Before his Feb. 1 appearance at the David Brower Center, we talked to Joe Riis, as well as a contributor to his new book, UC Berkeley’s Arthur Middleton.
Elaine Miller Bond
Elaine Miller Bond is an author and photographer whose work celebrates the natural world. She is the author/photographer of Running Wild and Living Wild, lively children’s board books from Heyday Books in Berkeley. She is also the photographer of The Utah Prairie Dog, a scientific book by Theodore Manno. Her writing and photography have appeared on the Discovery Channel and in Science, BBC Earth News, NPR online, and her favorite local news site, Berkeleyside. One of her recent Berkeleyside photo-essays, about monarch butterflies, went “viral” and was shared 21,000 times on Facebook. Another photo-essay, Sweetness & Light: Diary of a Hummingbird’s Nest, has been adapted into a children’s book, forthcoming from Heyday Books. See her website.
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When the new dogs in town are coyotes: Expert Camilla Fox on co-existing with them
With more local sightings, we quizzed coyote expert Camilla Fox who believes if we can shift the way we view and treat coyotes, we can shift the way we view and treat all wildlife.
Posted inNature
Exotic flowers bring startling color to UC Botanical Garden
Their color is spectacular, sublime, almost otherworldly. And it’s rarely seen in flowers. The teal-blue Puya berteroana are blooming again.
Posted inNature
Monarch butterflies and great ways we can help them
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). Photo: Elaine Miller Bond Last November, Berkeleyside published an article about a spectacular natural phenomenon seen in Berkeley for the first time: hundreds of monarch butterflies were clustering in the trees of Aquatic Park. This fall, thoughtful reader and independent gardener Toni Cox wrote to Berkeleyside, requesting that we create a […]
Posted inNature
First time observed: Hundreds of monarch butterflies cluster in Berkeley’s Aquatic Park
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in an ash tree in Berkeley’s Aquatic Park. Photo: Elaine Miller Bond In late October, Berkeleyside received a tip that thousands of tiny fish were jumping in the waters of Aquatic Park. Less than three weeks later, we received another “scoop” about the park that throngs of monarch butterflies were clustering […]
Posted inNature
Making a splash: Fish jumping in Berkeley’s Aquatic Park
Not a flying fish: This is a topsmelt, a common fish in our coastal estuaries. Photo: Elaine Miller Bond Dark clouds gathered last Tuesday morning, and many of us hoped for a storm. Yet, the not-so-still waters at Berkeley’s Aquatic Park didn’t roil from raindrops; they bubbled from thousands of small jumping fish. According to […]
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Sweetness and light: Diary from a hummingbird’s nest
March 2: An Anna’s hummingbird incubating eggs in her nest. Anna’s is one of the most common hummingbird species in coastal California. Photo: Elaine Miller Bond Have you ever had one of those days in which everything sparkles? For me, that day was March 1. It was my first day out on my own, following […]
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Flying high again: Golden eagle returns to East Bay skies
Meet the golden eagle, affectionately known to scientists as #1196_4376. Photo: Elaine Miller Bond Last September, while working on an article for Berkeleyside, I took a short trip to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek. My mission there was purely amphibious: to photograph western toads that the museum keeps on display. The toads were cute, […]
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Going green: Frog conservation finds new HQ in Berkeley
Predatory nonnative species, like this American bullfrog, count among the many threats to California’s native frogs. Photo: Elaine Miller Bond For a long time, I’ve wanted to write an article on frogs for Berkeleyside. In fact, my first “kiss” came from a frog in Tilden Park. It jumped to my lips as I drank water […]
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All aflutter: Berkeley insect lovers celebrate 40th year counting butterflies
Anise swallowtail butterfly: one of the 43 species spotted in and around Berkeley during the annual Butterfly Count. Photo: Elaine Miller Bond A hummingbird whirrs by, as a squirrel flicks its tail, flirting. A robin fluffs its feathers after bathing in the stream. Leopard lilies, columbines, even the cacti are in full summery bloom. But […]
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Friends in high places: Peregrine falcons soar above us
When diving through the air, peregrine falcons can attain speeds over 200 miles per hour. Photo: Elaine Miller Bond Not long ago, Berkeleyside reader Patrick Hickey kindly sent in a photo of a beautiful bird of prey, perched on a tall building near his home in downtown Berkeley. I had my own suspicions (and sense […]
Posted inNature
Darlings, not Draculas: Meet the bats of Berkeley
Pallid bat — one of the 14 native bat species that lives in or passes through Berkeley. Photo: Elaine Miller Bond Once you know what to look for, you might catch glimpses of California’s native bats, even around cities like Berkeley. I see bats near Tilden Park, flittering off into the dusk like tiny airborne […]
