Our trip to the Farallon Islands was certainly eventful: seasickness (me), bug bites (me) and immersion in one of the most unique wildlife habitats in the world (which made it all worth it). This chain of windblown rocks, about 27 miles from San Francisco, is teeming with 300,000 seabirds in the spring and summer.

The noise of all these nesting and breeding birds is almost overwhelming (check out the slideshow below for a firsthand look), but these birds speak for a lot more than themselves. Our guides, PRBO Conservation Science, have been studying these birds for 40 years. As Biologist Russell Bradley explained, these seabirds are environmental samplers. In order to raise their chicks, they depend on the food web that blooms in the spring when coastal upwelling brings nutrient-rich water to the surface. If that is disrupted or delayed, the first place scientists will see it is in these bird populations, who will either have poor or non-existent breeding seasons.

Those changes in the upwelling patterns can be due to natural variability in the system. But increasing, scientists are asking whether the changes are due to climate change. That's not an easy question to answer. There are a lot of different factors in the mix.

I spoke with Zack Powell, a professor at UC Berkeley who studies climate and upwelling, and he said it all comes down to the timing of natural cycles. First, there's El Nino – where warm water spreads across the equator and heads up the California coast. That can happen every two to seven years and when it does, it acts a barrier to upwelling, interfering with the marine food web. Scientists recently confirmed that El Nino will return this year.

Looking at changes on a longer time frame, there's the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. It's a pattern of ocean warming and cooling that can last 30 years. Powell says it can also have an effect on marine life and fisheries.

And finally, there's climate change, which comparably may cause changes on the longest time frame. Powell says there's about 100 years of historical data about the ocean conditions off the California coast and it's not much when looking at such long-lived patterns. Powell and others work on climate modeling to help answer these questions. Some of the models show that the seasonal winds may become stronger, meaning upwelling patterns could be altered. And ocean temperatures could rise significantly, changing the way warmer surface water and nutrient-rich deep water mix.

Powell says right now his focus is the granularity of the climate models. They simply can't predict changes on a small geographic scale. "For most models, the smallest footprint is about 100km and all the upwelling takes place closer to shore than that." But he's hoping there will be drastic improvements over the next few years. And if extreme changes do take place, for whatever reason, the birds will certainly tell us.

Listen to the Journey to the Farallones radio report online, and check out our Farallon Islands Interactive Map for the sights and sounds of the island. Or watch the audio slideshow below for a first-hand look.

Searching for tadpoles in Arroyo Viejo Creek at the Oakland Zoo.

It Day #2 of Nature Play, a new Oakland Zoo ZooCamp program that I have been assigned to teach. I know all about “Nature Deficit Disorder” and “No Child Left Inside”. I have read “Last Child in the Woods” and even blogged about the issues, but now I find myself out in nature with 12 curious and excited children, and I have no idea what will happen.

Nature Play was created in response to childrens’ desire to experience true nature – to look up at trees, observe tadpoles and connect with wildlife in their own backyard. The idea behind Nature Play is to offer the campers supervised and loosely facilitated exploration outdoors that is self directed.

Parents were so game to give these simple pleasures to their children, this program sold out.

Now, here we are. Our afternoon agenda is creek time and fort building. It is a beautiful afternoon at Arroyo Viejo Creek, a small tributary that runs through the zoo grounds. Though there are tigers, lions and elephants close by, this is where the campers are most excited to be. I have given minimal direction: look, listen, smell and feel, and record something in your nature journal. They have nets, jars, binoculars and wildlife guides, and one hour.

Immediately the group swarms to their favorite spot that they discovered yesterday. It is near one of the outdoor classrooms and features a giant, ground-leaning willow tree to crawl under, two logs that rest across the creek to climb over and water loaded with tadpoles and water gliders. I watch and listen myself.

“There are 1000 water striders here! They are riding on top of each other.” “No, that is a shadow”. “I am crossing the log by scootching” “I will help you”. “I found a secret trail!” “I am putting this leaf in my journal”. “I can write with a rock.” “I heard a frog!” I am a frog!” “The sun makes me silly and happy.” “I see tadpoles!” “Let’s call this place Willow Cove.” “I don’t want to go home.”

