A burrowing owl near the Tom Bates/Gilman sports fields in Berkeley on Saturday Feb. 9. Photo: Greg Merritt 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 […]
Birds
Posted inNature
How the Barn Owl became Berkeley’s official bird
The Barn Owl is the official bird of Berkeley. Photo: Bob Lewis 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 […]
Posted inNature
Christmas Bird Count is not just for the birds
Janet Bodie, Rick Lewis and Steve Wiel look for birds at the Golden Gate Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count. Photo: Ilana DeBare Janet Bodie, Rick Lewis and Steve Wiel look for birds at the Golden Gate Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count. Photo: Ilana DeBare By Ilana DeBare Maureen Lahiff treks across the UC […]
Posted inNature
Rare bluebird sightings bring happiness in a Berkeley park
Rarely spotted in cities, western bluebirds require cavities in which to nest and large, irrigated lawns, like athletic fields, which teem with worms and insects. Photo: Elaine Miller Bond Birds are singing. Children are laughing and playing in patches of sunlight. And I am strolling through large fields of grass here at Berkeley’s San Pablo […]
Posted inNature
Berkeley owl chick will soon branch out, says expert
The Great Horned Owl chick in its nest on the Claremont Canyon fire trail on April 24. Photo: Lee Aurich 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 […]
Posted inNature
Photos: Baby owl on Berkeley trail is growing up fast
The Great Horned Owl chick in its nest in a Eucalyptus tree on Berkeley’s Claremont Canyon trail is maturing rapidly. Photos: prettiephotos The Great Horned Owl chick in its nest in a Eucalyptus tree on Berkeley’s Claremont Canyon trail is maturing rapidly. Photos: prettiephotos The Great Horned Owl nest on the Claremont Canyon fire trail […]
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Berkeley owl family grows, more reports of dog swoops
A nest of owls in a Eucalyptus tree on Berkeley’s Claremont Canyon trail has attracted a lot of attention. Photos: Charlie Benton A nest of owls in a Eucalyptus tree on Berkeley’s Claremont Canyon trail has attracted a lot of attention. Photos: Charlie Benton Last month we brought you news of a pair of Great […]
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Burrowing owls, and docents, return to Berkeley park
One of five burrowing owls that have been documented at Cesar Chavez Park. Photo: Doug Donaldson One of five burrowing owls that have been documented at Cesar Chavez Park. Photo: Doug Donaldson By Ilana DeBare Most people go to Cesar Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina to walk dogs, fly kites or stroll kids. Karen […]
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Pacific Flyway Survey comes to Berkeley’s Aquatic Park
Migratory shorebirds arrive at Aquatic Park on November 22, 2011. Photos: Chris Hammond By Chris Hammond At Berkeley’s Aquatic Park, Mike Perlmutter bent over his bird-watching telescope, intent on finding more of the birds he’s seen in years past. The traffic on highway 580/80 roared behind him. A freight train pulling empty container cars clickity-clacked […]
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Look who’s on Hillcrest
Barn owls roosting in a palm tree in a front yard on Hillcrest. Photo: Lee Aurich Berkeleysider Lee Aurich sent in some vivid photos of a family of barn owls roosting in a palm tree on Hillcrest Road in the Claremont Uplands neighborhood. (We thought “Hoo’s on Hillcrest?” would be a great headline, but birders […]
Posted inCity, Nature
On the agenda: Berkeley City matters
Decisions, decisions. Highlights from the agenda for tonight’s City Council meeting: Whether to restrict official travel to Arizona and cancel contracts with businesses there in reaction to that state’s recently passed law allowing police to question and detain people they think are in the U.S. illegally. Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco have already have passed measures aimed […]
Posted inNature
Counting crows … and robins and warblers and …
Today was the annual East Bay Christmas Bird Count, sponsored in Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco by the Golden Gate Audubon Society.
