Tag Archives: Berkeley 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 »
High temperatures, wind, prompt Berkeley red flag alert
As the weather heats up — the National Weather Service is predicting that the temperature will hit 87 degrees by Thursday – officials have issued a Red Flag Warning for the East Bay Hills for Tuesday and Wednesday.
The wind is expected to pick up speed around 6:00 p.m. today, with heavy gusts of up to 50 mph possible by early Wednesday morning. The strong winds should last until 6 p.m. May 1.
The official fire season in Berkeley hasn’t started yet, but the fire department is taking extra precautions in anticipation of the heat and wind, according to Avery Webb, interim deputy fire chief and public information officer. Firefighters have been asked to check their wildland firefighting gear and put it in their vehicles, he said. … 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 »
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.
The most important stories in Berkeley in 2012
Berkeley in 2012 was filled with drama — a contested election, a failed nomination for a new school superintendent, a few missteps by the Chief of Police, and major changes at the University of California, among other events. Here’s a recap of the issues that had the deepest impact on Berkeley, plus a few fun ones thrown in.
City Government
The year got off to a tragic start with the untimely death of 37-year-old City Clerk Deanna Despain. She fell down the stairs of her Oakland home on Jan. 8. Her husband discovered her body when he returned from a late-night meeting. Their daughter was soundly asleep upstairs. Since then, Mark Numainville has been filling in as acting city clerk. In May, after serving as interim city manager for six months, the City Council appointed Christine Daniel permanently to the job. She replaced Phil Kamlarz, who had held the city’s top job for eight years. … Continue reading »
King tides initiative raises awareness of rising sea levels
Photographers, nature lovers and climate change observers are joining forces to document California’s annual surge of high tides. By gathering photographs of the phenomenon, they hope to raise awareness of how rising sea levels will impact coastal regions in years to come.
Berkeley realtor and chronicler extraordinaire Ira Serkes was snapping photos at the Berkeley Marina yesterday on the first day of a three-day high tide period. King Tide events for the 2012-2013 season take place in four periods: November 13-15, December 12-14, January 9-11, and February 7-9.
The highest tide of the year for the San Francisco Bay — 7.2 ft — will take place today at 10:34 a.m (see tide chart, below). … Continue reading »
Tell us: Is it a fox or a coyote on a Berkeley deck?
Ann O’Brien was visiting from Iowa when she spotted what she thought was a coyote sunning itself on a deck in north Berkeley on Thursday. Clearly, the local wildlife is feeling comfortable in the urban environment — some would say making itself a little too much at home. Here at Berkeleyside, we’re not naturalists enough to provide a definitive identification of the animal. Is it a coyote or a fox? Let us know. … Continue reading »
Deer fawns make themselves at home on Berkeley street
A doe took her two fawns for a stroll Sunday afternoon on Tacoma Avenue. Lauren Richmond, who took the photographs here, said they appeared to be remarkably relaxed given that they were grazing in a built-up, urban environment.
Earlier this month there were reports of deer charging at pedestrians and their dogs in Berkeley. … Continue reading »
Berkeleyans come out in force to view eclipse of the sun
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Berkeley residents are interested, and engaged in, the environment around them. Thus many of us could be found peering at the sun yesterday evening, either through special eclipse glasses or using the time-tested pinhole method, in order to witness the partial eclipse of the sun while it was visible from our perch on the planet.
We bring you a selection of the remarkable images that resulted from a group of Berkeleyside readers.
A spectacular sight: Berkeley shoots the supermoon
Why are we not surprised that this weekend’s supermoon brought out the photographically talented among our readers? Berkeleyans are blessed with a natural curiosity, be it intellectual or for the environment that surrounds us — and clear skies on the night of May 5th allowed for some spectacular views of the special lunar phenomenon.
According to Wikipedia, a supermoon is “the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, or perigee, leading to the technical name for a supermoon of the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system.”
Berkeley owl chick will soon branch out, says expert
The owl chick that has been drawing crowds of fascinated adults and children to Berkeley’s Claremont Canyon trail, where its parents made a nest in a Eucalyptus tree some weeks ago, will soon began to “branch out” and explore its surroundings before making its first flight, says Doug Bell, Wildlife Progam Manager at East Bay Regional Parks.
Great Horned Owls are unusual among raptors in that they go through this development phase which involves “branching”, namely scrambling around nearby branches using a particular legs and wings action. The explorations can get the chicks into trouble, said Bell, as they might get clumsy and fall out of the tree.
Bell urges people who are visiting the Claremont trail to keep their distance and be respectful of the owls and their chick. “We would encourage people to give them space and to keep their dogs on leash,” he said. … Continue reading »
Photos: Baby owl on Berkeley trail is growing up fast
The Great Horned Owl nest on the Claremont Canyon fire trail has been a source of great interest for hikers, birders and, yes, Berkeleyside readers.
We first reported on the nest on March 12 when we received reports of the parent owls diving down on unleashed dogs on the trail. In early April we published photos of a new arrival in the Eucalyptus tree: a fluffy white owl chick, being zealously guarded by its parents.
Now we have the privilege of sharing these wonderful photographs posted onto our Flickr pool by prettiephotos. As is clear, the young owl is developing rapidly, getting bigger by the day and sprouting grown-up feathers. And — squeamish alert — nourishment is being brought in by the ever nurturing parents. … Continue reading »
In Tilden Park’s Jewel Lake: Spotting a rare river otter
By Elaine Miller Bond
Camera in hand, Jen Joynt goes out to Bay Area parks, “looking for excitement.”
On a day last winter she started from the Tilden Nature Area, just looking for what she could see. She hiked up Wildcat Peak, where she found and photographed a pair of coyotes. As she headed back, she happened to meet birdwatchers she knew from previous outings. And they turned her afternoon of picture-taking into a brush with Tilden history: they asked if she had seen the otter.
“Oh no, I hadn’t seen the otter!”
Joynt’s mind went to the Tilden otters from two years ago — four of them observed for about a week in 2009. Prior to that, river otters had last been sighted in Tilden, according to park records, during the 1940s. … Continue reading »
