Come to this tribute to Ray Bandar at the San Francisco Public Library.
He’s been called Dr. Bones and Reptile Ray. Usually dressed in tattered “field-trip” clothes, Ray Bandar was a fixture at the California Academy of Sciences and the beaches around the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 60 years.
Ray passed away peacefully in his home on December 23 of congestive heart failure. This showing is a tribute to his life’s work.
The summer of 2017 is turning out to be a Humpback whale extravaganza in the San Francisco Bay. Yesterday, I saw five whales spouting, breaching and eating for about two hours. With wildlife so close to our urban world, who doesn’t want to marvel at these behemoths jumping out of the water? While theyContinueContinue reading “Comment Now to Keep our Underwater Sanctuaries Safe”
This time of the year, California is a stop-over point for birds heading down to their wintering range. Watching birds fly in groups over the ocean or land is a spectacle of beauty that I seek out each year. This past weekend, I headed over to a brickyard in San Rafael, where Vaux Swifts stop off for a coupleContinueContinue reading “Keeping an Eye Out for Birds”
Anyone who’s traveled to Point Reyes more than once realizes that the weather is completely unpredictable. This is my fourth year as a docent, and still can’t predict how the weather will play out during the day. I always bring four layers of clothing, including long underwear, fleece, my Gore-Tex jacket and some mittens. ButContinueContinue reading “California Winter Wildlife Are Here”
On Thursday, May 16, the Skulls exhibit will open at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The exhibit features a collection of skulls that will provide a fascinating look into nature’s engineering while telling us all about the lifestyle of many animals. Perhaps as fascinating (if not more) is the story of the manContinueContinue reading “Bandar’s Bones Return”
The photographs below are a small sampling of the various birds who’ve passed through my backyard during this past fall. Dark-eyed Juncos and Scrub Jays mix with the House Finches and Sparrows. The Birdcam is a lot of fun because you never know when it will catch that suspicious cat or rodent passing bye.
Seeing chimps in the wild was the main reason that I came on this trip to Uganda. I have had a fascination with chimps since I discovered how closely our social networks are to theirs. Really, Facebook is a glorified Pant-Hoot, the vocalization chimps make to one another. Many of us humans tend to cryContinueContinue reading “Tracking the Sonso Community of Chimps”
One of our roles on this Earthwatch expedition is to help with the Phrenology project, where they are studying how trees are budding, blooming and fruiting. The long term goal is to understand what is happening in the Budongo Rain Forest and to understand what is causing the changes, such as dwindling pollinators or climateContinueContinue reading “The Ugandan Tree Phrenology Project”
I have seen more non-human primates on The Budongo Forest Reserve here in northwestern Uganda than humans so far with Baboons, Black and White Colobus monkeys and Blue monkeys and even a group of about 10 very boisterous chimps visiting early one morning. Budongo has what brings many people to a home: good food. FigsContinueContinue reading “In the Budongo Forest Reserve”
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