A few things amazed me about this hour. One, they were never bored. They went on and on with their play and exploration in this small area with gusto the entire time. They were imaginative, inventive and stimulated. Two, they learned. They learned that frogs are quiet when they are noisy. They learned that they could balance better holding their arms out. They did not need my fascinating animal facts to gain knowledge. Three, they truly and intuitively cared about the habitat. They picked up a couple of pieces of garbage, told each other not to handle amphibians and put rocks back where they found them without being told. Four, and most interestingly, they got along fantastically. Earlier in the day there were a few squabbles over this or that, but out here, they helped each other, supported each other and shared the nets like pros. They seemed to be at peace.

A little later at Fort Building, the group divided into two as they followed two natural leaders and their fort visions. As we debriefed about the two forts, they came to the conclusion (themselves) that tomorrow they should build one fort with all the materials, then sit in it and tell stories about animals.

I saw it all with my own eyes. This nature stuff works. Now this explorer is going to sleep. I am exhausted!

A pure beauty — your friendly Cathartes aura. a.k.a Turkey VultureArriving at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, one of the first things you see is actually outside – the Turkey vulture. Now, a vulture isn’t what typically comes to mind for making a good first impression. But this bird is absolutely gorgeous, and unbelievably interesting; we instantly fell in love.

When most people hear vulture, they think of a big ugly bird found in the desert, waiting for something to die, circling, circling… In reality, the Turkey Vulture is a local species, and is one of the more common birds we see soaring the skies of the Bay Area.

While we interviewed Dawn Manning about the Turkey Vulture, there were quite a few "colorful" facts we learned: The Turkey Vulture has no vocal organs – they can only grunt or hiss, although they usually stay silent. They do not build nests – they lay their eggs directly on the ground in caves, crevices, burrows, hollow logs, under fallen trees, or even in abandoned buildings. While they have few natural predators, their main form of defense is vomiting. The foul smelling substance deters most creatures, and will also sting if the offending animal is close enough to get it on them.

Luckily, this pretty lady didn’t seem to mind the camera and all the people; I might even go as far as saying she enjoyed the attention. You never know… yesterday, a wildlife ambassador; today, a star on QUEST; tomorrow, a Hollywood superstar??

Take a visit to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, and say hello to the Turkey Vulture – some day you might be able to say, "I knew her when…!"

Watch "Cool Critters: Turkey Vultures" online.

The Farallones consist of a group of rocky islands that are 28 miles North of San Francisco Bay.A national wildlife refuge just outside the San Francisco Bay is now under surveillance! The California Academy of Sciences in partnership with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and PRBO Conservation Science has installed a web camera on the Farallon Islands.

The Northern Farallones were originally granted protection by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1909. However, these islands were not always protected. Human consumption decimated many populations, some never to return. The demand for fur, oil and meat devastated the elephant and fur seal population. By 1900, the robust Common Murre population dwindled down to a few thousand because of the demand for Murre eggs.

Today, the Islands are further protected under the Marine Life Protection Act and the Farallones are also deemed a state marine conservation area. The majority of visitors of the human persuasion are not allowed access to the islands as they would upset the balance of the largest seabird breeding colony in the United States. Those humans that do frequent the island include wildlife biologists and land managers who are conducting wildlife research.

PRBO Conversation Science has been a local on the island day and night conducting research and monitoring the natives. The webcam helps their cause by collecting scientific data from a remote location. The camera enables biologists to observe without disturbing wildlife or incurring adverse environmental impact.

The water surrounding the islands makes this an ideal stomping ground for marine life and seabirds alike. Coastal upwelling takes place in the spring around the islands. The Coriolis Effect along the coast drives surface waters away from the coast; this water is then replaced with the denser waters from below. Within the deeper waters is a wealth of nutrients that are photosynthesized into dense blooms of plant plankton when exposed to the sun. This energizes the marine food chain as the plant plankton is eaten by krill. Krill is then made available to eat for fish, birds, and marine mammals. It does not only feed surrounding wildlife but growing human populations as well. The most productive fisheries in the world are supported by coastal upwelling. Given the location and the diversity of wildlife, the Farallones is well worth protecting.

