Fiery Skipper - Hylephila phyleus

Guide to San Francisco Bay Area Wildlife

The San Francisco Bay Area is a prime destination for discovering the wonderful and wild world of California wildlife. From the cool, blue depths of the San Francisco Bay, to the sage-covered hills of Mount Diablo, the San Francisco Bay area offers a multitude of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. There is a great variety of natural places with varying habitats for the nature lover to explore.

This website, San Francisco Bay Area Wildlife, will help you discover what there is to see, where to see it, and most importantly how to discover the hidden wildlife of the Bay Area. With detailed checklists for mammals, birds and other animals; authoritative resources and extensive location guides encompassing the many terrains and ecosystems of California, San Francisco Bay Wildlife provides a unique, yet comprehensive portal to the world of Bay Area wildlife watching.

Current Highlights

• Elephant Seal birthing season is on. Take a guided tour at Ano Nuevo.  ...link 
• The Monarch Butterflies have returned to their traditional Bay Area.roosts.  ...more 
• The Grey Whale migration has started. The first Gray Whales were sighted in mid-December. We have collected some resources that will help you get started with whale watching.  ...more 
• Migratory waterfowl can be seen in suitable wetland areas. Ducks, Geese, Gulls and Shorebirds of many kinds have arrived on their annual winter visit,

Featured Location - Rancho del Oso

Rancho Del Oso, nestled along the California coast at Waddell Beach, is a wildlife-rich part of the Big Basin Redwoods State Park, and offers wildlife watching opportunities for many species of animals, such as the Bobcat  ...more 

Featured Species - Western Black Widow

The Western Black Widow - Latrodectus hesperus - is one of the most deadly spiders in the United States, but it is also a very interesting spider found throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.  ...more 

News

• Steelhead Trout Get Annual Helping Hand Up Alameda Creek. Feb 26th, 2008.  ...link