Tag Archives: The Sea Ranch

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Craig Tooley was at The Sea Ranch photographing the group of Pelagic Cormorant nests. He was startled to see a nest with eggs unattended.

 You will see three eggs in the nest. The nests are made on steep cliffs, facing the ocean.

And here the parent has returned to care for the eggs. Several nests now have babies and I'll share that with you soon.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's Coast photography, here's the link to his website: ruffimage.com

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Rick and I were enjoying the beautiful Thursday morning, looking at the wildflowers and hoping to see some Gray Whales. We were just south of Black Point Beach. There's a rock where a few Western Gulls are nesting. As we approached, a squadron of Brown Pelicans flew by, almost at eye level. It's our first sighting of them this spring.

These are adult Brown Pelicans. You can see their white heads.

At this point the Pelicans headed towards land and they gained altitude before heading off to the north.

They are air surfers! It is always thrilling to see them as they glide across the sky.
To see a close-up of an adult Brown Pelican, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/04/26/brown-pelican-splash-down-as-photographed-by-siegfried-matull/

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Here's what Carolyn wrote, "“There were two pups diving off of the moms and doing somersaults underwater. Then, back up on Mom. Moms and pups – the annual show.”

The best place to see Harbor Seal mothers with their pups is at Tide Pool Rookery off The Sea Ranch or the mouth of the Russian River at Jenner.

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

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Spring wildflowers are in glorious bloom. The bluffs at The Sea Ranch are a great place to see them. Allen Vinson recently took these beautiful photos.

Here is a field of Goldfields.

 You can see that we've been having lovely weather.

Thanks to Allen for allowing me to share his photos with  you here.

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Local divers, Jack Likins and Eric Anderson, recently dove for Abalone. Here's what Jack had to say about the dive:

“Eric and I went for a dive last Wednesday at a secret spot off of The Sea Ranch coast. The wind was calm, the waves were calm and the water visibility was about 15 to 20 feet. It was a good first dive.

"Eric is 71 and I am 68 so we didn’t want to do anything too strenuous, especially on our first dive of the season.

“We were diving relatively deep for a low tide, from about 20 to 35 feet. Eric got a nice 9 ¾ inch abalone and I got two that were over 10 inches. Both Eric and I dive a lot, so we save our annual limits [24/season and three/day] for the larger abalones. We usually see hundreds of abalone on each dive, we seldom take one unless it is large or we need one for dinner.”

Here is the photo of Jack's two ten inchers:

Several abalone divers paid the ultimate price this past weekend. Eric Anderson has this poem on his website. He has kindly allowed me to share it here.
    ODE to ABALONE DIVERS 
       by Abaloneten 
       
When I’m dead and in my grave
No more abalone will I crave
At the top of my tombstone will be seen
“Here lies the body of an abalone diving fiend”
A little bit lower will be inscribed
“He nearly got the big one before he died”
At my funeral the preacher will say
“If it hadn’t been for abalone, he’d be alive today”
My family will be sad, and, they’ll wonder why,
So will my buddies when they come to say good bye
All I can figure, is, God wanted my soul
Cuz I think I  located God’s favorite ab hole…
To learn much more about abalone, here is Eric's website: https://sites.google.com/site/abaloneten/
Thanks to Eric and Jack for sharing their photo and experience with us here.