Palos Verdes-South Bay Sierra Club
Category: Wildlife
What did I see? What did I smell?: The Lives of Darkling Beetles
What’s that dark, shiny thing crawling under the buckwheat?
Read MoreSee a Reggie? Tell the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
By Gwendolyn Henry Have you ever seen or encountered wildlife and wanted to report it to CDFW online? You can using the Wildlife Incident Reporting (WIR) system! Reports made using the WIR system aid CDFW’s research and add to statistics…
Read MoreThe Island Fox: The Little Mammal with the Big Job
A distinct subspecies of island fox developed on each of six California Channel Islands. Photo: Santa Cruz Island Foxes. Paul Blieden
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Raptor Rapture
Volunteers tracking individual raptor nests over years build a picture of how human activity is impacting wildlife.
Read MoreCalifornia Brown Pelican: Mysterious Deaths Despite DDT Ban
The continuing saga of the California brown pelican. Photo: Beverly Gates
Read MoreAlong the Path
Native bees are much more efficient than honey bees because they have evolved with native flowers.
Read MorePlant Poaching, Illegal Exporting Rings, and the Endangered Dudleya Succulents
Photo of Dudleya virens by Dieter Wilkens.
Read MoreOur Window into the Marine World: Tidepools
Without scuba gear we can explore the marine world in tidepools.
Read MoreHabitat, Habitat, Have to Have a Habitat…
Coastal sage scrub is one of the most threatened habitats in the country.
Read MoreLand and Sea Is the Life for Me:
Northern elephant seals spend up to 86% of their time at sea submerged, taking dives of 20-25 minutes on average.
Read MoreFabulous, Fantastic Feathers
From T. rex to hummingbirds, feathers are more than just fluff.
Read MoreClose Encounters of the Wild Kind
Photographer Bev Gates chanced upon this fox in Palos Verdes Estates.
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Virtual Social Hour: Giving Injured Marine Mammals a Second Chance
An illustrated talk by Dave Bader of the Marine Mammals Care Center
Read MoreWildlife of the Angeles National Forest Captured by Photographer Robert Martinez
April 25, Robert Martinez presents Wildlife of the Angeles National Forest
Photo copyright Robert Martinez
Madrona Marsh Preserve: A Refuge from the Storm
Some places carry a timeless quality. Explore Madrona Marsh with us.
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Watching and Listening to Birds—Just What the Doctor Ordered!
By Susan Rothrock Deo Have you found yourself listening to the birds singing more since the pandemic started? You are not alone, and it’s not just because there are fewer human-caused sounds since we are home more. According to Mary…
Read MoreLizard Love
By Susan Rothrock Deo Walking my dog in early April, I found this pair of southern alligator lizards, Elgaria multicarinata, on a neighboring block. I watched them for several minutes and they didn’t move. I wasn’t sure what they were…
Read MoreState allows power plants to continue harmful cooling method
By Melanie Cohen, Environmental Co-Chair In 2010, after decades of complaints from environmentalists, California water regulators ordered 19 coastal power plants to phase out a cooling process that is blamed for killing billions of marine organisms every year. In “once-through…
Read MoreAlong the Path: Our Prickly Neighbors and Their Friends
An introduction to the cacti down the street
Read MoreAlong the Path: The El Segundo Blue Returns
By Susan Rothrock Deo Slideshow: 1-4 Tracy Drake, 5 Eva Cicoria, 6 Susan Deo, 7 Paul Blieden I scanned the prolific clusters of flowers, scattered like pink tinged cotton balls, across the bushy plant. The plant was maybe three feet…
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Invisible Friends
Text and photographs by Emile Fiesler Gardeners encounter numerous animals that enjoy feeding on the plants in their gardens. These animals are typically labeled “pests.” There are other animals that prey on these pests, and these are typically labeled “beneficial.” …
Read MoreAlong the Path: A Young Person’s Guide to Exploring Nature – Music in the Air
By Susan Rothrock Deo …
Read MoreAlong the Path — Nature Close to Home: Entertaining and Enlightening
Story and Photos By Susan Rothrock Deo Greetings from the depths of our “Corona Spring.” None of us can predict what things will look like by the time you read this newsletter. We can only practice our best social distancing…
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The Gnatcatcher Saves Coastal Habitat
By Barbara Dye, former Executive Director of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy The Rancho Palos Verdes Natural Communities Conservation Plan (NCCP), which gave us the nature preserve, all started because of a small, gray bird, the coastal California gnatcatcher,…
Read MoreAlong the Path: A Wonderful Bird is the Pelican
By Susan Rothrock Deo A Wonderful Bird Is the Pelican/ His bill can hold more than his belican. [from a limerick by Dixon Lanier Merritt] We watch them floating in formation along the coast, or they watch us…
Read MoreWhale of a Day
The Rancho Palos Verdes annual Whale of a Day celebration will be held on Saturday, April 18, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The event is free to the public. There are activities for children ~ face painting, children’s crafts, small…
Read MoreThe Wanderer with Purpose
Along the Path: A Young Person’s Guide to Exploring Nature By Susan Rothrock Deo I love to go a-wandering/ Along the mountain track/ And as I go, I love to sing/ My knapsack on my back. Do you like to…
Read MoreAlong the Path: Soaring Free – The Red Tailed Hawk
By Susan Rothrock Deo (Soaring hawk photo by Ashok Khosla) “Keee. Keeeee.” The shrill call pierced the air. Three red tailed hawks soared over the canyon, their pale, brick-red tails glinting like stained glass….
Read MoreUp Against the Wall
By Judy Herman and Melanie Cohen Children torn from their mothers’ arms, caged and left to sleep on concrete floors where bright lights glare around the clock. You’ve heard how the current U.S. border policy tramples human rights, but do…
Read MoreMisadventures in the Skin Trade
By Dave Wiggins, Conservation Co-Chair Habitat destruction caused by agricultural devel- opment and mineral extraction? Entire ecosys- tems altered, perhaps permanently, by advanc- ing climate changes brought on by greenhouse gas emissions? These are of course very real threats to…
Read MoreAlong the Path:
A Young Person’s Guide to Exploring Nature By Susan Rothrock Deo How Did THAT Get There: Pt. 2: Animals The first time I heard a peacock, we were visiting my husband’s family in India. Their calls here in Palos Verdes…
Read MorePaddle out Plastic
By Eva Cicoria What comes to mind when you think of a port? Boats, barges, cargo, cranes? What about sea life? In LA Harbor, as I’ve discovered over years kayaking there, you’ll find
Read MoreLinks of Interest
The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Republican-controlled refinery committee voted 3-2 to support an industry-backed alternative. Los Angeles Times Bald eagle chick webcam Daily News The clean cars you don’t see in TV ads Daily News
Read MoreCadiz Plan Threatens Desert Wildlife and South Bay Drinking Water
By John Monsen, Angeles Chapter Water Committee Cadiz, Inc. is a corporate water speculator proposing one of the most destructive projects ever conceived for our Southern California deserts. Defying logic and ignoring the damage it would cause, Cadiz plans to…
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