The webcam not only aids research; it assuages curiosity. Anyone can pilot the camera. A panoramic view of the island is set up for the user to navigate and explore. Field guides and information on the project are also given on the site to reference observations.

Lions and humans are in conflict in the wild parks of Uganda

Last October, I gazed out at the expanse of Queen Elizabeth Park, in Uganda, close to the comfy Mweya Safari Lodge where we were staying. The landscape was beautiful, peaceful…and kind of empty. Though we had seen a large and lovely herd of elephants the evening before, on this fine, clear morning, the habitat was clearly missing one of the most important parts of the eco-system: predators. All we could find were tracks.

We gazed down at the enormous cat foot prints, still clearly cut into the mud, and looked to Dr. Ludwig Siefert, a Makerere University lecturer, lion ecologist and our guide for the day. He explained the situation to us: The footprints belonged to a lovely female lioness who was clearly recently here, and tragically was no longer. This lioness, like many other predators in the area, had met a painful death by poison.

Later that day, we came across 3 juvenile lions, scruffy and likely to be hungry; they had lost their chief bread winner.

Our night drive also proved surprisingly empty. Dr. Siefert and his team sent hyena calls into the starry night, only to receive a quiet response. Eventually we saw four hyenas. Great news, except that our teen trip in July had observed thirty of them. It seemed likely that many hyenas were killed in the three months that had passed since then. This is not what we expected when we came to Uganda.

But we could guess what had happened to all these predators. Local Basongora herdsmen, or pastoralists, choose to graze their cattle inside the park, although they have access to lush pasture outside the park. The lions, searching for food, find cattle grazing in their habitat and naturally do what a lion does: have lunch. The Basongora solution for lions, leopards and hyenas that prey on their livelihood: put poison on carcasses and leave them as bait. The poison often includes furadan, an agro-chemical which causes a painful and not so quick death.

Death of magnificent predators is not the only issue with the practice. Eventually the hotels, restaurants and tour companies will face a loss of tourists.

The planet faces many cases of human-wildlife conflict, especially as the human population grows, habitats shrink and humans and animals are forced to live even closer to each other. Yet there are quite a few inspiring examples of solutions that honor the fact that all parties, human and non-human, must be granted health, space and means to eat. Other African countries are finding solutions to similar problems. When all parties work together, there are indeed solutions.

It is our hope that the ecologists, pastoralists, park rangers and predators find one in Queen Elizabeth Park. We sure would like to return.

To contact Dr. Siefert and support his work: lion@vetmed.mak.ac.ug.

Dr. Lucy Spellman explains the plan for gorilla check-ups

Forgive me for being Gorilla-Crazy and writing yet another blog about these creatures, but anyone who has completed a gorilla trek understands the obsession and concern. One issue: We make them sick.

As gorillas share 97.7% of our genes, it is easy for pathogens to pass from us to them. These days, humans spend a lot of time in close proximity to the 740 remaining Mountain Gorillas. As the gorilla tourism industry continues to grow and thrive, researchers, trackers, tourists, guides, porters (and even poachers) crawl closer and closer. Though the industry promotes conservation and brings income to communities, it also brings illness to gorillas. The animals have little resistance to diseases we may carry (including scabies, polio, influenza, measles, and pneumonia), and when one gorilla picks up something, it can spread to an entire troupe, potentially leading to death.

The Mountain Gorilla Vet Project (MGVP) aims to alleviate these symptoms of the human invasion. The vets and researchers cover most of the home of the Mountain Gorillas — the Virunga Mountains, in Uganda, Rwanda and the Congo — with a headquarters in Ruhengeri, Rwanda. Our traveling group was fortunate enough to visit the headquarters and learn directly from Dr. Lucy Spellman. There is a lot to learn about the process of gorilla healing!

