Tag Archives: Black Point Beach

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Many coast residents got to see this event. Phil Wendt got this great photo at Black Point Beach off The Sea Ranch of Cumulus radiatus, or Cloud Sheets. This beautiful cloud show occurred on September 30th.

cumulus-radiatus-cloud-streets-phil-wendtPhil did some research on these clouds. He wrote:

“ Parallel lines of clouds form along the direction of the wind, and appear to converge toward the horizon due to the effects of perspective.”

Beautiful sky indeed! Thanks to Phil for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see Phil's recent blog posts, and more about these clouds, here is his website: http://philwendt.com/

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A male Harlequin Duck has been spotted off Black Point Beach on The Sea Ranch. Craig Tooley got several photos of the beautiful bird.

Harlequin Duck poses by Craig Tooley Harlequin Duck in the water by Craig Tooley

This duck is banded but Craig can only make out three numbers. He's trying to locate it again and try for the complete number so this sighting can be reported.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: www.ruffimage.com

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Last week Alan Reinke photographed Black Point Beach, seemingly missing its beautiful beach. The king tides, super high tides, had washed over it.

Black Point missing its beach at high tide by Alan Reinke

The next day told a different story.

Black Point Beach the day after the big high tide by Alan Reinke

We continue to have sunny, calm weather. Gray Whales have been spotted often. I saw two pods this morning, heading south. A pod of eight Killer Whales was seen today, heading north. When the ocean is calm, she reveals many wonderful sightings. We apparently have another week before our rains begin again.

Thanks to Alan for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

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Rick and I were enjoying the beautiful Thursday morning, looking at the wildflowers and hoping to see some Gray Whales. We were just south of Black Point Beach. There's a rock where a few Western Gulls are nesting. As we approached, a squadron of Brown Pelicans flew by, almost at eye level. It's our first sighting of them this spring.

These are adult Brown Pelicans. You can see their white heads.

At this point the Pelicans headed towards land and they gained altitude before heading off to the north.

They are air surfers! It is always thrilling to see them as they glide across the sky.
To see a close-up of an adult Brown Pelican, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/04/26/brown-pelican-splash-down-as-photographed-by-siegfried-matull/

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Black Point Beach is located in The Sea Ranch in Sonoma County. It is a lovely stretch of beach with big curling waves when the surf is up. It has dangerous undertows and no lifeguard. I can't think of a beach on the Mendonoma coast that has a lifeguard! Two excellent surfers were out last Thursday. Rick and I, with Huckleberry our golden retriever, enjoyed watching them.

To see another perspective of this beach, here's a link to another post: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/05/08/black-point-beach-is-one-of-the-many-treasures-of-the-sea-ranch/

And then we saw something we have never seen before - the underwater portion of a rock. Visibility here on the north coast is usually not very good, making it a challenge for abalone divers and other underwater fishermen and women. But Thursday the visibility was like a dream come true. Oh, my abalone diving friends bemoaned the fact that the season is closed for the winter but one diver friend found a 7.5 pound Rock Scallop. I will share that photo soon.

My best to you today! Jeanne Jackson, Gualala