Hummingbirds occur only in the New World. There are occasional reports of hummingbirds in Europe but they’re thought to be escaped from captivity. Fossilized skeletons of ancient hummingbirds were, however, found in Germany.
Pelicanorama
White Pelicans congregating, fishing and preening at the Baylands.
A Different Kind of Bear: Woolly
It’s sometimes hard to believe the stories about caterpillar swarms so large, their leaf crunching wakes people in the mornings …
To Sleep & Dream
Not in the Shakespearean sense . . .
Not the Easter Bunny
Those ears serve this Black-tailed Jackrabbit well. A jack will usually hear you coming long before you see him. And he can regulate blood flow in these ears to adjust for external temperatures. The Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) — any jackrabbit — is actually a hare, not a rabbit. This particular jackrabbit wasn’t keen on…
No Room at the Inn: A Quail’s Tale
Japanese Quail are known for shooting upward like missiles, and they can even kill themselves by hitting their noggins on hard surfaces. A Japanese Quail can shoot up and out through a space in the bag that’s narrower than my arm . . .
A [Still] Golden Autumn
I realize it’s still autumn. But does this look like December 5? Our trees are still crimson, gold and amber — attributed to minimal rain and a mild autumn. We’re bracing for a storm next week which might send these leaves tumbling. But for now, fall lingers just outside my door. These photos were taken…
Things to Know (and Love) About a Japanese Quail
He was misidentified but not forgotten — this lone Japanese Quail who fluttered his way into a wildlife hospital and then, into our hands and hearts. We gave him an appropriately Japanese name: “Mikiko” which, loosely translated, means “child of the tree.” A fellow volunteer pointed out that he is not, in fact, a child…
Triumph and Loss at the Albany Bulb
The Albany Bulb — long my favorite Bay Area example of decay and rebirth — is an artificial peninsula, created from years of dumping construction refuse into this part of the Bay. When the dumping stopped, nature took over.
Encounters With [the Elusive] California Beach Hopper
California Beach Hopper or Megalorchestia californiana As fleas go, they’re giants. Not giants in the sense of Bikini-Atoll-nuclear-mutant-gone-bad giants. But by flea standards, they’re positively huge — about 1 inch long. That’s probably because they’re not parasitic dog or cat fleas, but rather, amphipods — shrimp-like creatures who dine on organic matter at the outer…
