CBS Los Angeles reported an update on the Silver Fire
The blaze was reported at around 2:10 p.m. on Sunday near Highway 6 and Silver Canyon Road, just north of Bishop.
Cal Fire reported the fire had grown to 1,611 acres and was 70% contained on Wednesday evening. Though the fire had continued to grow through the day, firefighters finally reported stopping the forward spread on Monday afternoon.
Posted in Environment
SF Gate reported
The cetacean conservation biology team of the Sausalito-based Marine Mammal Center has been closely monitoring the animals since the beginning of March and reported a “significant uptick” in their presence last week, when at least seven, but up to nine, gray whales were seen in the bay in a single day.
Read more at ‘Near record’ sightings of gray whales reported in SF Bay
Posted in Animals | Tags: Gray Whales
The list of events will be updated regularly. To view past webinars, please visit our YouTube channel. We also announce events on social media and via our e-newsletter. If you have questions, please email outreach@xerces.org.
To see current list of events go to Events | Xerces Society
Posted in Talks | Tags: Xerces Society Events
See the schedule of upcoming Bay Nature Events mailchi.mp/baynature/march-11
Posted in Talks, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Bay Nature Events
The New York Times reported
Males of the South American species incubate their young in their vocal sacs. The London Zoo recently established a breeding colony to save the frog from extinction.
Read more at A Lifeboat to London for Darwin’s Frogs
Posted in Animals | Tags: Darwin’s Frogs
The Guardian reported
Firefighters have managed to make “strong progress” containing a fire burning through eastern California near the world’s oldest trees, but the blaze remains an active threat, officials said.
Since igniting on Sunday afternoon, the Silver fire has scorched nearly 1,600 acres (647 hectares) in the eastern Sierra Nevada and forced residents of about 800 homes to evacuate. Strong winds fanned the flames, which burned through dry grass and brush in Inyo county, threatening neighborhoods, endangered species and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Bristlecone Pines, Oldest Trees, Silver fire
Otter-led kayak tours of Morro Bay State Park
Night hikes led by owls in Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park
Berry picking with bears at Richardson Grove State Park
#AprilFools #CaliforniaStateParks #TrailTales #SquirrelSquad #NatureWithAView #OnlyInCalifornia #CSPF #ParkHumor
Posted in Park | Tags: California State Parks
The New York Times reported
The animals’ complex songs share structural patterns with human language that may make them easier for whales to learn, a new study suggests.
Read on www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/science/language-humpback-whale-song.html
Posted in Animals | Tags: Humpback Whales, Whale Communication, Whale song
SF Gate reported
Rep. Tom McClintock took credit for stalling the reservation system
Despite a drafted news release circulating last week about the apparent approval of a 2025 reservation system for Yosemite National Park, no such release has been issued by the National Park Service.
Read more at Yosemite reservation system in limbo after congressman ‘raised hell’
Posted in Drives, Park | Tags: Yosemite Reservation System
Wild Earth Guardians andMissoula Current reported
Every day is open season on mountain lions in Nevada. The majestic cats are under attack on a variety of fronts – as prey for hunters, as unintended victims of traps set for bobcats, and as the primary target of a $900,000 a year state-sponsored effort to cull species deemed problematic by the state.
Between 2000 and 2021, at least 4,229 mountain lions were killed in Nevada by hunters, trappers, and the state’s lethal removal effort, according to data from the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
Wildlife advocates call the predator management project a misguided, wasteful, and ineffective effort to prevent mountain lions from killing mule deer, a prized trophy for Nevada hunters. They’re also calling on state regulators to take action to stem what some call the accidental but barbaric trapping of mountain lions, which can be left ensnared for days.
Read more at Mountain lions in Nevada maimed by traps, killed by the state
Posted in Animals | Tags: Mountain LIons
Inside Climate News reported
Wetlands and ephemeral streams provide a wide variety of benefits to people and wildlife, from flood protection for local communities, to preventing pollutants from entering the water supply, to breeding grounds for endangered bird species. Wetlands can also act as carbon sinks, sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Since the 18th century, the United States has lost half of its wetlands. In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act to address water pollution, regulating, among other things, the discharge of pollutants into water bodies across the country.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Loss of Wetlands Protections
Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability reported
American beaver populations are booming in the western United States as conditions grow hotter and drier. New research shows their prolific dam building benefits river water quality so much, it outweighs the damaging influence of climate-driven droughts.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Beavers
See all Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Upcoming Events at see all upcoming events
Posted in Park | Tags: Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Events
If you are looking for a humorous “Who Done It” in which the detective is an avid birdwatcher, check out the critically acclaimed “The Residence” on Netflix.
from Wikipedia
The Residence is an American mystery drama television series created by Paul William Davies for Netflix. Inspired by The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower, the series revolves around a fictional murder scandal involving the staff of the White House. Produced by Shondaland, the series premiered on March 20, 2025.
Posted in Birds | Tags: Birdwatching Detective
The Guardian reported
The Loess plateau was the most eroded place on Earth until China took action and reversed decades of damage from grazing and farming
Read article at ‘All the birds returned’: How a Chinese project led the way in water and soil conservation | Conservation | The Guardian
Posted in Birds | Tags: Chinese Conservation, Loess plateau
SF Gate reported
Yosemite National Park will implement a new reservation system in 2025 to manage crowds and protect resources, according to a version of a National Park Service press release provided to SFGATE by a source within the federal government.
