14+ hour, 4+ min ago   (310+ words) Elegant terns arrive in big numbers at Crissy Marsh in San Francisco. Royal. Sandwich. Caspian. Elegant. These are the colorful names for different species of terns, some of San Francisco Bay’s most graceful seabirds. A wave of elegant terns — identifiable…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago   (757+ words) Bison at Hart Park as seen on Aug. 19, 2026. That’s by design. The park’s founder, William S. Hart, and even Walt Disney himself, would have wanted it that way. “Our animals all live really long lives because they just love living…...

3+ week, 2+ day ago   (1431+ words) Biocrusts both produce and reinforce soils, creating the foundation upon which everything else grows. It was well above 90 degrees the day I followed scientists out across the Needles district in Canyonlands National Park. As we stepped off the road, I…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago   (434+ words) A mountain lion looks at the camera as it climbs the hills near Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Pier and the Pacific Ocean. Sept. 23, 2023. Two mountain lions were killed on busy Los Angeles-area roadways within two days of each other…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago   (351+ words) FILE: A view of the beach in San Clemente, Calif., where birders have been scouring for a rare sight. A mysterious seabird swooping over the waters off San Clemente in recent weeks has wowed local birders. This species has likely…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago   (965+ words) But the longest-running Pacific Crest Trail closure, a 3.5-mile section in Angeles National Forest that’s been closed for over 20 years, isn’t the result of fires or floods or heavy snow. It’s to protect a tiny endangered frog. The 1.5- to 3-inch-long…...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago   (411+ words) FILE: Tortoiseshell butterfly pictured at close range. Exceptional. Magical. Healing. Santa Cruz area residents seemingly cannot stop posting positive adjectives about the unexpected wave of butterflies flooding their region. On Mother’s Day, the thick blanket of orange and brown butterflies…...

3+ mon, 4+ week ago   (207+ words) FILE: Deer are known to be strong swimmers, even in California waters. A video from a passenger on a San Francisco Ferry showed an unusual sight on the water this week: a deer swimming through the cold waters of the…...

4+ mon, 14+ hour ago   (1120+ words) At Keys View in Joshua National Park, a sign warns visitors about bees. On a Saturday morning in mid-April, driving into Joshua Tree National Park’s Ryan Campground, the scenery was striking: Giant, rounded boulders. Scurrying lizards. Spiky cholla cactus, shrubby…...

4+ mon, 6+ day ago   (514+ words) A microscopic view of Naegleria fowleri, the “brain-eating amoeba” that can cause a rare and usually fatal brain infection when contaminated water enters through the nose. A new federal study has found a rare but dangerous “brain-eating amoeba” in warm…...