The National Parks Association writes
Two national parks in California literally portrayed a galaxy far, far away in the original 1977 Star Wars film and the 1983 sequel, Return of the Jedi.
Read about how Death Valley and Redwood National Parks served as locations for Star Wars movies at A Galaxy Not So Far Away After All · National Parks Conservation Association
Posted in Park | Tags: California National Parks and Star Wars
The New York Times reported
Travis John Branson was part of a conspiracy that killed 3,600 birds, prosecutors said. He also trafficked and sold bird parts on the black market.
Read on www.nytimes.com/2024/10/31/us/eagle-killer-sentenced-four-years.html
Posted in Birds | Tags: Bird Killer
Bay Nature reported
After a $200 million remediation and build, 900 Innes is finally open at India Basin. It has some of San Francisco’s last remaining natural shoreline.
Read on baynature.org/2024/10/29/india-basin-waterfront-park-opening/
Posted in Park | Tags: Indian Basin Park
See all Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Upcoming Events at see all upcoming events
Posted in Park | Tags: Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Events
The BBC reported
Japan’s highest mountain typically gets snow by early October, but there has been unusually warm weather this year.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Climate change, Mt. Fuji
NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben speaks with biologist Vesta Eleuteri regarding a study she authored about elephant communication. Listen to or read the interview at Understanding elephant communication : NPR
Posted in Animals | Tags: Elephant Communication
NPR reported
The world’s longest river is at its lowest levels ever due to devastating drought conditions. The dry conditions in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, have left tributaries and the vital waterway parched, stranding river communities, affecting commerce and livelihoods.
Read on www.npr.org/2024/10/30/nx-s1-5153428/amazon-drought-brazil-river-climate-change
Posted in Environment | Tags: Amazon River, Drought
South Park Drive in Tilden Park will be closing effective November 1st through April 1st for the California newts as they migrate during the rainy season. Please make plans to adjust your travel plans by using other access routes such as Shasta Road or Golf Course Drive.
Posted in Drives | Tags: South Park Drive Closure, Tilden Park
The Sacramento Bee reported
A fungus causing a deadly disease that infects bats was detected in Sutter and Placer counties this year, according to Fish and Wildlife.
Posted in Animals | Tags: Bat Killing Fungus
Created by Gemini A. I.
Habitat:
Diet:
Behavior:
Posted in Animals | Tags: Elephant Seals
A trillion trees could cool the planet. But where to get them? There’s a massive disconnect.Scientists audited the capacity of U.S. nurseries to grow enough seedlings for ecologically-minded tree planting campaigns. The results were not pretty.
Posted in Environment | Tags: A trillion trees could cool the planet
It’s that time of year again: Along with pumpkin carving and costume creating, you also have the chance to cast a vote in the annual Bat Beauty Contest.
Each October, the Bureau of Land Management hosts the contest to raise awareness about bat conservation. Plus, it’s a chance to see some pretty stunning bats.
— Read on www.klcc.org/environment/2024-10-23/blm-hosts-bat-beauty-contest-with-voting-open-through-halloween
The event is held every year to honor the return of the Fall-Run Chinook Salmon (also known as King Salmon). The theme of the 2024 Salmon Festival is From Sea to Stream: The Journey of the Fall-run Chinook Salmon.
For more information: https://scwa2.com/water-efficiency/events/
— Read on www.discoverwinters.com/events-calendar/7th-annual-winters-salmon-festival
Posted in Animals | Tags: Winters Salmon Festival
About The Festival – Lodi Sandhill Crane Association
— Read on lodisandhillcrane.org/about-the-festival/
Posted in Bird Festivals | Tags: Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival
Forbes reports
When we think of orcas, who also go by “killer whales” (Orcinus orca), we imagine them hunting seals, penguins or maybe even other large whales. Moose (Alces alces), the largest species of the deer family, conjure images of dense forests, marshes and freshwater lakes.
As it turns out, in certain areas and in very specific circumstances these two species’ habitats can virtually overlap. Under these circumstances, killer whales have been known to hunt and prey on moose.
Posted in Garden | Tags: Plant Lovers
SF Gate reports
Twenty minutes and seven gates later, our drive — an early-June ramble through tall, yellow grasses, rolling oak woodland and boulder-dotted pastures — eventually leads us into the Sutter Buttes. Spanning 10 miles in diameter and over 2,000 feet high, the buttes are a small but venerable set of mountains seen for miles around yet freely accessed by almost no one.
Read on at Landowners shut the gates in the 1960s. Now, few see this Calif. gem.
Posted in Park | Tags: Sutter Buttes
ScienceDaily reported
New research has revealed Marri trees are critical to the survival of more than 80 species of native bee in Western Australia’s South West region, which is one of the world’s most biologically rich but threatened biodiversity hotspots.
Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241023183623.htm
Posted in Environment | Tags: Marri Trees
CNN reported
The world’s trees are in critical danger, with a staggering number of tree species teetering on the brink of extinction, according to a new global analysis released Monday.
The decade-long project found that more than one in three tree species are threatened with extinction, underscoring the scale of the crisis facing our planet’s ecosystems.
The report for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, which dropped during the two-week UN biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia, revealed that of the 47,282 tree species assessed, at least 16,425 are at risk of going extinct — more than double the number of all birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians threatened with extinction combined.
Read more at More than 1 in 3 tree species are at risk of going extinct
Posted in Environment | Tags: Extinction Risk
from Birds Canada
The State of Canada’s Birds provides population assessments for 463 species regularly occurring in Canada. We’ve learned that grassland birds have declined by 67% since 1970, and some species like the Chestnut-collared Longspur have declined by a disheartening 95%. Yet, we’ve also seen incredible population growths, for example, wetland species have increased by 21% overall. Many of those wetland birds faced the same challenge that grassland birds face today– habitat loss– and their recovery shows what is possible when we direct our conservation efforts to the species that need it most.
See the State of Canada’s Birds at StateOfCanadasBirds.org
Posted in Birds | Tags: StateOfCanadasBirds.org
The New York Times reports
A green honeycreeper spotted on a farm in Colombia exhibits a rare biological phenomenon known as bilateral gynandromorphism.
Gynandromorphism has been documented in a variety of birds, as well as insects, crustaceans and other organisms. But it’s a relatively rare and poorly understood phenomenon. The bird Dr. Spencer saw in Colombia is only the second known case of bilateral gynandromorphism in a green honeycreeper — and the first documented in the wild.
Read more at This Bird Is Half Male, Half Female, and Completely Stunning
Posted in Birds | Tags: Green Honeycreeper, Gynandromorphism
The New York Times reported
Octopuses and fish are routinely seen working together on the ocean floor, and now scientists say that the cephalopods are the leaders of the pack.
Read more at Punching Octopuses Lead Fish on Hunting Parties
Posted in Animals
Created by Gemini A.I.
Seabirds, majestic creatures that roam the vast oceans, are facing a crisis that threatens their very existence. Their populations have been declining at an alarming rate, and the implications for marine ecosystems and our planet are profound.
Key Threats to Seabird Populations
Consequences of Seabird Decline
Posted in Birds | Tags: Seabird Decline
ScienceDaily reports
Plants and the animals that eat them have evolved together in fascinating ways, creating a dynamic interplay of survival strategies. Many plants have developed physical and chemical defenses to fend off herbivores. A well-known strategy in flowering plants is to produce nectar to attract ‘ant bodyguards.’ Recent research explores the evolution of this same defense strategy in ferns.
Read more at Tracing the evolution of ferns’ surprisingly sweet defense strategy | ScienceDaily
Posted in Environment | Tags: Fern Defense Strategy
The Guardian reported
Nevada lithium mine approved despite possible harm to endangered wildflower
Read on www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/24/nevada-lithium-mine-endangered-wildflower-tiehms-buckwheat
Posted in Environment | Tags: Endangered species, lithium mining
The Guardian reported
Industry research reviewed by independent scientists show that exposure to the nation’s most common pesticides, neonicotinoids, may affect developing brains the same way as nicotine, including by significantly shrinking brain tissue and neuron loss.
Exposure could be linked to long-term health effects like ADHD, slower auditory reflexes, reduced motor skills, behavioral problems and delayed sexual maturation in males, the new review found.
Read more at Most common US pesticide may affect brain development similarly to nicotine
Posted in Environment | Tags: neonicotinoids
NBC News reported
Mount Everest is astoundingly tall at 29,032 feet above sea level, besting its Himalayan neighbors by hundreds of feet.
But the world’s tallest peak is still growing, scientists say, thanks in part to the merger of two nearby river systems tens of thousands of years ago.
Everest has gained between about 50 and 160 feet as a result of that merger, researchers revealed in a study published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Read more Why Everest, the world’s tallest mountain, is growing even taller
Posted in Environment | Tags: Mt. Everest getting taller
Posted in Animals, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Bumblebees, Pollination
Anthropocene Magazine reports
A new study charts the financial benefits of global climate cooperation
Investors in government bonds reward countries for participating in climate agreements and committing to reduce emissions, according to a new study. The rewards are greatest for countries that face greater costs for participating, suggesting investors are nudging governments to address climate change in a systematic way.
Read more at Should nations sign climate agreements? The market says yes.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Government climate agreements
Inside Climate News reports
In its annual report, Global Witness affirms how dangerous it is to defend nature. More than 2,100 defenders have been murdered since 2012.
Natural History Wanderings 