll describe the special time of the day when I can always find an owl as long as their alarms are within earshot of where I’m standing.
I’ll also explain specifically what I listen for to tell me that there’s an owl nearby and you’ll hear an audio recording of what bird alarms near an owl sound like.

Read article at How to find an owl by listening to bird language – Nature Mentoring

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 28, 2016

Obama Designates Two New National Monuments In Nevada And Utah

NPR reported

President Obama has designated two areas in the deserts of southern Nevada and Utah as national monuments, after years of fighting and debate over the management of both areas.

The newly created Bears Ears National Monument will protect roughly 1.35 million acres of land in southeast Utah from future development. Gold Butte National Monument will give federal protections to roughly 300,000 acres in southwest Nevada, not far from the site where local ranchers and law enforcement had an armed standoff just two years ago.

Read full story at Obama Designates Two New National Monuments In Nevada And Utah : The Two-Way : NPR

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 28, 2016

Yellowstone More Crowded Than Ever

The Associated Press reported

Yellowstone National Park’s superintendent has predicted the number of park visitors will keep growing after two straight years of record attendance but said park personnel are prepared for the challenge.

“We have seen a steady growth and over the long term it continues to grow,” Wenk told The Cody Enterprise (http://bit.ly/2gFwOwl ). “We will be dealing with increased visitation into the future.

“Yellowstone had 4,097,711 visitors in 2015 and topped that number by October this year, when the number of park visitors reached 4,221,782.

Read full story on how crowds impact Yellowstone and how the park staff is responding at Yellowstone braces for more crowds after 2 years of records

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 27, 2016

The 2016 Audubon Photography Awards Winners

See the the 2016 Audubon Photography Awards Winners at 2016 Audubon Photography Awards Winners | Audubon

Besides the link above to the winners check out the link for: Top 100

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 27, 2016

133 New Species Described By the California Academy Of Sciences In 2016

ScienceDaily reports

From a fleet of shining beetles to sharks and an alarming bird virus, spanning 5 continents and 3 oceans, these discoveries add to Earth’s tree of life

In 2016, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added new plant and animal species to our family tree. The new species include one bee fly, 43 ants, 36 beetles, one sand wasp, four spiders, six plants, 23 fishes, one eel, one shark, seven nudibranchs, five fossil urchins (and one fossil sand dollar), one coral, one skate, one African lizard, and an alarming new bird virus.

via 133 new species described by the California Academy of Sciences in 2016: From a fleet of shining beetles to sharks and an alarming bird virus, spanning 5 continents and 3 oceans, these discoveries add to Earth’s tree of life — ScienceDaily

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 26, 2016

Sacramento Wildlife Preserve Bird Report

Where to photograph in California – Yahoo Groups  (Calphoto) reports that the Sacramento Wildlife Preserve has the usual flurry of winter birds. Here is the report

The National Wildlife Refuges are loaded with birds, including but not limited to Ross’ Geese, Snow Geese, Greater White Fronted Geese, Ring Necked Pheasants, White Faced Ibis, Black Crowned Night Herons, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Northern Shovellers, Pintails, Ruddy Ducks, Green Winged Teals, American Wigeons, Mallards, Coots, Bald Eagles, Red Tailed Hawks, Red Shouldered Hawks, Northern Harriers etc etc etc. We did see Columbian Black Tailed Deer and there were reports of River Otters, but we did not see any. *Please remember to stay in your vehicles in the Auto Tour Area $275 fine if you get caught, and leave dogs on the leash (one family was blatant about ignoring both rules). I suggest calling the SAC NWR visitors office to check the possibility of Tule Fog making photography nearly impossible. SAC and Colusa are the best – I have rarely had good luck at Delevan, except one year when all the White Faced Ibis were hanging out there

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 26, 2016

Giraffes Face Extinction Risk As Population Drops Dramatically

The BBC reports

A dramatic drop in giraffe populations over the past 30 years has seen the world’s tallest land mammal classified as vulnerable to extinction.
Numbers have gone from around 155,000 in 1985 to 97,000 in 2015 according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The iconic animal has declined because of habitat loss, poaching and civil unrest in many parts of Africa.

Read full story  at Giraffes facing ‘silent extinction’ as population plunges – BBC News

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 25, 2016

Birding The Non-Hotspots In Berkeley

We have been birding some of non-hotspot areas in Berkeley, California to see what was there and had some interesting finds.

Strawberry Creek Park was the least interesting area we went to as it is small and had some noisy people the day we went. There is a creek and it might be better on a quiet day. We were only able to ID five species but I believe we heard a couple more. Best birds were Cedar Waxwings.

