The New York Times reports
Ruffed grouse are elusive and stealthy, but scientists are seeking a genetic explanation for why some of the birds become best buddies with people.
Read story at Why Mister Grouse Is the Friendliest Bird in the Forest
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 19, 2024
Why Mister Grouse Is the Friendliest Bird in the Forest
Posted in Birds | Tags: Bird Behavior, Ruffed grouse
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 18, 2024
Potent tree-killing disease reemerges in the Bay Area
The San Francisco Chronicle reported
Fears are rising for California forests after the discovery of a more potent microbe causing sudden oak death that is better adapted to climate change.
Read on www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/sudden-oak-death-trees-19925571.php
Posted in Environment | Tags: Sudden Oak Death
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 18, 2024
Wild birds living close to humans harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria
from Anthropocene magazine
Wild birds living close to humans harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria
A new survey of bacteria in bird feces reveals how humans are infecting animals, and how the problem could boomerang back to us.
Posted in Birds | Tags: antibiotic-resistant bacteria in birds
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 18, 2024
Report: Roadkill a ‘Preventable Natural Disaster’
UC Davis reports
More than 48,000 deer, thousands of Pacific newts, close to 100 mountain lions and many thousands of other animals are killed each year by vehicles on California roads, according to the 2024 “roadkill report” from the University of California, Davis’ Road Ecology Center.
Read more Report: Roadkill a ‘Preventable Natural Disaster’ | UC Davis
Posted in Animals | Tags: Wildlife Road Kills
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 17, 2024
Cedar Waxwings
Cedar Waxwing written with Gemini AI
Cedar Waxwings are a stunning species of bird known for their vibrant plumage, distinctive habits, and unique diet. These elegant creatures are often found in North America, delighting birdwatchers with their graceful flight and social behavior.
Posted in Birds | Tags: Cedar Waxwings
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 17, 2024
Where Did All The Insects Go?
from Alt National Park Service
Posted in Animals, Environment | Tags: Insect Population Collapse, Loss of Pollinators
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 17, 2024
What is the most beautiful art?
from Alt National Park Service
Posted in Environment | Tags: Beautiful Art
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 16, 2024
To Save Native Plant Communities, Diversify the Field
EarthIsland Journal writes
So says ecologist working to save one of California’s most endangered ecosystems and promote LGBTQ+ visibility in science.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Plant Diversification
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 16, 2024
Are Botanists Endangered?
The Revelator reported
Is botany an endangered profession? What does that mean for the world’s plants — and everything else that relies on them?
As funding drops and institutions change, the study of plants appears to be withering on the vine. That’s letting critical skills go extinct.
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Botany
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 16, 2024
How One Couple Turned Their Backyard Into an Arboretum
The New York Times reports
This is what happens if you stay put, and keep digging holes: An effort that begins innocently enough — planting a garden at home — may grow on you. And it could morph into an arboretum.
Hortus Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, a 21-acre expanse in Stone Ridge, N.Y., with about 11 acres under cultivation, got its start as Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano’s much smaller backyard. It has been 25 years since the couple, both visual artists, moved from San Francisco to Ulster County, where they now count more than 240 genera in their plant collection.
Read more at How One Couple Turned Their Backyard Into an Arboretum
Posted in Garden | Tags: Backyard Arboretum
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 16, 2024
Upcoming Events at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 15, 2024
Bumblebee Queens Prefer to Live in a Toxic Home
The New York Times reported
In an elaborate experiment, scientists discovered that the insects chose to hibernate in soil full of pesticides and other poisons.
Read more at Bumblebee Queens Prefer to Live in a Toxic Home – The New York Times
Posted in Animals | Tags: Bumblebee Queens
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 15, 2024
Monkeys got along better after hurricane
The BBC reports
Macaque monkeys got on better with others in their social groups after a devastating hurricane, according to researchers.
Researchers studied the impacts of a hurricane on a population of Rhesus macaques on an island off Puerto Rico.
Temperatures are often around 40C so shade is a precious resource for macaques, since tree cover is still far below pre-hurricane levels.
Macaques, who are known for being aggressive and competitive, have become more tolerant of one another to get access to scarce shade.
