Roberta Chan spotted this CA Red-legged frog while closing the gates at Gualala Point Regional Park recently.
This frog is listed as threatened and is federally protected by the Endangered Species Act. That they live next to the Gualala River, in its floodplain, is wonderful. I would suggest that any Gualala River floodplain logging plans should be rejected, for many reasons, including the existence of this threatened frog.
Thanks to Roberta for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
Tom Eckles was at Gualala Point Regional Park when he saw this beautiful scene.
We had high surf warnings, bringing big waves. The island in the middle is Gualala Point Island, an important rookery for seabirds.
The surf was high enough to flow over the sandbar and into the Gualala River. That, combined with last week's rain, has really filled up the lagoon. Kayaking this weekend could be epic! Our local kayak company is Adventure Rents. http://www.adventurerents.com/
Thanks to Tom for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Tom's photography, you can view them here: https://www.flickr.com/people/eckles/
A very unusual sighting happened on the beach at Gualala Point Regional Park a few weeks ago. Doug Forsell wrote, “There is several hundred thousand Euphausiids, Krill, washed up on the beach. They are Thysanoessa spinifera, which are the most common nearshore species in California."
‘These are small shrimp-like animals that feed on phytoplankton and zooplankton. They can form large swarms providing food for whales, birds, and fish. They are an important link in the ocean food chain, and many species are dependent on them. The unusual thing about the stranding is the winds have been calm, and the surf low for the past couple days. Perhaps it was so calm there was no surf to warn them away from shore. All of these animals appeared very fresh.”
Doug said there were over five hundred “fat and happy” Gulls and a handful of Turkey Vultures gorging on the Krill. He watched a Peregrine Falcon take a pass at the feasting Gulls, but the falcon didn’t nab one. And out on the water he could see Surf Scoters, Loons and other birds that appeared to be eating Krill.
I sent Doug’s photos to whale expert, Scott Mercer. Scott wrote, “Watch for feeding Blues and Humpbacks. That's prime Blue Whale dinner. Sounds like prime avian dinner too. What a bonus for the vultures. I've never seen euphausiids wash up like that.”
So, thanks to Doug, we learned of this event. It's wonderful to know the Pacific Ocean is filled with these creatures that feed so many animals, including the biggest of them all, the Blue Whale.
Thanks to Doug, also, for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
Rick and I took a walk with Sunny, our golden retriever, at Gualala Point Regional Park. When we got to the bluffs, we could see the magnificent waves, with big rollers coming in.
The spray drifted up to the bluffs were we stood and we got a little salt-water blessing. A little further along the bluffs, I took this video of a couple of waves coming in.
We have a pretty big storm coming in late on Friday. The Pacific Ocean is showing us in advance that changes are afoot!
Gualala Point Regional Park is a coast jewel. Visitors and locals alike can be seen walking the many trails, some along the bluffs and others to the sandy beach.
Irene Leidner is in charge of the volunteers who staff the Visitors Center Friday through Monday. She has several shifts that need to be filled. Can you help? Each shift is 2-1/2 to 3 hours, once a month. Irene will train you, and you are guaranteed to meet interesting visitors to the coast. Please contact Irene at: ildrbdvy@mcn.org.
The photo of "Waves of Amber Grain" was taken by Wendy Baily. The photo of Lupine was taken by Martin Steinpress. The other two are mine. Thanks to Wendy and Martin for allowing me to share their photos with you here.