Sara Bogard was at the bluffs of the Point Arena Lighthouse and the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands counting Harbor Seals, as she usually does once a week. Citizen science at it's best! She saw this American Kestrel.
These Kestrels are the smallest falcons in North America. They are fierce hunters, though, of insects and small prey. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says their numbers are declining and you can help them by putting up a nesting box. You can learn about how to do so at this link: https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/?__hstc=75100365.3ba4c962035e2b46bef5a13526048f2b.1532470093277.1578698034623.1579993283940.72&__hssc=75100365.2.1579993283940&__hsfp=942012614#_ga=2.46727719.1805588219.1579993283-500012005.1532470093
American Kestrels have a distinctive call that can help you identify them. You can listen at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/sounds
Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
Bonus sighting - a pod of Orcas, Killer Whales, was seen off our coast yesterday!
As I type this at 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon, it has begun to pour!