Read more Trump administration approves 2025 Yosemite reservation system
Posted in Park | Tags: Yosemite Reservations
Upcoming Bird Walks and Nature Events
Thurs, 4/3: Las Gallinas Ponds, San Rafael, Marin Audubon
Sat, 4/5: Five Brooks & Bear Valley, Point Reyes, Marin Audubon
Sat, 4/12: Shollenberger Park, Petaluma, Petaluma Wetlands Alliance
Sat, 4/26: Ellis Creek Ponds, Petaluma, Petaluma Wetlands Alliance
Posted in Uncategorized, Walks & Hikes | Tags: Marin & Sonoma Bird and Nature Walks
from Xerces Society
Governor Lujan Grisham has signed into law SB5, a bill that gives the newly named New Mexico Department of Wildlife (formerly the Department of Game and Fish) the authority to manage ALL wildlife, including insects and other invertebrates! Xerces was part of a broad coalition of organizations that supported this bill.
You can learn why insect protection through state authority matters, and what Xerces is doing make it happen, in the January 2025 episode of our Bug Banter podcast.
Posted in Animals, Butterflies | Tags: Insect protection
The Cool Down reported
The presence of the Asian small-clawed otter has been confirmed in Nepal for the first time in over 185 years.Mongabay News reported that scientists and conservationists have been celebrating the sightings. The Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus) is the world’s smallest otter. Its existence in Nepal hadn’t been confirmed since 1839.
Read more Scientists stunned as rare species reappears after nearly 200 years: ‘We can finally confirm’
Posted in Animals | Tags: Asian small-clawed otte
National Geographic writes about thier favorite U.S. wildflower hikes
Spring is in bloom. Here are our favorite places to frolic through fields of flowers, from the Pacific Northwest to the Appalachian Mountains.
There’s never a bad season to travel, but there’s something special about spring. The snow has melted, flowers begin blooming, and the long-winter hibernation mode that many of us experience transforms into an irresistible urge to get out and explore. Add in that the summer crowds haven’t yet arrived so many destinations are calmer, quieter, and less expensive to visit between March and May.
Read article and see their choices The best wildflower hiking destinations in the United States
Posted in Walks & Hikes, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Best Wildflower Hikes
See the events calendar for the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden at Garden Events
Posted in Class/Workshop, Garden | Tags: UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events
ABC News (Australia) reported
Wildlife carers in Perth and the south west have been overwhelmed with hundreds of cases of deadly illness in magpies.
Watch story at Native birds in WA falling sick with mystery illness causing paralysis and death – ABC News
Posted in Birds | Tags: Mysterious Bird Illness
The Guardian reported
On a blustery March day in Wellington, a group of would-be whale rescuers wearing wetsuits and hi-vis vests are waist deep in the chilly waters of Scorching Bay. Between them, a two-tonne replica of a pilot whale gently rocks in the swell.
On the sand, another group pours buckets of water over a replica dolphin, while some dig away the sand from beneath its fins. Occasionally, a trainer reminds students to stand back from the tail – if this were a real animal the tail could deliver an unexpected blow.
Posted in Animals | Tags: Whale Strandings
The Guardian reported
Dozens of bird eggs and chicks were rescued from nests in a single wind-damaged eucalyptus tree that was dangerously close to collapsing in a California park.
Now staff at the International Bird Rescue’s Los Angeles wildlife center have been working around the clock to care for the 47 eggs and 12 chicks, all double-crested cormorants, in hopes that they will be able to be released back into the wild in a few months.
Posted in Birds | Tags: Bird Rescue
NBC Bay Area reported
A partial solar eclipse is set to rise in the skies over western Europe and eastern North America this week, and a rare “double sunrise” phenomenon could also occur.
According to maps provided by NASA, the partial eclipse will be visible across western Europe and along the eastern seaboard of the United States. Cities like Boston will get nearly half of the sun covered by the moon, with diminishing amounts in New York and Washington, D.C.
Read more Rare ‘double sunrise’ solar eclipse coming this week – NBC Bay Area
Posted in Astronomy | Tags: Double Eclipse
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists reported
As the director of the National Security Archive’s Climate Change Transparency Project, Rachel Santarsiero is in the business of monitoring and facilitating the flow of information from the government to the public. What she’s seeing now, in the first weeks of President Trump’s second administration, is throwing the continuity of that process into doubt.
“We’re really losing our history here; we’re losing our environmental history,” Santarsiero told the Bulletin last week.
To some extent, government watchdogs, scientists, and climate and environmental activists were expecting this. During the first Trump administration, the use of terms like “climate change,” “clean energy,” and “adaptation” across federal environmental websites fell by 26 percent. In some cases, those terms were replaced by more ambiguous phrases like “energy independence” and “resilience”; other pages referencing climate change simply vanished.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Loss of Environmental History
The Cool Down reported
Across the northeastern United States, a quiet but powerful transformation is underway.
Rivers that were once blocked by outdated dams are now running freely again, and the results are nothing short of astonishing — long-lost ecosystems are returning, fish are migrating in record numbers, and local residents are reconnecting with revitalized waterways in ways they never imagined.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Dam removal
ABC News San Diego reported
Handfuls of California sea lions are getting sick from domoic acid poisoning that stems from algae.
Read on www.10news.com/news/local-news/sea-lions-in-southern-california-sick-from-domoic-acid-poisoning
Posted in Animals | Tags: Sea Lion Poisoning
Photographs from the Skyline Serpentine Prairie in Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, CA on March 23, 2025.
Posted in Photos (Sandy's)
The Dodo reported
If snowy owls are known for one thing, it’s their white plumage. Their coloring helps them blend in with the frost-covered environments they call home.
Wildlife photographer Julie Maggert has been taking pictures of snowy owls for years. So when she heard that a strange, orange-colored snowy owl had been spotted flying around Michigan’s Thumb area, she knew she had to see the bird for herself.
See photo of owl and read more at One-Of-A-Kind Orange Snowy Owl Leaves Scientists Scratching Their Heads – The Dodo
Posted in Birds | Tags: Orange Snowy Owl
Natural History Wanderings 