Tag Archives: Gualala River

Here is Eric Zetterholm's story from Feb. 26.

“I saw Chris Beach pointing his camera at the river as I came into Gualala for work in the morning. I turned around and pulled in next to him to see the two adult Bald Eagles on the logging structure in the river. We said hello and he said that the eagles had been just sitting there and he was waiting for one to take off and fly. I walked up the highway a bit to get a different angle and took a few pictures of the adult eagles together. I zoomed in for some close up shots and then out again to watch for one taking flight. It was then I spotted the young Eagle sitting just below the parents.”

Eric walked back to his car and found several people now watching the Bald Eagles from the riverside.  Eric wrote further, “I mentioned the little one being so hard to see hidden in plain sight, its color blending in with the logs and shadows. No one had seen the young one there, just focusing on the two white-headed adults. I went back up the road and was surprised again to see the adults start mating with the youth having a front row seat."

"Soon after, the male adult gathered up some nesting materials and flew off up river."

"I missed seeing the female adult fly away and left for work with the juvenile still sitting there perplexed. Parents can be so embarrassing.”

Eric Zetterholm recently found the Bald Eagles near the mouth of the Gualala River on a cloudy day. In this first photo, the smaller male seems to be "singing" to his mate. Could it be a love song, eagle-style?

Apparently she approved, as the male was allowed to  mate with her.

And in the last photo, the deed is done. hmmm, she doesn't seem very happy...

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

Another big storm is headed our way tonight and tomorrow, Sunday. The Gualala River is already full from the previous river-of-rain event. It will be majestic to see when the storm leaves. Batten down the hatches!

Bonny Dunn piloted her drone out over the Pacific Ocean to get this view of the coastline. It was at the peak of the recent King tides.

 

You can see the Gualala River flowing into the ocean and the town of Gualala in the middle. What a fascinating look at our area.

Thanks to Bonny for allowing me to share her photo with you here. To see more of Bonny's photography, here is a link to her website: https://bonnydunn.com/

We had a break from the storms today, Tuesday, but another storm is coming in tonight. Clouds are piling in! The last storm brought 2.50 inches, bringing my season to date total to 29.95 inches. 50 inches is a "normal" year at Rick's and my place, so we are well on our way!

Ospreys usually migrate to points south around the first week of autumn. And the vast majority have. But here comes a lone Osprey last week, hunting fish at the Gualala River. Eric Zetterholm was there with his camera.

Looks like the Osprey may have spotted a fish in this second photo.

Ospreys are a rare sighting in the Winter here. But I've been told an occasional Osprey has overwintered here on the Mendonoma Coast in the past. We'll be keeping watch to see if this Osprey is seen again.

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

We are having a sunny day with many high clouds overhead. It's the calm before the storms - we have a series of storms predicted to arrive beginning tomorrow, Friday.

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The pair of Bald Eagles has returned and are involved with courtship and mating now. Ron Bolander was at Gualala Point Regional Park when he took this photo of a Bald Eagle soaring near the Gualala River.

What a beautiful blue sky in Ron's photo!

Rozanne Rapozo photographed one of the Bald Eagles as it landed on a snag in the river. Magnificent!

Thanks to Ron and Rozanne for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We have a big storm coming in, which is to start in the wee hours of Saturday and continue all day. I'll report rain totals after the storm. We might receive a couple of inches of the wet stuff!