Tag Archives: Siegfried Matull

• 2 Comments

•

I'm very pleased to have Siegfried Matull doing a guest blog today. He and his wife Gretel live on The Sea Ranch and delight in seeing and photographing nature.

"For many years my wife Gretel and I have been admiring and photographing Gray Foxes, which now show up year-round on our property. Our biggest surprise occurred when, for the first time, we saw a Gray Fox climb up into a tree.

"Gray Foxes are the only members of the fox species that can climb up, down and through trees. They have relatively short legs but they are very powerful. One time we watched a Gray Fox in a tree, slowly descending BACKWARDS down to the ground. We have watched several times how Cats also climb backwards down from trees in the same way the Gray Fox performed.

"On another occasion we were also tremendously surprised when a Gray fox was descending down a steep branch, supporting itself by holding on with its tail around the branch.

"Surprises never end in our beautiful Mendonoma Coastal area!"

A big thank you to Siegfried for his guest blog and beautiful photos.

• 3 Comments

•

I wanted to show you a close-up photo of a Brown Pelican. What better one than this splash down photo by Siegfried Matull. I love how the Pelican is reflected in the water.

You'll see this is a white-headed bird, signifying an adult. Thanks to Siegfried for allowing me to share his beautiful photo with you here.

•

It's okay to play favorites, isn't it? I love the Acorn Woodpeckers that share the Mendonoma Coast with us. They are beautifully marked, have a unique call and have great swooping flights as they come to our feeder. They particularly love sunflower seeds. Their main food source, though, is acorns and there are many Tan Oaks on our property.

Siegfried Matull photographed a male Acorn Woodpecker and has kindly allowed me to share his photo with you here. You can tell it's a male because there is no black between the white and red on its forehead.

Below is a photo I took of our bird feeder. I entitled it, "Are you done yet?" These are two females. Note the black in-between the white and red on their foreheads.

Acorn Woodpeckers work hard to store acorns in a granary tree. Here are two such trees on my neighbor's property. There are hundreds of holes in these trees. I was only able to photograph the top 1/3rd of the tall tree so you'll just have to imagine how big these granary trees are. Each hole will have an acorn stuffed in it in the fall. They will have to defend their food from raiding Jays.

It would have been a hardship for our Acorn Woodpeckers if my neighbor had taken these dead trees down. Thank goodness she didn't! They are serving a higher purpose.

• 1 Comment

•

You wouldn't know just how colorful the Coast's Wild Turkeys are until you see Siegfried Matull's photograph. This is a male, a Tom, flying out of a hedgerow.

Wild Turkeys, Meleagris gallopavo, will eat just about anything. They forage on the ground but can also climb on shrubs and small trees. And they are pretty good fliers considering their heft! Thanks to Siegfried for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

• 2 Comments

•

Robert Scarola couldn't believe what he was seeing - a Harbor Seal precariously perched on a rock, apparently asleep. Those must be sweet dreams as the Harbor Seal looks so happy.

Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share this smile-inducing photo with you here.

Harbor Seals will be giving birth to pups in April. Here's a link to see a mom and her pup by Craig Tooley :http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/07/27/sweet-photo-of-a-harbor-seal-pup-with-its-mom-taken-by-craig-tooley/

And to see a spectacular photo of Harbor Seals crowned by kelp, here's the link to Siegfried Matull's photo: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/08/24/a-photo-of-harbor-seals-crowned-with-kelp-by-siegfried-matull/