Bettye Winters loves to walk on this huge crescent-shaped beach. She has sent me photos of so many different creatures she sees on her walks. But this is a first. She saw a hang glider!
The several people on the beach were sure surprised to see this person glide by.
Thanks to Bettye for a unique sighting and for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
Bettye Winters noticed the sparkling ocean with a fishing boat passing by. Lucky for us she had her camera at hand.
And here Bettye photographed Manchester Beach from the bluffs at the north end. This California state park is lightly used. It is not unusual to see no one else at this beautiful beach.
Thanks to Bettye for allowing me to share her photos with you here.
Bettye Winters regularly walks the north end of Manchester State Park Beach with her dog, Hunter. This is what Bettye had to say, “This morning there was another first waiting for me. I’ve never come across a shark on our beach. It was small and still alive. I put Hunter on a down/stay. I tried to get it back in the water by rolling it with a big stick but it would just get washed right back to the sand. It was thrashing around and those teeth were awfully sharp looking.”
High tide was coming in and Bettye hoped the tide would take it further out to sea so it could survive but that wasn’t to be. The next day she found its body down by Alder Creek, about a mile from where she originally spotted it.
This was a Salmon Shark, Lamna ditropis. They eat salmon, squid, sablefish and herring. They resemble a Great White Shark in that their eyes are close to their snout. The Salmon Shark, however, only grows to ten feet long.
The question is why this shark died up on the beach. Eric Anderson had a good theory. He wrote, "I talked to a state biologist a few years ago because one had washed up on Anchor Bay Beach. I took it down to the Bodega Bay labs. The shark biologist told me they get about ten a year that wash up on beaches. He suspected they eat other fish that have eaten too much plankton.”
So, while we are sad this Salmon Shark died, we feel lucky we got the chance to see it. Thanks to Bettye for allowing me to share her photos with you here.
There is always something to see when you explore Manchester State Park. You will find five miles of a huge crescent beach, which ends to the south at the Point Arena Lighthouse. Bettye Winters explores the north end, which is just south of Irish Beach. She shared some recent sightings.
Plovers and Sandpipers feed and rest in Bettye's photo below. You'll also see the white caps on the Pacific Ocean. Yes, it can be very windy here on the Coast in the spring.
Below is Hunter with his stick of the day. You can see the beach is deserted. You can often have the entire beach to yourself here. There is a section of this beach that has nesting Snowy Plovers. Dogs, even on leash, are not allowed in that area.
Can you spot the hiding Sierran Treefrog in this piece of driftwood? Just its head is peeking out the crack.
And here is a "mushroom" sunset. Just beautiful...
Thanks to Bettye for allowing me to share her photographs with you here. To learn more about Manchester State Park, here is the link: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=437
Bettye Winters was walking with her dog, Hunter, when she came across this large group of Whimbrels feeding and resting on the beach at Manchester State Park.
Whimbrels have incredibly long migrations. Some actually migrate 2,500 miles, from southern Canada to South America.
To hear their call, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Whimbrel/sounds
Thanks to Bettye for allowing me to share her photo with you here.