Tag Archives: Mike Reinhart

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I love it when Mike Reinhart is out and about with camera in hand. He's a pro at photographing birds. He found perhaps the first returning Say's Phoebe recently, perched on a bush (coyote bush?)  in a meadow at The Sea Ranch.

The Peregrine falcon was soaring through the air, always a thrilling sight.

And this Osprey coming in for a landing was seen at Mill Bend, the mouth of the Gualala River. Ospreys will be leaving us soon, unless one or two decide to overwinter here. The vast majority will migrate south for the winter, returning to the Mendonoma Coast around the first day of spring.

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Mike Reinhart recently spotted two Gray Foxes at The Sea Ranch. I thought this close-up of one of the Gray Foxes was quite wonderful. In the second photo, I think the fox is smirking!

 

Thanks to Mike for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

A spectacular clear day today, temps in the mid 60s. Some clouds are drifting by this afternoon, giving the possibility of an exceptional sunset tonight!

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Bobcats, the cat with the tufted ears and short, bobbed tails can sometimes be seen in grassy meadows. Mike Reinhart spotted one looking at him through the grasses at the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands.

Fun Fact: the markings on a Bobcat's coat are unique to itself, just like our fingerprints!

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

The weather is...well...it's perfect! Yesterday Humpback Whales were seen. There are quite a few Humpbacks off the Mendonoma Coast right now. By the beginning of November they will be migrating southward and we won't likely see them until next summer. Get to a bluff near  you!

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Black Turnstones overwinter on the Mendonoma Coast - they breed far to our north. Mike Reinhart recently found a group foraging at a beach at The Sea Ranch. In flight you can see their beautiful markings.

Black Turnstones are shorebirds and they do turn over stones and kelp to find food. Mike photographed one standing on kelp which has washed up on the beach. The bird overturns bits of kelp to find flies and eggs and other tasty morsels.

This Turnstone has some sand on its beak!

To hear their high-pitched calls, here is the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Turnstone/sounds

Thanks to Mike for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

We had a nice storm this afternoon, Sunday. October rain is such a blessing. We have a lot of rain in our forecast too. Thank you, Mother Nature!

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Mike Reinhard went to Mill Bend, the newly acquired land along the Gualala River this past week. He was visited by an adult Bald Eagle with its offspring. It's just a wonderful photo of these hawks!

Then Mike saw this group of ducks. I asked birder Tim Bray if Mike had photographed Mallards. Tim wrote, “It's ‘Brown Duck Season!’ More scientifically known as ‘eclipse plumage,’ the cryptic Summer phase when all the drakes look like hens. Thankfully that only lasts about a month and happens before they leave the breeding grounds. Some of them start migrating before they have grown breeding plumage and give us a few weeks of confusion. Most of these are indeed Mallards, the big ones with the yellowish bills, and you can see the drakes are already beginning to molt into breeding plumage. There appears to be two smaller ducks with dark bills that I can't identify. Most likely Green-winged Teal but it's hard to be sure.”

Mike also photographed Red-necked Phalaropes. These shorebirds have very thin beaks. They breed far to our north, in the Arctic tundra, and are migrating southward now.

Nice day at the Gualala River, Mike!

Thanks to Mike for allowing me to share his photos with you  here.

It's foggy today, Sunday, right at the bluffs, but sunny just a few yards inland.