Tag Archives: Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Patricia Bacchetti had a Hairy Woodpecker land on a nearby tree and seemingly pose for her.

This is a small woodpecker, but very powerful. It has a look alike, the Downy Woodpecker. One big difference between the two is the beak. In a Hairy, the beak is much longer. Below is a photo of a Downy for comparison, photo taken by Michael Reinhart. See how small the beak of the Downy is?

Hairy Woodpeckers eat insects that they search for on trunks and large branches of trees. They have a short "peek" call, which you can listen to at this link from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hairy_Woodpecker/sounds Scroll down to "Calls, Pacific."

Guess what? The Downy Woodpecker has a similar call. Mother Nature sure has a sense of humor at times!

Thanks to Patricia and Michael for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Very foggy at the coast but sunny just a short ways away. Very mild and lovely today.

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Eric Zetterholm photographed an Osprey framed by the moon, a spectacular photo worthy of being on greeting cards. Eric wrote, “We were down at Shell Beach and saw an Osprey hunting the shallow waters during a low tide. With a light wind, the Osprey was able to hover above the cove with the waning moon, and then dive down after its prey."

Isn't this lovely? Ospreys have such distinctive, whistling calls - I was hearing their calls earlier today. You can listen for yourself at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/sounds

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

Cool fog blanketed the Mendonoma Coast early Saturday morning. It pulled back to leave us with a beautiful day, low 70's with no wind. Lots of visitors are here this weekend!

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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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One of my favorite birds is the Hermit Thrush because of their beautiful, trilling songs. Michael Reinhart recently photographed one singing.

There are two Hermit Thrushes singing to each other near our place in Anchor Bay. They begin singing even before sunrise. To hear their lovely call, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hermit_Thrush/sounds

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

Billowy, white fog appeared overnight over the Pacific Ocean and immediate coastline, though it held off for many to see the beautiful Northern Lights, a rare occurrence here. I will share photos of that soon. There is another chance to see it a little after sunset tonight here on the Mendonoma Coast...if the fog doesn't roll back in!

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Perry Hoffman photographed this Pigeon Guillemot, and it looks like he is dancing.

But I read on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology site, http://www.allaboutbirds.org that male Pigeon Guillemots march around a female showing off their orange/red feet! What better way to display them by jumping up in the air.

Pigeon Guillemots have a high-pitched call which you can listen to here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pigeon_Guillemot/sounds

Thanks to Perry for allowing me to share his fun photo with you here. To see much more of Perry's photography, here is his website: https://magentaraven.com/

It's so very lovely here today, Friday May 10. Yesterday was downright toasty, but today is cooler, with temps in the low 70's and no wind!