The first step is identifying the disease, which is no easy task. Staff must climb the mountain and find gorilla saliva samples. Back at the lab, they aim to not only ID the disease, but find out where it originated. It might be bacteria in the forest from humans, or mites from a farmer's fields. Once they've made a diagnosis, the vets are then allowed to carefully treat the gorillas in the park. But prevention is the best medicine.

Strict park rules on visitation help. Tourists may only stay an hour and must keep a distance from the gorillas. Tourists are also asked to be clean and healthy when trekking, a small price to pay for an encounter of a lifetime!

The other preventative tactic is to care for the physical well-being of all stakeholders. The MGVP practices the One Health approach, an innovative campaign with the goal of good health for everyone: gorillas, humans and the ecosystem. Community clinics and education help build the foundations of this campaign, and it seems to be working, one person, tree and gorilla at a time.

I still recommend a visit with this majestic forest royalty. Just take your vitamin C before you go!

Credit: Felidae Foundation.

It's amazing that such large animals can live so near to urban areas and remain unseen – particularly since these animals inspire such fear and alarm whenever there is a reported sighting.

In a UC Davis study in Southern California, researchers found that humans and cougars live in close proximity to each other and often cover the same territory. And in Pacific Grove, near Monterey, cougars have been seen by police officers late at night on city streets.

In one unique incident in the Big Sur area, south of Monterey, a woman thought her dog was chewing something under her bed late one night. She shooed the animal out, smacked it on the rear end, and made it leave her bedroom – only to see a full-grown cougar stare back at her from her doorway.

These incidents are extremely rare. According to the California Department of Fish and Game, there have only been 14 mountain lion attacks in the past century. Most people don't see mountain lions. And in fact, wildlife officials say, almost all of the reported sightings of cougars are actually something else – dogs, bobcats, even deer. There was a report last year of a jogger in the Palo Alto hills being knocked over by a cougar, but that report was likely fabricated.  Humans might have a chance to spot a mountain lion only around dawn and dusk, officials say, and usually in remote areas at those times.

After California banned mountain lion hunting in 1990, the population doubled and possibly even tripled, according to state wildlife experts. But now, they say, those numbers have leveled off. Mountain lions are often killed by wildlife agencies when the big cats stray into urban areas. And many cougars die when they're hit by cars.

But the population remains relatively constant, at an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 animals in California. And that's because of their ability to remain almost invisible to humans.

Mountain lion hunters and researchers say that sometimes, even when a lion has been treed, even when the dogs are barking and other people are pointing to where the animal is, it can be hard to spot.

That's why they’re called the stealth predator. Now, researchers in the mountains above Silicon Valley are using new technology to learn more about these elusive animals.

Listen to the Tracking Urban Lions story online.

Areas where the oil spread after the spill. See this map and others.
November is the month when thousands of migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway make their stop in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's also the month when herring arrive in the Bay in gigantic schools – tons and tons of the tiny fish. It's the month when salmon make their way into the bay, on their way to spawn upriver.

And November's the month last year when the Cosco Busan crashed, leaking 53,000 gallons of black goo into San Francisco Bay.

So biologists will be particularly attentive this November, one year after the oil spill, to see if there's a noticeable dip in the numbers of herring in the Bay, or the number of migratory birds that alight here.

The number of birds harmed by the oil spill is not really known. More than 2,000 birds were killed – but those are simply the birds that were identified, not the total number. Since many dead birds in remote areas were never found, and since predators took away many of the hurt birds, the estimate for the total number of birds harmed by the spill is many times higher than that. So researchers are conducting experiments to determine a provable, scientific estimate of the number of birds killed or harmed by the oil spill.

According to California Fish and Game scientist Julie Yamomoto, it only takes a spot of oil the size of a nickel to harm a bird. It's not just uncomfortable, she says, it's actually lethal – because the oil is like a hole in a wetsuit, and birds that have been oiled become hypothermic. And they also lose buoyancy, so birds can actually sink and drown in the ocean.

