Tag Archives: Gualala Point Regional Park

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Earth Day saw the last of a  recent series of small storms. The last one brought another beautiful rainbow, as vibrant as can be. Peggy Berryhill got this photo from Gualala Point Regional Park.

Beautiful Rainbow on Earth Day by Peggy Berryhill

This  view spot is on the way into the park. It is a favorite of many of us for taking photos of the Gualala River and the Pacific Ocean. How fortunate for us that Peggy was there at the exact moment this rainbow appeared.

The Gualala River closed Sunday night and has since filled up. I will share some photos of that soon. It's a perfect time to go kayaking on the river.

Now we are having a heat wave. With no wind the ocean looks like a lake. Locals went diving for abalone today and tomorrow looks ideal too.

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

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The Salal Trail is a public access trail that starts at Gualala Point Regional Park. Once you pass the pay station, park at the first parking area on the left. The trail head is to the left. The trail goes between Highway One and The Sea Ranch Golf Links. It then turns west, meandering through some lovely trees and bushes. The trail eventually brings you to a very special waterfall. Robert Scarola hiked the trail just after one of the big February rain storms. This is what he found.

It's a magical place to visit when the creek is full. The trail eventually ends at a small beach, a perfect end to a wonderful trail.

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

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Rick and I went to Gualala Point Regional Park this morning, hoping to see the Bald Eagle pair. No luck, darn it. We stopped to talk to a visitor from Michigan and he related that he saw one yesterday. In fact, it flew 15 feet over his head!

Phil Wendt recently photographed the pair.

In an exciting development, the male Bald Eagle was seen gathering nesting materials. We are wishing and hoping this pair builds a nest by the river. The biggest concern is that people might get too close in their desire to photograph them. So stay a safe distance away, using your longest lens. We don't want to scare them or disturb them in any way.

To see more of Phil's photography, including more photos of these Bald Eagles, here is the link to his website: http://philwendt.com/

And thanks to Phil for allowing me to share these photos with you here.

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White-tailed Kites are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast. They are interesting to watch while they hunt as they hover over a meadow while they search for prey. Siegfried Matull recently photographed one hunting near his home on The Sea Ranch.

White-tailed Kites eat mostly small mammals, but they do eat lizards, insects and some birds. I often see one hunting over the grasslands along the Gualala River while hiking at Gualala Point Regional Park.

To hear the call of this beautiful raptor, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Kite/sounds

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

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Rattlesnakes prefer warm climes than the Mendonoma Coast. There are legends of a rattlesnake hitching a ride on a logging truck and falling off near the ocean. Perhaps that is what happened here. But there were two of them spotted within a week.

The first one was seen near a road at Gualala Point Regional Park by Kathy Bishop.

It was identified by Gary Nafis as an adult Northern Pacific Rattlesnake. It appeared to have been run over by a vehicle and it soon died.

However another adult was seen several days later at the south end of The Sea Ranch. Jim Merryman photographed the head and the tail.

I wondered if these extremely unusual sightings of rattlesnakes could be because they are searching for water. Gary Nafis told me they don't drink water. He said, “Rattlesnakes get most of their water from food, which they’re always looking for until they find it and go underground to digest. They often need to travel out of their usual home territories in their search, which could be happening here. Both snakes are adults, so it’s not a case of juveniles looking for a place to settle.”

Jim said about an hour after his sighting he saw a White-tailed Kite with a snake the same size as the rattlesnake so perhaps the Mendonoma Coast is once again free of rattlesnakes.

To see Gary Nafis' fascinating website about amphibians and reptiles, here is the link: californiaherps.com

Thanks to Kathy and Jim for allowing me to share their photos with you here.