Rusty Babcock was visiting her brother, Tom Reidenbach, in Irish Beach several weeks ago. Tom wrote, "[Here is] the feisty [Belted] Kingfisher that scolds every visitor to Pomo Lake in Irish Beach. He/she usually never sits still long enough to get a picture."Look at that fancy hair-do! Belted Kingfishers perch on a branch near water, such as Pomo Lake, and dives head first into the water for fish, frogs, and other aquatic prey. To hear their twittering call, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Belted_Kingfisher/sounds

Thanks to Rusty for allowing me to share her photo with you here, and to Tom who forward it to me.

Rick and I took a walk with our golden retriever, Duffy, on the Point Arena/Stornetta Lands this morning. There was no wind and it was quite mild. Lots of happy visitors to the Lands, including us. On the road to the Lighthouse, and then on the Lands, we saw a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a telephone pole, a small group of Killdear, several whales, possibly Gray Whales, on the surface of the ocean, two groups of Brown Pelicans flying north, Cormorants and Gulls. What a great day for sightings of our natural world!