Read on at Monkeys got along better after hurricane
Posted in Animals | Tags: Monkeys, Rhesus macaques
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 14, 2024
Who’s the Dodo Now? A Famously Extinct Bird, Reconsidered
The New York Times reports
A comprehensive review of dodo science offers new insights into the biology and behavior of the much-ridiculed bird.
The dodo was a flightless bird about the size of a male turkey that had a long, hooked beak and the goofy charm of an emperor penguin. Its ancestor first appeared on Earth more than 25 million years ago, and by 1662, because of humans, it had vanished from Mauritius, a remote island in the Indian Ocean, the only place it ever existed.
Read more Who’s the Dodo Now? A Famously Extinct Bird, Reconsidered.
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 14, 2024
How Does Habitat Fragmentation Harm Wildlife?
The Revelator reports
To understand the problem, look to three monkey species, each of whom face the threat in different (and not always successful) ways.
Read article at How Does Habitat Fragmentation Harm Wildlife? • The Revelator
Posted in Environment | Tags: Habitat Fragmentation Harms to Wildlife
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 14, 2024
When to Feed Birds
From Audubon
When It’s Okay (or Not) to Feed BirdsAs bird lovers, we often look for ways to get closer to birds—or to bring them closer to us. However, knowing what kind of food is okay to supply, and when, and where, can be confusing.
But don’t fret. We’re here to help you make sense of it all. Here are three simple questions to chew on to help determine whether you’re helping—or hurting—birds when you feed them.Learn more
Posted in Birds | Tags: Bird feeding
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 14, 2024
Upcoming talks at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden
Two upcoming talks: “Climbing Trees for Research” and “Botanizing California.”
1. Wayne Roderick Lecture, Saturday, November 23, 2024, 10:30 a.m. – Eric Folmer: “Climbing Trees for Research.”
Arborist Eric Folmer and his crew have done many tree projects in the Botanic Garden. In the past 10 years Eric has been involved in climbing for research, wild life conservation and adventure in tropical forests and guiding people into the tree tops. He has worked on tree climbing projects in California, the Brazilian Amazon, Borneo, and Costa Rica. He has guided researchers, students and local guides into the canopy around the world and enjoys introducing people to the magic of tree top exploration. Eric’s website: https://treewolf.com/
2. Glenn Keator: “Botanizing California.” Sunday, December 1, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
This will be a free presentation and introduction to a series of classes that Glenn plans to offer in Spring 2025.
Direction: https://nativeplants.org/visit-the-garden/directions/
Posted in Garden, Talks | Tags: Region Parks Botanic Garden
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 13, 2024
Lanternfly Photos
See this great collection of Lanterfly photos at Lanternflies
Posted in Animals, Photography | Tags: Lanternfly Photos
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 13, 2024
Lodoicea Produces the Largest Seeds in the Plant Kingdom
Lodoicea,[4] commonly known as the sea coconut, coco de mer, or double coconut contains the largest fruit and seed sin the plant kingdom. Read about it at Lodoicea – Wikipedia
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: coco de mer, double coconut, Lodoicea, sea coconut
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 13, 2024
If Paris Agreement Goals Are Missed, These Polar Bears Could Go Extinct
The New York Times reports
One group in Hudson Bay might have roughly a decade left because sea ice is becoming too thin to support them as they hunt, according to new research.
Read more at Missing a Global Climate Target Could Spell Disaster for These Polar Bears
Posted in Animals, Environment | Tags: Climate Threats to Polar Bears
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 13, 2024
Rare Plant Habitats and Ethnobotanical Traditions of the Motherlode 11/14 at 7 pm
Yerba Buena CNPS
Rare Plant Habitats and Ethnobotanical Traditions of the Motherlode with John Kipping
El Dorado County covers 1% of California, yet hosts over 30% (2300 species )of its native plant species. This hotspot of biodiversity provided a nurturing environment for large populations of indigenous peoples over many thousands of years. Come explore these topics with naturalist John Kipping and the Yerba Buena Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.
Sample artifacts of baskets and plant-derived tools will be shared.
