Category: Wildlife Weekly

It looks like R2D2 from a George Lucas episode of Star Wars, except it has yellow eyes and feathers and can fly. But one doesn’t have to go to Tatooine or the forest moon of Endor to see the little guy. Just visit any local...

Anyone who writes a list of bird sightings at local wildlife refuges in the winter months would be well advised to bring more than a single sheet of paper on which to write and a spare pencil or two, as well. A study, published...

The fastest animal on earth, one that can achieve speeds of more than 200 miles per hour, lives just up the road this time of year. While found in coastal and northwestern California all year, peregrine falcons (Falco...

Join the park ranger at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 3:45 p.m. for the refuge’s ranger presentation and interpretation of the evening sandhill crane fly-in. The refuge is which is located at 7430...

In 1927 Charles Lindbergh made history by flying the Spirit of St. Louis monoplane non-stop from Long Island to Paris, a distance of 3,600 miles. His accomplishment was on the front page of newspapers around the world. Preceding...

There are about 5,500 species of mammals on the planet. Most live on land, some live underground, some live in trees, some live in oceans but only one mammal can fly – a bat. Worldwide there are 1,400 species of bats. Forty-five...

National wildlife refuges are some of the best places to connect with nature and photography is a great way to do it. Lucky for local shutterbugs, remarkable imaging opportunities are just a short drive away within the San Luis...

In the wild there are two species of mink, European and American, the latter a denizen of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex. A third species, the Sea mink, lived on the northern eastern coast of the United States but...

After Labor Day as the weather begins to change, daylight hours grow fewer and tule elk begin to bugle, enjoying an early evening on the refuge often includes thoughts of other hooved ungulates. American pronghorn, tule elk and...

A changing of the guard, of sorts, is about to happen. In less than a month, the sandhill cranes will begin returning to the Merced National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and other refuges of the San Luis NWR Complex. For many years the...

The taxonomic order, Odonata, is ancient. Its members were here long before dinosaurs roamed the planet, and they survived the mass extinction that turned T. Rex and his buddies into crude oil. Dragonflies were among the first...

Very soon there will be strange sounds coming from the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge. Eerie notes that begin in higher octaves then elevate in both pitch and volume to carry on the wind like wisps of smoke. To the unknowing...