Featured events- 08/28/2013 - Free Outdoor Screening in the BAM/PFA Sculpture Garden
- 08/27/2013 - MARK EPSTEIN / The Trauma of Everyday Life
- 08/24/2013 - The goat Rodeo Sessions
- 08/20/2013 - Yang Fudong and Philippe Pirotte in Conversation
- 08/03/2013 - Book Signing and Discussion with Dave Kehr, followed by The Lawless Breed
Category Archives: Nature
Blooming beautiful: Berkeley in the spring
Robert Trachtenberg, a landscape designer who lives in Berkeley, is the owner of Garden Architecture. This photo essay is part of an occasional series in which Trachtenberg brings an educated eye to the beauty of the nature that surrounds us in Berkeley.
It has been several weeks since I took these photos as I was hoping to share these images as soon as possible but life is full of twists and turns. Once again I didn’t have to travel far to catch some magnificent little jewels in the garden. I share a spectacular all white garden designed by my neighbor, florist Devorah Nussenbaum. All the white flowers in this piece are in our garden. Lucky me!
Scroll down for more photographs and extended captions… … Continue reading »
Tagged Berkeley nature, Robert Trachtenberg
Cal seeks funds to cut down 22,000 non-native trees
Federal funding to enable UC Berkeley to cut down 22,000 non-native trees in Strawberry Canyon and Claremont Canyon is proceeding through the late stages of an environmental impact review. A final public meeting on the project will be held by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Saturday, May 18, at Claremont Middle School in Oakland at 10 a.m.
The university’s project is a continuation of work it has been doing for the last decade on its land. Over 19,000 non-native trees — eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and acacia — have already been eradicated on 185 acres of campus property. The 22,000 additional trees expand the program to Strawberry Canyon and the hills to the north of Claremont Avenue as it climbs to Grizzly Peak.
“It’s a cohesive strategy that started over a decade ago,” said Tom Klatt, the university’s environmental projects manager. “We target the most fire-prone, fuel-productive trees that we have on our land. Those areas will have less fire intensity as a result.” … Continue reading »
Lynxes of the bird world: Cooper’s hawks nest in Berkeley
They’re secretive, stealthy and quick. Allen Fish, director of the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, calls them “feisty.” Cooper’s hawks, he says, are “the lynxes of the bird world” that pounce on pigeons and swoop between buildings. And, though Cooper’s hawks are hard to find, we know, at first fleeting glance, that we’ve seen something wild and unusual.
Until about 15 years ago, these woodland hawks made rare appearances in cities like Berkeley, and nesting here was practically unheard of. This spring, however, Fish estimates that Cooper’s hawks are constructing between five and 15 nests across the developed areas of Berkeley and Albany (excluding the hills) — evidence of their great swooping strides towards overcoming their bad reputation as “chicken hawks.” … Continue reading »
The mystery and thrill: Shorebirds enjoy winter in Berkeley
A wide variety of shorebirds winter in the San Francisco Bay waters, and in Berkeley in particular. A few, like the whimbrel (a type of curlew), migrate from as far away as the Arctic. Elaine Miller Bond, whose work on local wildlife we have been delighted to publish before, recently spent time photographing shorebirds at the Berkeley and Emeryville tidal zones and mudflats in the company of Rusty Scalf, a teacher and trip leader for the Audubon Society.
According to Scalf, these shorebirds have “high odometer readings.” Yet, for foraging, they rely heavily on the fragile, narrow, often muddy habitat between dry land and water — a zone that is increasingly imperiled by global climate change.
Here, we publish a selection of Miller Bond’s gorgeous photos with extended captions written by her describing the birds and their habits. … Continue reading »
Tagged Berkeley wildlife, Elaine Miller Bond
Awakenings: Early bloomers in Berkeley
Robert Trachtenberg, a landscape designer who lives in Berkeley, is the owner of Garden Architecture. This photo essay is part of an occasional series in which Trachtenberg brings an educated eye to the beauty of the nature that surrounds us in Berkeley.
After a long hibernation and nearly a year to the day since the my father passed away I have been inspired again to document this burst of beautiful new spring blossoms. With a heavy heart and open eyes, it took a full year for me digest and grieve the loss of someone so important to me, to try to understand how he has impacted my life.
Now with each passing season I have a deeper appreciation for the precious cycles of life and for that I am so grateful.
Tagged Berkeley nature, Robert Trachtenberg
Sitting on the dock of the bay: Birds throng Berkeley pier
On Wednesday, author and photographer Elaine Miller Bond captured this shot of an amazing spectacle down at the Berkeley Marina.
