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El Nino And Monterey Bay Geek Page

NASA image of Kelvin waves (in red) moving eastward from Indonesia toward South America.

Nerd out on how the advent of El Nino (which now looks like less of a sure thing) stirred up warming Kelvin waves and quelled our usual summer winds—and is making trouble for Monterey Bay.

The Summer of Crazy

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Humpback whales are crowding close to shore this summer in search of food. Photo courtesy Surfrider Foundation/Amber Jones.

Whales. Dead fish. Green beaches. WTF, Monterey Bay?

Randall Morgan on The Amazing Tern

An elegant tern at the top of its dive-bomb fishing maneuver—showing how it got its name. Photo by Regular Daddy.

Among Santa Cruz's rich community of amateur and professional naturalists, Randall Morgan is beloved for his knowledge, passion and wit. As Hilltromper's unofficial Naturalist-in-Residence, he answers our questions—this week, about the beautiful seabirds called terns.

Sandhills Preserve Expands

The Santa Cruz Wallflower, a member of the mustard family, is found exclusively in Sandhills Parkland, only 240 acres of which remain undeveloped. Photo by Peigi McCann.

With its latest purchase of rare Santa Cruz sandhills habitat, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County expands the Randall Morgan Sandhills Preserve to 200 acres.

Surviving Yosemite

Everyone stay cool! We took regular breaks at swimming holes on the Merced River.

Two adults, four kids, one VW camper and a very crowded national park.

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