Tag Archives: Gualala River

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It's no surprise the Gualala River would be flowing quickly into the Pacific Ocean. We've had a ton (almost) of rain this past week. Thursday morning found the mouth open and a very muddy river. Karen Wilkinson photographed the sight.

A big sandbar "closes" the river to the ocean when the spring rains are done. Any Steelhead in the river are trapped in luxury! When the autumn or winter rains have fallen, the lagoon fills up like a bathtub with a plug. The river floods into its floodplain. With enough rain, and perhaps help from the tides, the river bursts through the sandbar. The Steelhead will be propelled out to their next life phase, which is in the ocean. Steelhead waiting to return to the river to spawn can now do so.

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

It rained pretty steady for most of today, Monday. Rain total since last Wednesday is a hefty 17.71 inches. Yikes!

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Catherine Miller and Jill Nussinow went out looking for one of the most delicious edible mushrooms a few days ago, and they found some beauties! Boletus edulis, aka Porcini, have made their most welcome appearance. See the joy on Catherine's face!

Catherine told me there were no bugs in these boletes. Lots of critters enjoy munching on these particular mushrooms, including many of us.

Thanks to Jill for allowing me to share her photo with you here. Jill is also known as the Veggie Queen. You can learn more about her, and her plant based meals, on her website: https://www.theveggiequeen.com/

It is lightly raining today. Monday and Tuesday are forecast to be clear. Then the rains are predicted to be heavy on Wednesday and continue through the weekend. We'll be on watch to see which day the Gualala River breaches the big sandbar, always a dramatic event. And seasonal creeks are sure to come to life, as their year-round ponds have been filling from previous rain events. They are primed, just like the river! Here's a photo I took on Friday of the Gualala River.

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Craig Tooley noticed this handsome Double-crested Cormorant perched at the Gualala River. The bird then took flight and Craig got that photo too.

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website: "From a distance, Double-crested Cormorants are dark birds with snaky necks, but up-close they’re quite colorful—with orange-yellow skin on their face and throat, striking aquamarine eyes that sparkle like jewels, and a mouth that is bright blue on the inside." I like the "etching" on their feathers!

To hear the call of a Double-crested Cormorant, you can listen at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/sounds  Fair warning! Their infrequent calls sound rather like a pig!

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

We had some puffy clouds moving in from the west, making for a beautiful morning. Temps are again mild today and there is no wind. A very nice day!

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Craig Tooley was photographing at the Gualala River when he spotted this Great Blue Heron on a snag. Yes, it was foggy that morning!

Great Blue Herons are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast!

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

Lots of fog this morning, pulling back in the afternoon. Cool temps, low 60's. No wind. Beautiful fall colors beginning to appear.

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I had never heard of this insect until Michele sent her sighting in. She wrote, "I kept getting fooled by what I thought were little Western Toadlets, but I knew they would be much bigger now. These toadish creatures hopped like a toad, swam like a toad, but much faster and smaller. It wasn't until I zoomed into one of my photos that I realized it was an INSECT not a toad. It's called the Big-eyed Toad Bug.

It's colored like a toad, but the size of my pinky fingernail and I have small hands. It even has big eyes on its head just like a toad. They eat insects. I suppose if something thought it was a toad and had sampled a toad before with unpleasant results, it would avoid it. They eat other insects and they swim. They are really cool!”

To see some other photos of this insect, here is a link to iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/370350

Their genus name is Gelastocoris oculatus and it means laughable bug or ridiculous bug.

Thanks to Michele for allowing me to share her photo with you here, and for introducing me to this bug!

It was sunny this morning but with quite a bit of wind. Clouds have moved in and the wind has increased. It feels like we might get some rain!