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* Birds Marbled Godwit

From Alaska

September 19, 2021September 19, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 50 Views 0 Comments Limosa fedoa

The godwit in the video captures first what looks like a small crab, and later some kind of worm. These

* Birds Mallard

Mixed Mallard

September 18, 2021September 9, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 47 Views Anas platyrhynchos

Photographer James Kusz spotted and photographed this extraordinary Mallard. It’s a white-breasted brown Mallard. Mallards are known for hybridizing with

* Herps Western Fence Lizard

Herp in Hole

September 17, 2021September 19, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 61 Views 0 Comments sceloporus occidentalis

This Western Fence Lizard and I surprised one another. It didn’t expect me and I didn’t expect it. We had

* Birds Great Blue Heron

Bluenotes

September 16, 2021September 4, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 54 Views 0 Comments Ardea herodias

I’ve filmed the Great Blue Heron a number of times here in the park, but I’ve never heard it vocalize.

* Events

Equinox Celebration Coming Up

September 15, 2021September 9, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 93 Views 0 Comments Autumn Equinox, Rabbi David Cooper

Autumn Equinox GatheringWednesday September 22, 6:15 – 7:15 pmSunset at 7:05Where: Solar Calendar at Cesar Chavez ParkLed by Rabbi David

* Birds Burrowing Owl Whimbrel

Not-Quite-So-Long-Bill

September 14, 2021September 14, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 49 Views 0 Comments Numenius phaeopus

The Long-Billed Curlew isn’t the only shorebird with a long curved bill. Photographer James Kusz caught these Whimbrel foraging in

* Birds Long-billed Curlew

Early Longbill

September 13, 2021September 2, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 52 Views 0 Comments Numenius americanus

Another early migrant, along with the Marbled Godwits, is this Long-billed Curlew. This one is likely to be a male.

* Birds Bushtit

Bugtits

September 12, 2021September 2, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 58 Views 0 Comments Psaltriparus minimus

I saw a handful of these little featherballs busy pecking in the crown of a fennel bush. How odd, I

* Birds Marbled Godwit

Early ‘Wits

September 11, 2021September 19, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 66 Views 0 Comments Limosa fedoa

The Golden Gate Audubon bird blog advised recently that the fall migration was starting early this year, and these Marbled

* Birds Double-crested Cormorant

Cormorant Commandos

September 10, 2021September 1, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 58 Views 0 Comments Nannopterum auritum

If I were a foot-long fish I think I’d have a better chance of survival with the water surface full

* Birds Great Blue Heron

Bird in Pipe

September 9, 2021September 1, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 66 Views 0 Comments Ardea herodias

Shortly after chasing away the Cormorant (“Bossy Blue,” September 4 2021) the Great Blue Heron stalked cautiously into the big

* Birds Black-crowned Night Heron

Young and Old

September 8, 2021September 1, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 69 Views 0 Comments Nycticorax nycticorax

Shooting video of a Black-crowned Night Heron is almost a total waste of pixels. The bird seems to surpass all

* Police and Fire

Wildfire Training

September 7, 2021August 24, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 63 Views 0 Comments

Ten new recruits to the Berkeley Fire Department worked to earn their wildfire certification during a training exercise in the

* Birdsfoot Trefoil Blanketflower Bristly Oxtongue Bugs Gum plant Long-horned Bee Wild Mustard Yellow-faced Bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii)

Late Summer Bloomers

September 6, 2021September 19, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 60 Views 0 Comments Bombus vosnesenskii, Foeniculum vulgare, Gaillardia aristata, grindelia stricta, Helminthotheca echioides, lotus corniculatus, Melissodes, Sinapis arvensis

Three bunches of this showy perennial appeared suddenly in the southeastern corner of the park, rising from trampled grasses in

* Birds Savannah Sparrow

Sad Savannah

September 5, 2021August 24, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 75 Views 0 Comments Passerculus sandwichensis

This Savannah Sparrow foraged for bugs, its favorite food, on the rocks on the east side of the park, just

* Birds Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret

Bossy Blue

September 4, 2021August 31, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 93 Views 1 Comment Ardea alba, Ardea herodias, Nannopterum auritum

Herons and cormorants have very different styles of hunting. The herons (and their family members, the egrets) stay mostly still

* California Fuchsia People Plants Volunteers

Stewards Eleven

September 3, 2021August 31, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 58 Views Bob Huttar, Epilobium canum

An able crew of eleven volunteers showed up for the Chavez Park Conservancy’s August 21 Stewardship Saturday for a morning

* Birds Great Egret

Loses Feather

September 2, 2021August 31, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 54 Views 1 Comment Ardea alba

This might not be the most dramatic event in a bird’s life or in a nature watcher’s experience. But, while

* General

Back from Molt

September 1, 2021September 1, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 45 Views 2 Comments

After a month-long molting period in August, this website is back. Daily blog posts at 5 pm will resume tomorrow.

* General

Site in Molt

August 1, 2021July 28, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 80 Views 3 Comments vacation

Many birds molt in August. They withdraw from their usual haunts to a private place, lose most or all of

* Birds California Towhee

Towhee at Work

July 31, 2021July 23, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 85 Views 0 Comments Melozone crissalis

This California Towhee was foraging in its usual way, on the ground, looking for seeds, sometimes scratching with both feet

* American Coot Birds

Lone Coot

July 30, 2021July 22, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 77 Views 0 Comments Fulica americana

Earlier in the summer — or late in the spring — I reported on birds that had missed the migration

* Ants Birds Black Oystercatcher Bugs

Ants on Bird

July 29, 2021July 22, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 131 Views 1 Comment Haematopus bachmani

I was watching this solo Black Oystercatcher on a rock off the east side of the seasonal Burrowing Owl sanctuary.

* Bugs Western Yellowjacket

Bug Day (22): Western Yellowjacket

July 28, 2021July 22, 2021 Marty Nicolaus 92 Views 0 Comments Vespula pensylvanica)

The fennel in many spots has reached the peak of its flowering, offering a bounty of pollen to all takers.

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