Sara Bogard found this yearling Harbor Seal snoozing on the rocks off the Point Arena Lighthouse Peninsula.
This seal looks pretty content and relaxed. Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
We are having a lovely, sunny day with very little wind.
Mark Hancock sent in a sighting that I didn’t know was possible to see, the Lost Coast. Mark wrote, “On Thursday morning, Feb. 4, I was greeted by one of my favorite and rarest sights as I crested Lighthouse Road, and the Point Arena Light Station came into view. The horizon was so crystal clear that you could see the ghostly images of the King Range on the northern ocean horizon! I have seen this maybe 20 times in my five plus years at the Lighthouse, and it always takes my breath away. Considering that the King Range is about 120 miles away, we get to see just the peaks of the 4,000 feet tall mountain range." Sara Bogard was there to take these photos.
How wonderful to know that this can be seen on a super-clear day! Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photos with you here, and thanks to Mark for telling the story.
We have some rain coming in for Thursday into early Friday, and then it is predicted to be sunny and warmer. I saw my first Milkmaids, Cardamine californica, today, a wonderful native wildflower.
Sara Bogard had caught a glimpse of what she thought was a small owl. Then she saw it some days later - a cute Burrowing Owl.
Sara's photo doesn't show this owl's long legs. They live in burrows that they create or utilize burrows of other creatures. They hunt rodents and insects in grasslands. Their habitat is shrinking due to we humans, so it's heartening to see one on the coast. And, yes, Burrowing Owls have bright yellow eyes!
Their call is a two-note "who, whooo" and you can hear it at this link at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Burrowing_Owl/sounds
Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
A cloudy, windless, mild day today. Tomorrow is suppose to be sunny and then the storm door opens once again.
Sara Bogard was charmed by this sight - a group of Killdeer in the new labyrinth installed on the grounds of the Point Arena Lighthouse.
Killdeer are graceful plovers, and they are shorebirds that often can be found away from the shore. I always enjoy seeing these beautiful birds. Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
To learn more about the new labyrinth, here is the link: https://www.pointarenalighthouse.com/museum/
Just scroll down the page to find the information on the labyrinth. I haven't walked it yet, but I look forward to doing that soon. I did spend some time on the bluffs of the Lighthouse a few days ago, sitting socially distant from whale experts, Scott and Tree Mercer. We spotted two groups of Gray Whales, migrating southward. The Mercers are seeing large numbers of migrating whales this week.
It's rainy here today, with much more coming in on Tuesday. Bring it, Mother Nature!
Sara Bogard photographed this funny sight, well, maybe not funny if you are the Sea Star. Here a Western Gull has stuffed an Ochre Star into its mouth. Yes, these gulls eat stars.
Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
It's raining this afternoon on the Mendonoma Coast. The rain sounds nice on the roof as I type this post.