Tag Archives: The Sea Ranch

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Bill Oxford was photographing Sea Lions off Biehler Point on The Sea Ranch this past week. There was a group of Sea Lions rafting together nearby. Several peeled off and decided to surf the big waves. The first photo show three Sea Lions. I can almost hear their glee!

Another of Bill's great photos of this event will be in tomorrow's Independent Coast Observer in my Mendonoma Sightings column.What? You don't get the paper? You can sign up at http://www.mendonoma.com

Were Sea Lions the first surfers? Could be! But there are other creatures who love to surf, including Bottlenose Dolphins and Western Gulls. And then there are the two-legged variety. Rozanne Rapozo photographed this surfer off the mouth of the Gualala River, not a place we usually see surfers!

Thanks to Bill and Rozanne for allowing me to share their photos with you here. You can see more of Bill's photography, which includes weddings, at his website: https://www.billoxford.com/

Today, 1/31/24 Wednesday, the Mendonoma Coast...and much of California...has been hit by a whopper of a storm. Rain totals vary greatly depending on location. As I type this, Rick's and my gauge is at 3.14 inches and it's still raining. I've had reports of over six inches on the Gualala Ridge. It's a gully washer!

 

 

 

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Michele Melio was at Shell Beach, one of public access trails of The Sea Ranch. She wrote, "I saw something red, maybe a Downy or Hairy Woodpecker. No, something better, a Pileated Woodpecker, nature's chainsaw."

"The Beaver is nature's builder and engineer, but the woody woodpecker lives up to its name. They can turn a tree into sawdust and wood chips in a matter of days. I've never seen one in this area before, as they generally hide and hunt in the forest on the ridge with the bigger trees. I tried my best to get a better shot, but it kept calling "ha-ha-ha-ha-ha." Then comes a noisy pair of humans walking down the trail talking loudly. It took off cackling the entire way."

It's not always easy to get a photo of one of these prehistoric-looking birds. Here's another look at one of these beauties, this one taken by Mike Petrich.

Pileateds have a very unique call. You can listen to it at this link at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/sounds

Thanks to Michele and Mike for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

The storm late Friday brought another inch of rain, and we sailed past 25 inches season to date. It's raining Saturday afternoon and another storm is due in Sunday. Bring it, Mother Nature!

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Tricia Schuster found this Black-tailed Deer near her Sea Ranch home. He sure is handsome! And it turns out he likes birdseed.

The mating season of these Deer is over and this Buck will lose his impressive antlers in the weeks ahead. New and possibly even more impressive ones will grow next spring.

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

Temps in the mid 60s today with a gentle breeze. Rain headed our way starting on Sunday!

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Craig Tooley recently spent some time photographing the birds on an offshore rock at The Sea Ranch. He found some Brown Pelicans in breeding plumage - yellow on the top of their white heads, and red skin on their throat patch. It certainly does seem early!

Those black birds are Brandt's Cormorants, and the dark brown bird is a juvenile Brandt's. At the very top of Craig's photo looks to be the bottom parts of a Western Gull. Nice to see everybody getting along!

Below is a video Craig took showing the pelicans preening themselves. They are resting on the journey southward.

I will miss their comings and goings during the winter months, and look forward to seeing them again in late spring.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo and video with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

A beautiful cool day here today. Fog rolled in over the ocean this afternoon and it's a sea of white. A storm is arriving early tomorrow.

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When there are clouds to reflect the sunset, such beauty can be had. Adrian Bennett took this photo from her place at The Sea Ranch.

Adrian wrote, “My camera phone can’t capture the true beauty of this sunset but still pretty good! I am thankful that I am lucky enough to live with beauty everywhere.”

That’s a wonderful way to describe the Mendonoma Coast – living with beauty everywhere.

Another storm moved in yesterday afternoon bringing over a half inch of rain. 6.38 inches so far at Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay!