“Every release is so rejuvenating. When birds go back into the wild it makes what we do all worthwhile. It never gets old,” says Mairead McGuirk a volunteer at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro that has been rescuing, rehabbing and releasing birds for more than 40 years. On a warm afternoon, a crowd […]
Mouse in the house? How about 50? That’s the number of endangered Pacific pocket mice that will soon be relocated into an area of Laguna Coast Wilderness Park in Orange County, the first ever relocation of the adorable little mammal that makes underground homes. The Pacific pocket mouse recovery program is managed by staff at […]
To celebrate a milestone in a species recovery, the folks at NOAA’s Montrose Settlement’s Restoration Project are looking for a perfect name for the 100th naturally-hatched bald eagle chick that will fledge on the Channel Islands. The birds are the subject of a popular live webcam that’s been recording the eagle’s life from egg […]
Got hawk eyes? How about owl eyes? The Friends of Griffith Park is hosting its second Raptor Study that will help biologists understand better urban winged predators. Volunteers will monitor nests in Griffith Park as well as the surrounding areas including the Pasadena/Arroyo Seco area and the central Santa Monica Mtns./San Fernando Valley west of the […]
A documentary movie, an active social media presence, adoring fans and worldwide recognition –is there anything left for Griffith’s Park mountain lion known as P-22 to conquer? How about a museum exhibit that features the life and times of L.A.’s urban nature icon? Opening this weekend at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County […]
Birders are asked to keep an eye out for the pin-tailed whydah, a pretty songbird native to sub-Saharan Africa, which could be making its way to Southern California – which could spell trouble for native songbirds. Prized as pets, especially when the males grow their long tail feathers during the breeding season, the birds have […]
A large number of beached sick and emaciated seabirds are being rescued along Santa Barbara’s coastline. More than 40 birds – especially red-throated and Pacific loons – have arrived at the International Bird Rescue facility in San Pedro through the help of the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network. It’s unclear what is causing such bird […]
Watch out. There are more arms, legs and tentacles in the oceans these days. The number of cephalopods (octopus, cuttlefish and squid) has increased in the world’s oceans over the past 60 years, say scientists at the University of Adelaide. Researchers from the University’s Environment Institute recently compiled an international database of cephalopod catch rates […]
They will have to fly it alone. The San Bernardino flying squirrel does not require protection under the Endangered Species Act, announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently. The USFW conducted a status review for this small tree-dwelling mammal that lives in the forest canopies of the San Bernardino Mountains; they determined that the […]
First it was venomous yellow bellied sea snakes washing up on our Southern California coastlines, but now a more docile but equally rare critter was recently spotted by a diver off the waters below Alamitos Bay. The Long Beach Press Enterprise reports that diver Roger Hanson saw and subsequently captured an image of Pacific seahorse, […]
How many times have you bent over to pick up a feather and thought: “Gee, which bird dropped this?” “Why aren’t I better at bird identification?” “What is the matter with me?” The folks at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can help you with some of those questions with its online Feather Atlas, a […]
We see ‘em everywhere these days. Sometimes they are as familiar as squirrels or finches. But rest assured, coyotes are indeed a different kind of animal. Discovering how coyotes survive in an intensively urbanized area is the goal of a new research project by the National Parks Service which has been studying carnivores in and […]