Tag Archives: Nancy Trissel

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On Sunday November 22, Nancy and Rich Trissel had quite the sighting at their home off Fish Rock Road. Nancy wrote, “I had an exciting sighting just before 5 pm. From my living room, I took a photo of two young Mountain Lions staring down a young Buck. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen any Deer around, and I tapped the window to see if the Buck would turn, revealing the number of points in his rack. He stayed absolutely still, so I reached for binoculars. Looking where his gaze was fixed, I was rewarded with two young Mountain Lions peering over a log!

"Rich was in a nearby structure so I immediately phoned him. From his vantage, he could see THREE young lions behind the log. After the lions loped away, Rich stepped out to come home, but quickly turned back around after spotting a much larger adult uphill, closer to him. The Buck slowly walked towards where the lions disappeared. Rich estimated that the young Mountain Lions were 50 to 60 pounds in size. Big kittens!”

That's quite a sighting! The larger Mountain Lion was undoubtedly the mother. Thanks to Nancy for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

It's sunny and cooler here today. The past two days we have had booming surf with huge waves. I'll be sharing some of those photos soon.

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Nancy Trissel wrote on May 13th, “Last night we spotted a Mountain Lion out of our living room window! It was 7:24 pm and the photos were taken through a double-paned window. She looks to be female. This encounter is exactly what I asked for years ago – to see a grown cat up close but from the safety of my home, like the bear I saw. After she left, we went to her spot and found she could not see into the house at all. She was there for several minutes. We were beyond words.”

I sent Nancy’s photos to Quinton Martin, the director of Living with Lions. I could see this cougar wasn’t Paul, the collared cat. He wrote, “Fantastic! Thanks for sharing these cool photos. Paul has been around in the area, but that is certainly another cat. Excellent!”

This Mountain Lion was seen off Fish Rock Road, which is a little north of Anchor Bay.

Nancy mentioned she got to see a Black Bear. Here's her photo from some years ago of a cinnamon-colored Black Bear.

Thanks to Nancy for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

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Gary Levenson-Palmer photographed this beautiful sunset before a rather vigorous storm arrived today. It's amazing how many colors are in this magnificent scene, which was seen off of Irish Beach.

Nancy Trissel photographed this sunrise a few days ago from her home north of Gualala. Sunbeams piercing the clouds makes a beautiful sighting.

Thanks to Gary and Nancy for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We did have some heavy rain today, which was rather a surprise. Sunday is suppose to bring a big storm. We never complain about getting rain, though. It's a blessing.

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Rich Trissel keeps a "yard list," a list of birds he sees in their yard north of Gualala. A few days ago he added a Rough-legged Hawk to  his list. Nancy got the photo.

Here is what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says about these autumn/winter visitors: "The Rough-legged Hawk spends the summer capturing lemmings on the arctic tundra, tending a cliffside nest under a sun that never sets. Winter is the time to see this large, open-country hawk in southern Canada and the U.S., where it may be perched on a pole or hovering over a marsh or pasture on the hunt for small rodents. Found globally across northern latitudes, this species occurs in both light and dark forms."

Nancy photographed a light form, adult Rough-legged Hawk.

To hear their calls, here is the link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rough-legged_Hawk/sounds

Here is a close-up photo I found on the web, from the Audubon handbook.

I hope I get to see one of these magnificent hawks! The Trissels and I are neighbors, as the Raven flies!

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

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Nancy Trissel was on a hike when she came across this endangered frog, the California Red-legged Frog, Rana draytonii.

California Red-legged Frog by Nancy Trissel

This frog is only found in California and a small part of Baja California. They are in serious decline due to habitat loss but they can be seen here on the Mendonoma Coast. They lay their eggs in the upper reaches of the Gualala River.

Here is another photo of this frog, taken by Darrell Paige.

California Red-Legged Frog by Darrell Paige (Large)

This frog is one of the many reasons we have to vigilant to make sure our watershed is protected from development.

Thanks to Nancy and Darrell for allowing me to share their photos with you here.