Tag Archives: The Sea Ranch

The largest woodpecker on the Mendonoma Coast is the Pileated Woodpecker and Eric Zetterholm recently had one visit his The Sea Ranch home.  Eric wrote, “The fallen trees around our neighborhood from the January storms have attracted a Pileated Woodpecker to hang around a bit. Most often we can only hear it in the morning along with the Acorn Woodpeckers and Quail that are in greater numbers this spring. I had two chances to get pictures of  the Pileated in the last week during the evening sunset lighting that just gets through the thinned-out trees.”

These big woodpeckers have a very distinctive call. You can hear it at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/sounds

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

There is a high fog here today, but the temps are mild.

 

Signs of spring are seemingly everywhere, and new life adds to the magic. It doesn’t get more magical than having a white Fawn arrive. Roxanne Holmes wrote, “This normal-colored Doe had two fawns this year. One is the typical dark hue with light spots, and the other is almost white with barely perceptible lighter spots. It seems to me that you have explained that this is an occasional occurrence, and that the light one will darken as it matures.”

We have had several white Fawns over the years, and it’s always a startling sight, almost like you can’t believe your eyes. These rare Fawns are considered “towheads” and will eventually color up. But they will never reach the coloring of a normal-colored Fawn. We believe there is a Buck with a recessive gene that causes this anomaly. This little Fawn born on The Sea Ranch needs to survive its lack of camouflage.

Thanks to Roxanne for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

Lots of cool fog over the ocean and some coastal bluffs, but sunny elsewhere. Breezy and beautiful!

Michael Reinhart found these two Western Bluebirds in fields of Johnny Tuck, Triphysaria eriantha ssp. Rosea, a native wildflower blooming in profusion at Black Point on The Sea Ranch. Here is the male posing in the wildflowers.

And here is the female.

So beautiful to see. Thanks to Mike for allowing me to share his photos with you here. And thanks to Mary Sue Ittner for the ID of the wildflowers.

It's foggy over the ocean, but sunny most places this afternoon. At my place, temps are in the mid 70s. Nice!

Amy Ruegg found a mass of golden eggs of an unusual fish at an low tide.

She wrote, “What a beautiful morning and a nice minus tide at Pebble Beach! There were lots of the usual culprits like Bat Stars, Purple Urchins, Abalone, Anemones and Chitons. This, however, was a pretty surprise. INaturalist says they are the eggs of the Plainfin midshipman, which would be exciting enough, but when googling this species, I find out they have three sexes! Female, male I and male II.”

Amy also learned this batrachoid toadfish is bioluminescent and they make a humming sound that nearby humans can hear. Amazing!

Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

It's a glorious day on the Mendonoma Coast - sunny and in the low 70s with no wind!

There are two rabbits seen on the Mendonoma Coast - the Black-tailed Jackrabbit and the much smaller Brush Rabbit. Jon Loveless recently photographed this Brush Rabbit near his home on The Sea Ranch.

With all the Easter egg hunts going on today, it seemed appropriate to share a rabbit photo!

Thanks to Jon for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Oh my, it's a lovely day here. No wind, blue skies with clouds passing by, and warmer temps. sigh.