San Pablo Park, although mainly playing fields had a fair amount of bird activity. We had nine species with the most interesting being a number of Western Bluebirds and  Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Lower Cordornices Path,  which is along the creek just south of University Village is overgrown in parts and had the best bird diversity. We found 13 species here with the most interesting being a perched Cooper’s Hawk, Townsend Warbler and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

All of my estimates are on the conservative side as I didn’t count birds that were seen repeatedly unless they were a good distance apart.

Click read more to see the bird lists

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 25, 2016

Automatic Photo ID From eBird

eBird announced it has a new photo ID feature in the Merlin bird ID app. They reported

Imagine if everyone who carried a smartphone or digital camera was one shutter click away from identifying a bird? For 650 species, this is now a reality. Last week, the Merlin team released Photo ID—a new feature in the free Merlin app that provides real-time, offline, bird identification. Of course, you should still double-check the results from the app, but we’ve found the computer to be unnervingly accurate! Download the app and see if you can stump it. The most exciting part of this is that you make it possible, thanks to your sightings, photos, and eBirding. Want to expand Merlin to more than 650 species? So do we—but we need your help! Click the full article to see how you can bring Merlin to your backyard.

Read more at Automatic photo ID thanks to your eBirding | eBird

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 25, 2016

Henry Coe Wildflower Update 12/22/16

Henry Coe State Park has a new wildflower bloom report  for December 22 at the Pine Ridge Association website with photos and a list of flowers now in bloom at: Henry W. Coe – Wildflower Guide.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 25, 2016

Wildlife Conservation Society’s Favorite 2016 Pictures

See the Wildlife Society’s favorite photos from this past year at  Wildlife Conservation Society’s favourite pictures of 2016 | Environment | The Guardian

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 24, 2016

Jaguar Recovery Plan

Defenders of Wildlife News Release

Draft Recovery Plan Released for the Elusive, Endangered Jaguar

TUSCON, Ariz. (Dec. 19, 2016) – Nearly two decades after the native jaguar was granted full protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released the draft recovery plan today for the endangered jaguar.

Rob Peters, senior Southwestern representative for Defenders of Wildlife, issued the following statement:

“The draft recovery plan for the endangered jaguar has been far too long in the making and is too weak for a species that has been racing extinction in the U.S. for decades. While the draft plan rightly stresses protecting the Mexican population, which is essential to establishing breeding jaguars here, the plan does not have a clear strategy for bringing back a breeding population in the United States.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 23, 2016

One Bird Split Into Thirteen Different Species

Motherboard reports

on the splitting of the Red-bellied Pitta into 13 distinct species! They are found in Southeast Asia. This resulted in the recognition that one of the species is considered near threatened.

Read article at Scientists Realized a Species of Bird Is Really Thirteen Different Species

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 22, 2016

2016 Oakland Christmas Bird Count – 178 Species; 270 Participants

Golden Gate Audubon reported on the 2016 Christmas Bird Count

Over 270 people signed up for the Oakland count on Sunday, December 18, which last year had more participants in the field than any other CBC in the world.

The preliminary total (with not all teams reporting yet) was 178 species, similar to last year’s total of 179. However, the number of individual birds seemed to be down, possibly due to the cold weather.

Read full article at Golden Gate Audubon Society2016 Oakland CBC – chilly air, warm crowd – Golden Gate Audubon Society

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 22, 2016

Sharks & Seals Coming To Los Angeles & Long Beach Ports

The Press-Telegram reports on Why sharks and seals are coming to Los Angeles and Long Beach ports

Once inhospitable to sea life, the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports have slowly wooed marine life to return, thanks to decades of tough environmental regulations.

Read story at Why sharks and seals are coming to Los Angeles and Long Beach ports

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 21, 2016

Obama Administration Protects U.S. Waterways From Coal Industry

 Earthjustice News Release

Obama Administration Finalizes Action to Protect U.S. Waterways and Communities from Destruction by Coal Industry

Washington, D.C. —Today, the Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement released its final Stream Protection Rule, a modest update to the rules intended to protect our Nation’s water resources from damage by destructive coal mining practices, including mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. Action to strengthen these protections is long overdue, and more work still remains to be done. Over the last thirty years, a combination of weak rules and poor enforcement has allowed mountaintop removal operations to destroy an estimated 2,000 miles of streams in Appalachia, and pollute even more. This destructive practice has also been linked to such harmful health problems as birth defects and cancer, putting countless communities at unnecessary risk.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 20, 2016

Obama Protects Federal Waters From Oil Companies, Trump Administration

Center for Biological Diversity News Release

Obama Protects Federal Waters From Oil Companies, Trump Administration

President Permanently Removes Arctic, Atlantic From Federal Leasing Program 

OAKLAND, Calif.— President Obama removed the majority of the Arctic Ocean and parts of the Atlantic from the federal government’s fossil fuel leasing program today, responding to widespread calls to preempt the incoming Trump administration from expanding offshore oil and gas drilling and worsening the climate crisis. The Center for Biological Diversity — one of more than 45 environmental, coastal and indigenous groups that have been asking Obama to permanently protect U.S. waters since writing a joint legal petition in March — hailed today’s decision.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 20, 2016

California Sues to Protect Coast From Fracking

Center for Biological Diversity News Release

California Attorney General Sues to Protect Coast From Offshore Fracking

SACRAMENTO, Calif.— Citing risks to public health and marine life, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and the California Coastal Commission today filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s inadequate analysis of offshore fracking’s threats to the California coast.

Today’s suit comes after an oil company proposed to conduct California’s first offshore frack in almost two years. The oil company, DCOR, LLC, hopes to frack an offshore well in the Santa Barbara Channel. The company would be allowed to discharge chemical-laden fracking flowback fluid into the ocean.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 19, 2016

California Plan To Save Wolves

Center for Biological Diversity News Release

California Wolf Plan Sets Road Map for Conserving Small Population

Two Breeding Pairs for Two Straight Years Could Trigger Reduced Protections 

SAN FRANCISCO— The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has released its final plan to guide conservation and management of a small population of gray wolves well into the future. One of the strengths of the plan, which was released late Tuesday, is its emphasis on nonlethal methods to deter conflicts with livestock. But it would also seek to reduce wolves’ federal protection status from “endangered” to “threatened” when the population reaches a threshold of only two breeding pairs for two consecutive years — far fewer than what independent scientists say is needed for a secure population.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 18, 2016

Los Padres Forest Oil Drilling and Fracking Plan Halted Indefinitely

The Los Padres ForestWatch reports

Just last week the Forest Service officially suspended its plan to lease 52,000 acres of the Los Padres National Forest to new oil drilling and fracking operations. This decision was a direct response to ForestWatch’s notice of intent to file a lawsuit along with the Center for Biological Diversity and the Defenders of Wildlife that we sent to various federal agencies in October. The suspension of the plan is indefinite.

Read more at  VICTORY: Oil Drilling and Fracking Plan Halted Indefinitely | Los Padres ForestWatch

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 17, 2016

2016 Red List: Great News For Island Endemics, Disaster For Cagebirds

BirdLife reports

This year’s IUCN Red List update delivers a chilling warning about the plight faced by some of the world’s most popular cagebirds, with many much-loved species now being trapped and traded into near-extinction in the wild.

Read story at 2016 Red List: great news for island endemics, disaster for cagebirds | BirdLife

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 16, 2016

World’s Oldest Known Wild Breeding Bird Has A New Egg

KHON  reports

Wisdom, the world’s oldest known breeding bird in the wild, has returned to her home, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

At approximately 66 years old, she is also expecting. Wisdom was spotted on December 3, incubating an egg at the same nesting site she and her mate use each year.

Read full story at Wisdom, the world’s oldest known breeding bird

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 16, 2016

Mexico Protects Islands Off Baja California’s Pacific Coast

The San Diego Union reported

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto established a new marine biosphere reserve on Monday covering a broad area that includes the Coronado Islands near the U.S. border and Todos Santos Island, site of a famed surfing spot off the coast of Ensenada.

Read story at  Mexico protects islands off Baja California’s Pacific Coast – The San Diego Union-Tribune

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 15, 2016

Canada Protecting Monarch As Endangered Species

Center for Biological Diversity News Release

Canada to Protect Declining Monarch Butterfly as Endangered Species

Iconic Butterfly Has Declined by 80 Percent in Recent Decades

WASHINGTON— The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada released a report today recommending that the monarch butterfly be protected as an endangered species due to population decline and ongoing threats to the butterfly’s epic migration. Previously, in Canada, the monarch was classified as a species of special concern; now the minister of the Environment and the Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council have nine months to decide whether to add the butterfly to the endangered species list.

Monarch butterflies
Photo by Collette Adkins, Center for Biological Diversity. Photos are available for media use.

Monarch populations have plummeted by 80 percent since the mid-1990s because of milkweed loss in their summer breeding grounds and ongoing threats to the Mexican forests where the orange-and-black butterflies overwinter. Under Canadian law endangered status is defined as facing imminent extirpation or extinction.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | December 15, 2016

California Gov. Jerry Brown Defiant On Climate Change

The Sacramento Bee reported

Gov. Jerry Brown, rallying a room of scientists Wednesday with his most heated rhetoric yet on the topic, suggested California would defy the federal government should President-elect Donald Trump impede the state’s efforts to thwart climate change.

“We’ve got the scientists, we’ve got the lawyers and we’re ready to fight. We’re ready to defend,” he said to boisterous applause at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco.

Read full story at California Gov. Jerry Brown defiant on climate change | The Sacramento Bee

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