Sightings

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Tom Eckles wrote, “I was flying north towards home from Castle Rock [off the north end of Gualala] when I spotted them already flying. The drone elevation above the pelicans was approximately 400 feet.  My drone has three cameras which allows a safe distance without disturbing the critters. I followed for close to a mile at around 30 mph, when I checked.”  Here is a still photos from Tom's video.

At first Tom thought these were American White Pelicans, but experts looked at his photo and the video and determined they were Brown Pelicans lit by the sun.

Tom is very ethical in not wanting to disturb wildlife in any way, which I appreciate very much.

You can view Tom's mesmerizing video at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU5_Fzu_7ME

And to see more of Tom's videos, here is a link to his youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/@tomeckles

Warm and windy today - lots of white caps on the ocean!

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Western Azaleas are so beautiful and their bloom lasts for a while. Add in the lovely fragrance and all will be well!

Sheri found these azaleas along the Salal Trail, which begins at Gualala Point Regional Park. Here is a link to a blog post I did some time ago showing you how to find this trail: https://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/01/30/how-to-find-the-salal-trail-a-hidden-gem-of-a-trail-on-the-sea-ranch/

Thanks to Sheri for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

It's warm and breezy today on the coast!

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Saturday, May 18th is Celebrate the Coast at the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands. There is a LOT planned and it sounds like great fun. If you walk from City Hall all the way to Lighthouse Road, about halfway you will see some very distinctive arches. This is what they looked like just three weeks ago.

But two weeks ago the closest arch collapsed, and this is what the arches look like now. Leslie Dahlhoff sent in these photos.

Thanks to Leslie for allowing me to share her photos with you here. She is also at the helm of the Celebrate the Coast event. Here's the poster showing all the activities. Hope to see some of you there!

The heavy, cool fog of this morning has disappeared into brilliant sunshine. Nice!

 

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Ron Bolander was talking with a friend, his camera in hand, when this small hummingbird landed in a bush bathed in sunlight. Quickly Ron took this picture of the extremely handsome male Allen's Hummingbird.

Such beauty! Their calls, however, are buzzy and they make a sound like a bumblebee with their feathers. You can listen to their calls here, at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Allens_Hummingbird/sounds

Here's a fun fact from the Cornell site:

"Like other birds, Allen's Hummingbirds use their feet to help control their body temperature. When it's cold outside they tuck their feet up against their bellies while flying, but when temperatures soar, they let their feet dangle to cool down."

I think we might need binoculars to see their tiny feet in flight!

Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share  his photo with you here.

Very foggy today at the coast though the fog is lifting in the afternoon.

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The Northern Lights began to appear around 11 pm last Friday. Molly Scaramella got a series of photos in Point Arena. Here is one of them.

Alan Reinke got this photo around 11:15 pm from The Sea Ranch.

We were hoping for more of this beauty Saturday and Sunday, but the fog rolled in, pulling the curtain on any more Northern Lights. What a treat, though! It's very rare to see them here.

Thanks to Molly and Alan for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Foggy this morning, but it has pulled back a bit. It's cool too, not even 60 degrees.