Eric Zetterholm took this photo at the Gualala River. I wonder what the two Bald Eagles are thinking! They have interesting looks on their faces.
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Thanks to Eric for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Another sunny, windless day on the beautiful Mendonoma Coast. There was a green flash at sunset last night and there could be another tonight!
Ron Bolander was down at the Gualala River when he saw this beautiful Great Blue Heron. He got the magic moment when the heron was about to lift off. And the photo Eric Zetterholm took of the heron looking right at him makes me laugh.
Great Blue Herons are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast.
Thanks to Ron and Eric for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
ah, the sunshine today feels so good after all the rain. We got another 0.69 inches yesterday, Monday, for a total of 21.95 season to date. Today the clouds slipped south and sunshine ruled the day.
Eric Zetterholm found this American Kestrel nicely posing for him with the moon as a beautiful accent. Nice!
I love how the breeze has ruffled one of this Kestrel's feathers!
To listen to this small falcon's calls, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/sounds
Thanks to Eric for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
As I type this at 3:30 Friday afternoon, the storm has just begun. It's raining pretty darn hard!
I'll let Amy Ruegg tell the story.
Amy wrote, “Saturday night 7/27/24 while we were watching the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony, at about 10:15 or so, Sydney [the dog] barked loudly twice in a way she hadn't before and jumped to the balcony railing with a growl. We brought our brightest flashlights out and there were four sets of glowing reflective eyes shining back at us. Eric's flash photography revealed the mother Mountain Lion - huge and muscular - and three Cubs about the size of Bobcats with spots still on their coats. The lions were not fearful. They remained for maybe 15 minutes or so. We think they may have been getting a drink from the spring behind our house.
“The next morning, a gathering of Turkey Vultures was assembled on trees and ground nearby, possibly indicating the site of a kill from the night before. We think the mother Mountain Lion may have made a kill, perhaps a Fawn or other animal, then led her Cubs to the water for a drink. After several minutes, she moved leisurely on into the night.”
Amy said the Deer were absent the next day, but returned on Monday. Amy wrote further, “If you watch nature very closely, you will see these subtle clues. With the Deer back in the neighborhood, I am pretty certain the Mountain Lion family has moved on."
Amazing! Thanks to Eric for allowing me to share his photos with you here and to Amy for telling the story.
Warm and breezy today! No fog.
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!