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Kate Bloch wrote, "This afternoon, I had the extraordinary privilege of witnessing the birth of a seal pup on Tide Pool Beach.  (This is the second such birth I've been lucky enough to observe.)  It was heartwarming and inspiring, capturing a remarkable moment of nature's magic.  It's seems especially timely that the birth took place on Earth Day.I have attached five photos.  They begin with the early emerging of the amniotic sac, reveal the moment of birth, and offer glimpses into the bonding between the mother and newborn, and their first swim together."

Tide Pool Beach April 22.2024
Tide Pool Beach April.22.2024

Now that the pup is born, the mother will bond with her. They touch noses!

Tide Pool Beach Birth April 22.2024
Tide Pool Beach April 22. 2024

Harbor Seal pups are born knowing how to swim. Here the newborn pup takes her first swim with her mother on Earth Day.

Tide Pool Beach April 22.204

Thanks to Kate for allowing me to share her great series of photos with you here.

Oh my, we had a good storm arrive in the wee hours of the morning. 1.86 inches fell, much more than predicted. It was a fairly gentle rain so there are only a few wisteria blossoms down at my place! Season to date rain total is 57.68 inches. 50.00 inches is a normal wet year, so two excellent rain years in a row now. Hooray!

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To celebrate the first day of May, here is a photo alive with color. The sun shone on this little hummingbird and Ron Bolander was ready with his camera - a beautiful male Allen's Hummingbird in full display.

Allen's Hummingbirds migrate up the California Coast and about halfway up the Oregon Coast to mate. The female will then choose her nesting site and raise her chicks. Some might choose the Mendonoma Coast!

Here's a fun fact from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: "Allen's Hummingbirds use their feet to help control their body temperature. When it's cold outside they tuck their feet up against their bellies while flying, but when temperatures soar, they let their feet dangle to cool down."

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

Windy here again today, but a trifle less. Warm too, temps in the low 70's.

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Sometimes you look at the sky and can't quite believe what you are seeing. That's what it must have been like for Kathy Haas a week or so ago. She photographed this beautiful sight.

Along a forest path, there is this spot where a beautiful Red Clintonia is beginning to bloom. It is a member of the Lily family so note the big lily leaves. On the lower right is a Feathery False Solomon Seal in full bloom. There are several others nearby. We got 0.13 inches of rain on Friday - not a lot, for sure, but you can see the moisture on these plants!

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

Today, Sunday, is sunny with a fog bank over the ocean. It's breezy again today!

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Northwestern Fence Lizards look like little dragons! Amy Ruegg recently photographed several basking on rocks.

In looking at Amy's photos, I'm wondering if the top one could be pregnant.

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

It's sunny with strong winds today. Looks like the spring winds have arrived. And they bring upwelling in the Pacific Ocean, igniting the food chain.

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I shared with you Craig Tooley's photo from the mother/calf pairs that were seen off of Black Point Beach, The Sea Ranch. Here are two of Karen Wilkinson's photos of one of the calves. The first shows the calf beginning to breach. And the second photo shows the baleen and stubby head of the calf.

Karen took lots of photos and some videos. They are posted on her website at https://www.mpkw.com/TSR-Walks?fbclid=IwAR1PvEUBbii-4XLonK0ak74iF1vT3HovmkN5wcdtdjESdFx1qKikrdgIN2k

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

We've have fog over the ocean, clouds overhead interspersed with sunshine. Even a few drops of rain splashed down. A little bit of everything today! Tonight's sunset could be beautiful.