“There were many hundreds, probably thousands, of seabirds (mostly cormorants) flocked together, feeding on the water,” she said. “Within minutes, the entire flock had taken flight and landed here, on the old pilings at the far end of the Berkeley Pier. Though we humans no longer use these derelict planks, birds can certainly be seen, ‘sitting on the dock of the bay.’” … Continue reading »
Tagged Berkeley wildlife, Elaine Miller Bond
Signs of spring come to Berkeley
It may still be February, but spring is creeping in and Berkeleysiders are sharing some beautiful photographs taken around town of delicate cherry blossoms and budding blooms. Despite the evidence to the contrary, spring officially begins with the vernal equinox on March 20. … Continue reading »
Tagged Berkeley spring, Flowers
Can’t get enough of them: Berkeley’s burrowing owls
We admit we are suckers for these adorable birds, so when regular Neil Mishalov sent us these two gorgeous pics, it didn’t take long to decide to share them with you, even though it was barely two weeks ago that we published another photo of this beautiful bird.
News of these special birds is spreading. New York Magazine recently included a visit to spot the burrowing owls as an “Insider’s Tip” in its Five-Point Weekend Escape Plan to Berkeley story. (They also recommended checking out Berkeleyside’s Nosh for East Bay food news, a point we couldn’t disagree with.) … Continue reading »
Mating newts at UC Botanical Garden a stimulating sight
It’s not just us humans who get romantic around Valentine’s Day. Have you heard of newt love? UC Botanical Garden director and zoologist Paul Licht is intimately familiar with the mating habits of the two newt species – Taricha torosa (California newt) and Taricha granulosa (rough-skin newt) – that become amorous at this time of year. And it’s quite a sight (watch video, above).
According to the Botanical Garden, these small, dark-skinned amphibians hide in the underbrush and are rarely seen by humans, but, once the rains come, scores of them gravitate to the crystal-clear waters of the Japanese Pool. (Perhaps using the famous newt crossing in Tilden Park to get there.) … Continue reading »
Burrowing owls come out to preen at Berkeley Marina
The Berkeley Marina’s much loved burrowing owls were out and about this weekend. Berkeleysider Greg Merritt caught this shot of one of them on Saturday afternoon. He said it was taken at the special fenced-off area near the Tom Bates/Gilman Sports Complex.
dozen volunteer docents from Golden Gate Audubon Society who help passersby spot and learn about the small population of Western burrowing owls who spend each winter at the marina.
As Illana DeBare reported for us this time last year, Western burrowing owls have been designated a “species of special concern” by the state of California, as their population has been declining. Local residents reported seeing as many as 15 owls at the Berkeley Marina a decade ago; last year just five were documented. … Continue reading »
Pets dumped in Tilden cause problems, become dinner
The abandoned chickens appeared one afternoon in December, in the parking lot near Tilden Park’s Little Farm. Nine of them, right next to the bus stop. Whoever dumped them had sprinkled feed on the ground, and apparently hoped the Little Farm would adopt them. Not so.
“It’s as much as I can do to keep these animals clean, alive and fed,” said the man known as Farmer Stanley, gesturing to the chickens, cows, sheep and pigs he has taken care of at the farm for more than a decade.
At least two of those abandoned chickens became dinner for the local wildlife, judging by the piles of feathers found on the ground, said park staff. They think – or at least hope – that some of the chickens were adopted, in response to an ad posted, because a bunch disappeared all at once.
The month before the chicken-drop, it was a white bunny, left in a cage at the same spot. Last summer there were five kittens. … Continue reading »
How the Barn Owl became Berkeley’s official bird
By Lisa Owens Viani
Lisa Owens Viani, co-founder of Raptors Are The Solution, recalls how her passion for owls began in Berkeley and led to possibly the least controversial Berkeley city council resolution ever passed: the designation of the Barn Owl as the city’s official bird.
My owl obsession began when I moved to Berkeley in 2003. One evening, while on an evening walk with a friend, she pointed out what she thought was the sound of someone breathing with the help of a respirator in a house on Edwards Street. That didn’t seem quite right — I instantly thought “bird” — but I wasn’t expecting to hear owls in such an urban spot.
I called a birder friend who suggested the possibility of a Barn Owl. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, we confirmed that the sound was coming from a Canary Island palm tree behind the house with the “respirator.” Then we spotted Barn Owls flying in and out of the tree, pearl white in the dark sky, backlit by the moon, making trip after trip to feed their young. … Continue reading »
Mountain lion tracks seen in Claremont Canyon Preserve
Mountain lion tracks have been sighted in the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve, according to Tom Stienstra, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle.
In his regular outdoors column published on Sunday Jan. 19, Stienstra noted two readers had reported being shocked at seeing the distinctive tracks.
“One of the tracks, reported by Bob Felton, occurred when he was walking his dogs and they became agitated and led him to the paw print,” wrote Stienstra. … Continue reading »
Tagged Berkeley Hills, Berkeley mountain lion, Cougars
