Wildlife SeriesLearning Resource Guide

Online Resources

Access 2 Nature, Santa Clara County ParksAn interactive website run by Santa Clara County Parks that allows children to learn about creek habitats. The site provides graphics, information, and fun activities that you can do at home to continue the experience. http://secure.tapinsolutionsinc.com/access2nature/home.html

Animals, Golden Gate National Recreation AreaWebsite run by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which gives information and photos on amphibians, birds, insects, other invertebrates, mammals, and reptiles that live in the San Francisco Bay Area.http://www.nps.gov/goga/naturescience/animals.htm

Articles about Local Wildlife, Bay NatureBay Nature, an environmental advocacy group for the Bay Area which publishes a quarterly magazine, has an extensive archive of current and past articles on local nature topics, including wildlife.http://baynature.org/articles

Audubon at HomeInformative website run by the Audubon Society that gives information about birds, habitat conservation, environmental education, and local Audubon Society events. http://athome.audubon.org/

California Wildlife Viewing, Department of Fish and GameInformation about how and where to view various animal species, including bald eagles and western pond turtles. http://www.dfg.ca.gov/viewing/

Education, Wildlife Center of Silicon ValleyThe Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley provides information and photos about wildlife in San Jose, including how you can co-exist with wildlife and how to plant a garden that will sustain wildlife in your backyard. http://www.wcsv.org/education/

Endangered Species in the Bay Area, NDRC Green GateInformation on endangered species in the Bay Area, including a list of federally endangered species and tips on how you can help out. http://www.nrdc.org/greengate/wildlife/endangeredf.asp

Books

Bouge, Gary. There’s a Hummingbird in My Backyard. Heyday Books, 2010A children’s book where “a family learns to interpret the mysterious ways of the hummingbirds in their backyards.” http://www.heydaybooks.com/children/theres-a-hummingbird-in-my-bac.html

Bouge, Gary. There’s an Opossum in My Backyard. Heyday Books, 2007A children’s book where “a friendly opossum finds adventure in a family’s backyard.” http://www.heydaybooks.com/children/theres-an-opossum-in-my-backya.html

Califauna: A Literary Field Guide. Terry Beers and Emily Elrod, Ed. Heyday Books, 2007. An anthology of California literature blended with nature guide, Califauna is an anthology of California literature within a nature guide. Each chapter focuses on a different wildlife species found in California, giving scientific information about the species’ taxonomy, habitat, and lifestyle, coupled with an excerpt of literature written about that species. http://www.heydaybooks.com/literature/califauna-a-literary-field-gui.html

George, Jean Craighead. My side of the Mountain. Puffin Books, 2004A classic children’s novel written about a boy who runs away to the Catskill mountains to live in the wilderness.

Laws, John Muir. The Law’s Pocket Guide Set: San Francisco Bay Area. Heyday Books, 2010. This set contains four fold-out, durable guides to identify plants and wildlife in these Bay Area habitats: at the beach and on the bay; near creeks, rivers, and ponds, on grassy hills and in fields, and among the oaks and pines.http://www.heydaybooks.com/guides-and-reference/the-laws-pocket-guide-set-san.html

Paulson, Gary. Hatchet. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2007Another classic children’s novel about a teenage boy who is stranded in the Canadian wilder-ness and has to learn how to survive.

Scammon, Charles Melville. The Marine Mammals of the Northwest Coast of North America. California Legacy Project, 2007. Although Scammon is a notorious whaler, his book documents marine mammals in the Pacific, and is considered a classic natural history text. First published in 1872, the guide has provided naturalists with valuable insights into marine life in the Bay Area before modern industry changed the habitat.http://www.heydaybooks.com/nature/marine-mammals-of-the-northwes.html

Stienstra, Tom. California Wildlife: A Practical Guide. Foghorn Outdoors, 2000Tom Stienstra, a popular nature writer and contributer to the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote this helpful guide to California wildlife.

Photos and Videos

Photos of Bay Area Wildlife, Bay Area HikerPhotos of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, spiders, and butterflies found in local parks. http://www.bahiker.com/critter.html

Secrets of the Bay. Dir. Chris Beaver and Judy Irving. Independent Documentary Group, 1990. A documentary that explores the biodiversity of plants and wildlife in the Bay Area. http://cbfilms.net/secrets.html

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. Dir. Judy Irving. Pelican Media, 2006. A documentary about Marc Bittner, a homeless musician living in San Francisco, and the flock of wild parrots that changed his life.

Videos of Local Wildlife, Bay NatureThis website contains videos created by Bay Nature for public television that highlight wildlife and other topics in local preserves. http://baynature.org/videos