Tag Archives: Bowling Ball Beach

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Bowling Ball Beach is a wonderful place to explore, especially after a storm. Catherine Miller and Hal Ferguson were exploring there recently at low tide. And what a glorious day they had!

Here are some "bowling balls" about to join others on the beach, giving this beach its name. They are sandstone concretions.

Below Hal is holding a Rock Crab found on the beach. It was a catch, photograph and release moment!

Bowling Ball Beach is part of Schooner Gulch State Park. You can learn more about this park at this link to CA State Parks: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=446

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

We are having wild weather today, Friday. Tremendous downpours followed by brief sun. It's a wait five minutes kind of day.

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Bowling Ball Beach is part of the California State Parks system. It's known for these round rock formations that fall away from the cliffs. At low tide they do look like bowling balls. Mark Hancock recently visited at a minus tide and got these photos.

Mark wrote, "The tide was so far out beyond the bowling balls and the colors of the seagrass and mosses against the sandy tone of the balls was beautiful. A truly magical morning walk on one of the most unique beaches in the world!”

To learn more about Bowling Ball Beach and  the adjacent Schooner Gulch State Beach, here is their website:https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=446

The Schooner Gulch access to the south is much easier than the direct route to Bowling Ball. That route is challenging until State Parks repairs the access.

Here is a description of how the "bowling balls" were formed, from the website atlasobscura: "...the so-called bowling balls are actually a geological phenomenon known as “concretion,” sedimentary rock formed by a natural process wherein mineral cements bind grains of sand or stone into larger formations. These boulders are the result of millions of years of concretion and erosion, exposing the hard spheres as the mudstone of the cliffs receded around them."

Thanks to Mark for allowing me to share his photos with you here. Another of Mark's photos will be in Thursday's Independent Coast Observer with my column, Mendonoma Sightings.

Fog, fog and more fog close to the ocean, but it's sunny on the ridge. I have fog in front of our house and sun behind it!

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Peter Baye wrote, "Here are photos of the big ‘cheese wheel’ disc concretion about midway along Bowling Ball Beach’s erosion-refreshed cliffs. There is always a new view!"

"Plus, a big earthflow dropped a tree and mass of ice plant down to the shore."

"The beach is gone for now, but will probably return with months of gentle swell.” Peter wrote that the concretion disc was one of the largest he has seen, over 12 feet in diameter and only a foot thick. He described it “like a big coin.”

Bowling Ball Beach is a great place to beach comb after a storm.

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

Wild, wet storm yesterday, Sunday. Today the wind is howling! It is to be clear weather for several days ahead.

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Steve Bennett photographed these two Western Gulls strolling along the beach, at Bowling Ball Beach.

Western Gulls are the only year-round Gulls on the Mendonoma coast. We do see other species of Gulls arriving  now, to overwinter here or, perhaps, just passing through.

Here's a close-up of one of these gulls, taken by Allen Vinson. They are quite beautiful, and just look at those pink legs and webbed feet!

Thanks to Steve and Allen for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Oh my, the fog rolled in thick and heavy today, and it's cold!

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The very first Harbor Seal pup has been seen resting at Bowling Ball Beach. It is particularly important to leash your dogs and check any beach during pupping season.

Carol Cleland was one of the first to see the pup. She wrote, “I was enjoying a beautiful day on the beach when I saw this very young Harbor Seal pup tucked away napping."

"I figured the mama was out fishing and would come back for her little one. Then I wondered about who I should call to get info on what to do. I assumed I should leave it alone and move on down the beach, but I worried about its safety.”

Never try to “save” a pup. The correct thing to do if you think a pup is in distress is to call the Marine Mammal Center at 415) 289-SEAL  or 415) 289-7350. They have trained volunteers here who will assess the situation, and effect a rescue if needed. Here's a link to their website: http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/

Carol reported this pup was gone the next day, so we hope all is well and that the pup thrives.

The coming weeks are a great time to see new life on the Mendonoma coast. Rick and I have found twigs off our Japanese maple tree on the ground. We know what that means - birds, probably Steller's Jays, are already building their nests. Now is NOT the time to be pruning branches in trees and bushes.

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

Heavy rain in the wee hours of the morning, with clouds mixed with sunshine this afternoon.