Jeff Miller 
Bay Area Wildlife [EPUB ebook] 
An Irreverent Guide

Introduction

How to Use This Guide

Stuff with Fur: Mammals

• Tule Elk—A Resounding Clash of Antlers


• Bobcat, Fox and Weasel—Pint-Sized Predator Safari


• Coyote—Return of the Trickster


• River Otter—Aquatic Death Weasels


• Badger—Who’s Badgering Who?


• Beaver—Worth A Dam


• Bats—Lords of the Night

• Elephant Seal—Nature in the Raw


• Orca—Some Call Them Killer


• Sea Otter—Adorable Psychopaths


• Whales—Seeking Leviathan


• Sea Lion—In Praise of Blubber

Feathered Dinosaurs: Birds

• Roadrunner—Looney Tunes Bad-Ass


• Yellow-Billed Magpie—A Tiding of Iridescence


• Vaux’s Swift—Autumnal Chimney Tornado


• Sandhill Crane—The Trumpet in the Orchestra


• Albatross—Chumming for Tubenoses


• Night-Heron—A Racket in the Rookery


• Clapper Rail—Cryptic Marsh Chickens


• Black Skimmer—Aerial Beagles


• Raptors—Hawk Hill


• Bald Eagle—On A Wing and A Prayer


• Burrowing Owl—The Superb Owl


• Peregrine Falcon—Screaming Death Parrot


• Pileated Woodpecker—Built for Headbanging


• Loggerhead Shrike—The Butcherbird


• Rare Wood-Warblers—Pursuing Avian Gems

Pissing in Your Drinking Water: Fish

• Salmon and Steelhead—Spawn Till You Die


• Grunion—Greeting the Grunion


• Sturgeon—Monsters From the Deep


• Herring and Anchovy—Bait Ball


• Leopard Shark and Bat Ray—Eelgrass Adventures


• Lamprey—A Seriously Punk Rock Fish


• Great White Shark—Devil’s Teeth

Cold-Blooded Herps: Reptiles and Amphibians

• Alameda Whipsnake—The Chaparral Striped Racer


• Newt—Psychedelic Pond Orgy


• Rattlesnake—Adrenaline Rush


• Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog—Amorous Amplexus


• Giant Salamander—Humongous Barking Babies

Spineless Creepy Crawlies: Invertebrates

• Monarch Butterfly—Multi-Generational Migration


• Tarantula—Post-Coital Snack


• Ladybug—Loveliness at the Ladybug Hotel


• Nudibranchs—Hardcore Tidepooling


• Jellyfish—Smacks and Blooms

Ghosts, Phantoms and Rumors: Rare and Elusive Wildlife

• Mountain Lion—Ghost Cat


• Pronghorn—On Fine Fleet Limbs


• San Francisco Garter Snake—The Turquoise Serpent


• Ringtail—Elusive Acrobat


• Mountain Beaver—The Western Wombat


• Condor—Thunderbird Back from the Brink


• Black Bear—Furry Foodie


• Porcupine—Stab Rabbit

Oddities: Introduced Species

• Fallow Deer—The Spiritual Unicorns of Point Reyes


• Feral Parakeets—The Urban Jungle

Lost and Missing: Extinction

• Extinct and Extirpated—Missing Species of the Bay Area

Watchable Wildlife Highlights by County

Wildlife Viewing Tips

Greater Bay Area Wildlife Festivals

Conservation

Ways to Share Your Sightings

Acknowledgments

Photo Credits

About the Author

Jeff Miller is the founder of the Alameda Creek Alliance and has served as executive director since 1997. Jeff also works with the Center for Biological Diversity on media, outreach, writing endangered species listing petitions, and working on biodiversity issues and endangered species protection throughout California. He lives in Ashland, OR.
Obi Kaufmann is the author and illustrator of The California Field Atlas (2017), The State of Water (2019), The Forests of California (2020), The Coasts of California (2022), and The Deserts of California (2023), all published by Heyday.