All the experiments and data on habitats, fish, birds and other wildlife will be compiled into something called the Natural Resource Damage Assessment.

It's nicknamed NRDA (pronounced "nerd-a") and that's pretty apt. It's a little wonky, to say the least. The data is supposed to be completed by the end of next year, and then the NRDA report is expected to be compiled and submitted sometime in 2010.

Listen to the Oil Spill Anniversary radio report online.

This surprised me. By now, I am used to the usual suspects of species degradation: urban sprawl, loss of habitat, pollution, shrinking resources. Those are almost always given as the explanation for why a particular species is threatened or endangered.

Not so with the California condor. Those factors certainly put pressure on the condor to survive in California, but surprisingly, there is one factor that trumps all of those, according to wildlife biologists.

Lead bullets.

Not because condors are shot by guns with lead bullets – no, lead bullets are dangerous to condors because they eat them.

Condors are like vultures; they feed on carrion. Dead animals. And many animals in the wild die when they're shot by hunters. So when an animal is shot, and then gets away from the hunter before it dies, or when a hunter guts an animal in the field and leaves the remains behind, that meat has lead fragments in it. So it's easy for California condors to ingest lead, and that can be fatal.

Lead has been shown to be hazardous to humans in even small amounts. Condors weigh about 20 pounds, so it doesn't take much lead to harm them.

The state legislature passed a law in July that bans lead bullets from areas with condors, from the San Francisco Bay Area south to San Diego.

Hunters are reluctant to simply throw away all of their lead ammunition, though, to purchase copper bullets at a higher price. And many of them are unaware of the law – or unaware that the ammo they're using is lead. Many lead bullets are topped with copper, so they look like copper bullets. This not only makes it hard for hunters to identify which of their bullets are lead-based, but it makes it difficult for state parks rangers to identify them, as well.

Listen to the Condor Return radio report online.

Photo by: Melissa Batson

And how they put a snare in the plan for chimps and humans to live together.

In the Budongo Forests of Uganda, a large group of Chimpanzees, named by researchers The Sonso Group, attempt to thrive in their natural habitat, eating plants and small prey. At the same time, humans who live around the forest are also trying to survive, working at places like the local sugarcane plantation and living in straw and mud houses. For food, they set out into the forest with small snares and aim for duiker and or pig.

Most of these snares are made from wire. As chimpanzees walk through the forest, their hands or feet may become trapped in the snare. In two of the forests where chimpanzees are studied, researchers have observed up to 25 percent of chimpanzees are maimed due to snare injuries. More die.

This problem is typical all over the world. How do the chimps and people live together? How do elephants and people live together? Wolves and people? Mountain Lions and Bay Area people? Though solutions seem impossible at times, I am impressed by many of the solutions, one being that of the Budongo Snare Removal Project.

In January 2000, the Jane Goodall Institute in collaboration with the Budongo Forest Project initiated a snare removal program in the Budongo Forest Reserve. The objective is to reduce the number of snares set, reduce the number of animals caught in snares and traps, and increase the number of local people who obey wildlife laws and understand the need for protecting wildlife.

Teams of two men locate and remove snares. After the first year of operation, they found that the number of snares being set within the grid system of the research area dropped. The census teams found heavy poaching and illegal activities were being carried out in the southern end of the forest reserve, so the team near the research site extended their range.

A new education center reaches out to the local community and provides education around ecology, wildlife and the treasure that is the chimpanzees.

The Oakland Zoo adopted this project in 2001 and the support covers the salaries for four field assistants, two educators, two eco-guards, and allowances for transportation and bike repair, gum boots, rain gear, backpacks, and compasses.

Funds raised at an annual fall lecture and silent auction and on Primate Discovery Day go toward this project.This year’s Primate Day is September 27^th and the lecture, featuring Shirley McGreal, is on October 2^nd.

The Oakland Zoo also supports connection and awareness of this project by visiting the site in Uganda. Teens will be traveling there in July and adults will embark on the journey (including gorilla trecking) in October.

More spots are available on this once in a lifetime adventure. For details, email: amy@oaklandzoo.org.