Tag Archives: Navarro River

Jeff Goll loves heading out with his camera to see what kind of Nature sightings he can photograph. He saw this flock of Brown Pelicans flying over the Navarro River. You can tell the young Brown Pelicans because they have brown heads and white tummies. The adults have white heads and brown tummies. Juvenile Brown Pelicans arrived early this year. They are headed north, looking for fish wherever they go.

Jeff also saw three Canada Geese swimming in the river.

And these various reflections in the river.

There is beauty everywhere you look here on the Mendonoma Coast!

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

It cooled off today with some clouds overhead. Temp in the low 70's - nice!

Jeff Goll was at Navarro Beach yesterday, April 5th. There was a high surf advisory and the conditions didn't disappoint. You can almost hear the action by looking at Jeff's photos.

Jeff told me the Navarro River is currently blocked from flowing into the ocean by the big sandbar. So this River Otter had to hotfoot it over the sandbar to reach the ocean.

North American River Otters can navigate on land, in rivers and in oceans. Once a River Otter was seen crossing Highway One in Gualala! They are great climbers and can easily climb up a bluff face. They cannot abide pollution so their presence is a good sign for the health of the Mendonoma Coast's rivers and creeks.

Thanks to Jeff for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see more of Jeff's nature photography, here is his website: http://jeffgoll.com/

The wind has disappeared and the ocean is calm today. Warm weather is predicted for the next few days. Head for the coast! Bonus sighting: the first mother/calf Gray Whale pair was seen a few days ago off the Point Arena Lighthouse Peninsula by Scott and Tree Mercer.

Nicholas Wilson wrote, "The Navarro River mouth sandbar finally breached naturally early Monday Jan. 8, 2018, letting backed-up river water flow into the Pacific, and allowing reopening of Hwy. 128. Due to continued wet weather through the week, today Friday the 12th was the first chance I had to get aerial photos of the new channel through the sandbar. Here are two views taken with a DJI Phantom 4 Advanced flying camera. It was low tide, with a strong current flowing out through the new channel. The lower five miles or so of the river is a tidal estuary, with sea water flowing in through the channel during high tide.

How wonderful to see this river from the air! We are all glad it opened, as did the Gualala River. When the Navarro backs up, it can flood Highway 128. The Gualala River doesn't have development in its floodplain, and consequently causes no problems when it floods.

Thanks to Nicholas for these great photos. If you'd like to connect with him, here is a link to his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nicholas.wilson.3975

Sarah Wagner was at the Navarro River when she captured this magical sight.

The Milky Way, in all its glory, is shining brightly in the night sky.

Thanks to Sarah for allowing me to share her photo with you here. Sarah took another photo of the Milky Way while on a night kayak trip on Big River. The stars are reflected in the river. That photo will be in this week's Independent Coast Observer. Don't miss it! Here's the ICO's website: www.mendonoma.com

The Gualala River is as low as I've seen it. I recently took this photo showing the closed mouth of the river.

 Kayakers were spotted in the lagoon, where the water is deep enough to paddle.

There are many demands on this wild river. To learn about more about the Gualala River, here is the website for Friends of the Gualala River: http://gualalariver.org/river/default.html.

The Navarro River doesn't have the water demands that have caused the low levels in the Gualala. Here's a recent photo taken by Peter Baye of ruppia, an aquatic plant, in the full lagoon of the Navarro.

The ruppia is a good sign, a sign of a healthy river, according to Peter. I thank Peter for allowing me to share his photo with you here.