Tag Archives: California Sea Lion

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Carolyn Case wrote, "[Two weeks ago], I stopped by Cooks Beach. There were no other visitors, and as I walked towards the water’s edge at the north end, I suddenly heard a barking behind me and saw a large Sea Lion heading toward the water. I think we were both surprised."

"It was an exciting sighting but I was sorry to have disturbed it; it must have been resting among the rocks as I had walked right by without noticing it.” Several others had seen this male California Sea Lion and wondered if he was injured. But CC’s photos show what appears to be a healthy Sea Lion. There is an active colony of male Sea Lions living on Fish Rocks off Anchor Bay.

Thanks to CC for allowing me to share her photo with you here. To learn more about Cooks Beach, which was brought to us by the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy, here is a link: https://www.rclc.org/property-map/

It's chilly today - the wind is cold. Lots of clouds drifting by with intermittent sunshine...and achingly beautiful!

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Bill Mabie and Denise Mendoza were up at Noyo Harbor several weeks ago. Bill wrote, “We were having lunch at Sea Pal Cove and we saw something that surprised us. A Harbor Seal was swimming by, but then a Sea Lion showed up. At first we thought it was just playing, but then it disappeared for a short period and burst upwards breaching. Looking at the photos it appears that Sea Lion was attacking Gulls. Is that normal?”

No, something else was going on here. Bill’s photos show the Sea Lion caught some type of Skate, also called Rays. The Gulls were actually trying to steal all or part of the Sea Lion’s catch. Ryan Berger, a Marine Scientist at the Marine Mammal Center took a look at Bill’s photos. He wrote, “Most certainly you will see Gulls flying overhead when a CA Sea Lion has prey at the surface that they are breaking into smaller pieces to consume. The Gulls often fly down to pick up scraps or try and steal the fish away.”

I asked birder Tim Bray if he could identify the types of Gulls in Bill’s photos. He wrote, “All I can make out for sure is one immature Herring Gull with a yellow iris. I think there's at least one more immature Herring and one California Gull as well. Of more interest to me is the fish! It looks like a Skate, which I did not know we had in the Noyo. It makes sense though, they are often found in estuaries.”

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

Clear and very cold this Saturday morning, with clouds coming in this afternoon. Rain is in our forecast, beginning sometime Sunday and continuing through next week. Bring it, Mother Nature! Let's break this drought!

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Mostly we see male California Sea Lions off the Mendonoma coast. Jennifer Terry recently photographed one appearing to be looking out to sea.

There is a colony of male CA Sea Lions on Fish Rocks just off of Anchor Bay. In the spring, most of them leave to mate with females to our south, returning to their rocky home when mating is over. They are able to "walk" with their flippers. Sea Lions are very intelligent, and they seem to have a lot to say, as they bark seemingly all day and night!

You can learn more about CA Sea Lions on the Marine Mammal Center's website at this link: http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/education/marine-mammal-information/pinnipeds/california-sea-lion/

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

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Male California Sea Lions are migrating now. In recent months the males have been hanging around the females on Fish Rocks, which is just off Anchor Bay, and a few other locations. Now the males are leaving, some going only as far as The Sea Ranch. Craig Tooley photographed a magnificent male with a Common Raven looking over its shoulder.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's Coastal photography, here's the link: http://ruffimage.com/