Once again, life is good when you are a Harbor Seal. Just look at this stretch that Sara Bogard photographed recently out on the Point Arena Lighthouse bluffs.
This Harbor Seal looks to be leading a stress-free life!
Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
Foggy right on the coast but sunny just a little bit away, and very mild temps.
Oh my, it's hot on the Mendonoma Coast, way too hot. This Harbor Seal knows how to relax and cool off at the same time. Sara Bogard photographed this contented Harbor Seal off the Point Arena Lighthouse bluffs.
shhh, I think I can hear this seal snoring...
Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
Yes, it's a cooker here. 80+ degrees right at the ocean, and at our house in Anchor Bay it has hit 100+ degrees. The heat wave is suppose to break tomorrow. I wouldn't mind if it broke this afternoon! Begone, heat wave! For those who love hot weather, this is your time!
You might have a chance to see a spectacle at Gualala Point Island this weekend. Common Murres, seabirds, nest on the island. When the chicks are ready to fledge, they have to take a leap of faith off the island and into the water where their fathers wait, calling up to them with encouragement. As of Friday, July 31st, the chicks were still on the island but they could fledge at any time now.
Sara Bogard was at the Point Arena Lighthouse bluffs when she saw a Common Murre chick in the water following its father, so this chick fledged earlier than the ones on GPI.
Once the chicks are in the water with dad, the mother birds are free from child rearing, something other bird mothers must be jealous of!
Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
I'll let Shari tell the story. She wrote, “On Monday [of last week], Scott Mercer, of Mendonoma Whale and Seal Study, told me that during his survey he had seen two Gray Whales foraging near the Point Arena Lighthouse, and they were there when he left just 30 minutes before. I drove to the Lighthouse, watched, and saw a blow. A whale was still there."
“The whale was close enough that, though I had to crop my photos heavily to increase the size, they were sharp enough to see detail, so I texted them to Scott. I was surprised when he texted back that he had sent them to a researcher in Washington, who replied immediately. The whale is somebody! It’s CRC-6, first photographed in the Straits of Juan De Fuca in 1986.
“That makes it older than 34 years old [they can live 40-60 years]; it escaped a boat collision, but sustained boat propeller injuries on its left side, and has rope scars on its right side where it escaped entanglement in fishing gear. It apparently has not migrated, since most Gray Whales should be in Alaskan waters feeding and storing resources for the winter migration to Mexican lagoons. CRC-6 may be a ‘resident,’ a local Gray Whale, at least for a while.”
Scott later learned this whale is a female. She's been seen with a calf in the past. What stories she could tell us if we only knew her language!
Thanks to Shari for allowing me to share her photos with you here.
The morning fog quickly gave way to a sunny, mild day.
Sara Bogard spends time each week counting Harbor Seals off the Point Arena Lighthouse bluffs. She sees more than just Harbor Seals! She saw this beautiful Whimbrel. Just look at that curved beak.
And a Common Loon.
Both species of birds are migrating southward now. Yes, the fall migration has already begun. Sara also saw some Jellyfish.
You never know what you might see when you take some time to watch the ocean. We have had Humpback Whales here in recent days, along with a few Gray Whales. Two Blue Whales were seen off the Point Arena Pier, and Harbor Porpoises...and more!
Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photos with you here.