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Pat Whelan wrote, "We had a Black Bear visit Monday night 2:30am as seen on our critter cam. He/she sniffed the bear boxes and then walked down the trail towards the creek.  No damage."

"Last year our trash enclosure was badly damaged by a bear on two different occasions.  We now have bear boxes!  We ordered them through Tahoe Bear Boxes." Their website is https://bearbox.org/

Here are two videos showing this Black Bear. He/she has a lot of twigs and leaves on its back. I wonder if the bear was sleeping nearby just before his visit.

And here is where the Black Bear is leaving their property.

Thanks to Pat for allowing me to share her videos with you here.

It's warmer today and the breeze is not so brisk. Sunny and warmer for tomorrow and the weekend!

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Robert Keiffer wrote, "Today, April 28, I found a Turkey Vulture nest cavity in a hollow black oak tree."

"The trunk has a 1” crack near the base and I was able to peek at the two eggs inside.  The adult had scrambled up and out of the cavity as I got close to the base."


"I cannot stress the importance of old decadent hollow oak trees!"

Some years ago, Terry Pfardresher found a nest in a Redwood stump. Her photo shows the fledgling perched on the edge of the stump.

The moral of the story is, if you have a snag or stump and it doesn't endanger you, let it stand for the sake of birds and other wildlife.

Thanks to Bob and Terry for allowing me to share their photos with  you here.

It's a beautiful day on the Mendonoma Coast. Warm weather will be moving in this week!

 

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Kate Bloch wrote, "This afternoon, I had the extraordinary privilege of witnessing the birth of a seal pup on Tide Pool Beach.  (This is the second such birth I've been lucky enough to observe.)  It was heartwarming and inspiring, capturing a remarkable moment of nature's magic.  It's seems especially timely that the birth took place on Earth Day.I have attached five photos.  They begin with the early emerging of the amniotic sac, reveal the moment of birth, and offer glimpses into the bonding between the mother and newborn, and their first swim together."

Tide Pool Beach April 22.2024
Tide Pool Beach April.22.2024

Now that the pup is born, the mother will bond with her. They touch noses!

Tide Pool Beach Birth April 22.2024
Tide Pool Beach April 22. 2024

Harbor Seal pups are born knowing how to swim. Here the newborn pup takes her first swim with her mother on Earth Day.

Tide Pool Beach April 22.204

Thanks to Kate for allowing me to share her great series of photos with you here.

Oh my, we had a good storm arrive in the wee hours of the morning. 1.86 inches fell, much more than predicted. It was a fairly gentle rain so there are only a few wisteria blossoms down at my place! Season to date rain total is 57.68 inches. 50.00 inches is a normal wet year, so two excellent rain years in a row now. Hooray!

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To celebrate the first day of May, here is a photo alive with color. The sun shone on this little hummingbird and Ron Bolander was ready with his camera - a beautiful male Allen's Hummingbird in full display.

Allen's Hummingbirds migrate up the California Coast and about halfway up the Oregon Coast to mate. The female will then choose her nesting site and raise her chicks. Some might choose the Mendonoma Coast!

Here's a fun fact from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: "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."

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

Windy here again today, but a trifle less. Warm too, temps in the low 70's.

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Sometimes you look at the sky and can't quite believe what you are seeing. That's what it must have been like for Kathy Haas a week or so ago. She photographed this beautiful sight.

Along a forest path, there is this spot where a beautiful Red Clintonia is beginning to bloom. It is a member of the Lily family so note the big lily leaves. On the lower right is a Feathery False Solomon Seal in full bloom. There are several others nearby. We got 0.13 inches of rain on Friday - not a lot, for sure, but you can see the moisture on these plants!

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

Today, Sunday, is sunny with a fog bank over the ocean. It's breezy again today!