Well-known to nature lovers, the Marin coast is one of the Bay Area’s natural and cultural treasures. This day trip to the secluded village of Bolinas will demonstrate why: the soaring Bolinas Ridge and the pristine Pacific coastline, thick coastal … Continue reading
This wildlife preserve in the San Joaquin Valley totals more than 50,000 acres of marshes and riparian woodlands, and provides one of the greatest wildlife spectacles still found in California. In the winter, the marshes hold countless thousands of geese, … Continue reading
We return to early frontier California at Rush Ranch, part of the Grizzly Island Wildlife Area near Fairfield. This is a Gold Rush-era farm complete with horse corrals and old barns, set within 2,000 acres of grasslands and marshes. The land … Continue reading
At Las Gallinas, hundreds of acres of grasslands, ponds and marshes extend from a small water treatment facility. The marshes recede in all directions for hundreds of yards, and are surrounded by the beautiful hills of Marin. Acre for acre, … Continue reading
This tour will highlight several beautiful locations: Winters, a charming valley town, the Davis Raptor center and Lake Solano. We’ll start at the Davis Raptor Center south of Sacramento in the morning for ducks, raptors and woodpeckers along Putah Creek. … Continue reading
Registration fee is $95 for the whole term and $50 for a half term. Individual trips are $30. Register online or contact me. The class meets every Wednesday morning for 10 weeks, with six fieldtrips and four class sessions. Classes … Continue reading
This wild and open expanse of East Bay hills is part of Garin Dry Creek regional park, high above the city of Hayward. Our bracing tour will also include riparian groves and oak woodlands, additional habitats for many varieties of … Continue reading
Scenic Bodega Bay, nestled on the Sonoma coast west of Sebastopol, is one of our most exciting local birding locations, designated an IBA (Important Bird Area) by the American Bird Conservancy. The great headlands, coves and marshes surrounding the bay … Continue reading
This new course surveys the history of North America’s wildlife and human ecology of the last two centuries (1800-2000) up to the present. Major themes this semester will include: endangered wildlife, lives of great 19th and 20th century biologists and … Continue reading
This course celebrates the music and civilization of the European Renaissance (ca. 1450-1600). Course topics will include musical style (such as polyphony and the popular song), musical notation , the mass, madrigals, the Burgundian school, ancient instruments, the Early Music … Continue reading