Live at the Southeast Community Center
Posted in Talks
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 13, 2024
THE GALAPAGOS 11/21/24
The islands of the Galàpagos offer an almost unmatched biodiverse environment for scientists and naturalists alike to closely study evolution, ecology and natural history. With a relationship dating back to 1905, the California Academy of Sciences has and continues to work through its collections and research from the islands and its scientific/conservation partners. Ecuador and the Galàpagos archipelago’s commitment to regenerative science and management serves as a model for what natural spaces can look like when we put conservation into practice. About Our Speaker
Join Dr. Jack Dumbacher, Curator of Ornithology and Mammalogy and Master Bird Instructor, to hear more about these amazing islands, the state of today’s science, and how that science is contributing to conservation and regeneration of one of the best-preserved island archipelagos in the world.
Date: Thursday, November 21 @ 7pm
Location: Google Community Space (188 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105) and online via Zoom
NOTE: If you plan to attend in-person for this event, please register through the following link:
https://goldengatebirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com/event.jsp?event=14758&
Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88952884221?pwd=BDfHlIs4riZabRtwlaGgjoz4PgVVIP.1
Password: 657040
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 12, 2024
In the gateway to the Arctic, fat, ice and polar bears are crucial. All three are in trouble
AP News reported
Searching for polar bears where the Churchill River dumps into Canada’s massive Hudson Bay, biologist Geoff York scans a region that’s on a low fat, low ice diet because of climate change.
And it’s getting lower on polar bears.
There are now about 600 polar bears in the Western Hudson Bay, one of the most threatened of the 20 populations of the white beasts. That’s about half the number of 40 years ago, says York, senior director of research and policy at Polar Bears International. His latest study, with a team of scientists from various fields, shows that if the world doesn’t cut back more on emissions of heat-trapping gases “we could lose this population entirely by the end of the century,” he says.
Read more and see photos at In the gateway to the Arctic, fat, ice and polar bears are crucial. All three are in trouble | AP News
Posted in Animals | Tags: Arctic, Climate change, Polar Bears
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 12, 2024
What’s Important?
Posted in Environment
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 12, 2024
Sequoia and Kings Canyon Winter Storm Alert
Winter storm alert!
Traveling into Sequoia and Kings Canyon is not advised at this time.
Tire chains are required on the Generals Highway beginning at Eleven Range, 13 miles past Ash Mountain Entrance Station, and on all roads in Grant Grove. Panoramic Point Road is closed. Throughout the parks there is significant debris in the roadway.
Posted in Drives, Park | Tags: Sequoia and Kings Canyon
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 11, 2024
New Queen’s study suggests potential long-term impact of global warming on sleep
Queen’s University Belfast reports
The first of its kind study suggests that changing seasons and dramatic shifts in extreme weather conditions are likely to impact sleep patterns.
This research, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was led by Queen’s University Belfast in collaboration with researchers at Czech University of Life Sciences and Swansea University.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Impact of global warming on sleep
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 11, 2024
Should Tourists Swim with Endangered Sea Turtles?
The Revelator reports
Is wildlife tourism safe for the animals people travel to see? The devil’s in the details. (Tip #1: Don’t feed them hot dogs.)
Researchers in Barbados found that ecotourism sea-turtle encounters created some very human problems for the animals.
Read more at Should Tourists Swim with Endangered Sea Turtles? • The Revelator
Posted in Animals | Tags: Endangered Sea Turtles, Wildlife Tourism
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 10, 2024
Did Earth have rings 466 million years ago?
EarthSky reported
Ring systems are common in our solar system. Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and even some dwarf planets and asteroids have rings. Earth, sadly, does not. But it might have in the past. That’s what researchers at Monash University in Australia said on September 16, 2024. Their study of asteroid impact craters from 466 million years ago – during the middle Ordovician Period – shows Earth may have had its own ring system.
Read more at Earth did once have its own rings, according to a new study, some 466 million years ago.
Posted in Astronomy | Tags: Did earth have rings?
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 10, 2024
Why Gardening Is So Good for You
The New York Times writes about the physical health, mental health and social benefits you can get from gardening.
Digging holes can be a workout and mood booster all rolled into one.
Read article at The Health Benefits of Gardening – The New York Times
Posted in Garden
Posted by: Sandy Steinman | November 10, 2024
U.N. Report on Climate Goals Says Countries Have Made No Progress
The New York Times reported
An annual assessment by the world body tracks the gulf between what countries have vowed to do and what they’ve actually achieved.
Read on www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/climate/un-climate-change-global-emissions-report.html
Posted in Environment | Tags: UN Climate Report
Natural History Wanderings 