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Karen Wilkinson wrote, "I came across a small flock of Golden-crowned Kinglets feeding on geometrid moth caterpillars (aka inchworms).  They're pretty cool little creatures that look like stiff, tiny worms or twigs holding their bodies rigid and angled away from branches.  They were perfectly camouflaged as tiny twigs on conifers.  The kinglets made quick work of them, eating more than a dozen directly in front of me. I didn't know about this until I got back home and looked up their relationship with these inchworms.  This was totally new to me, but apparently, they are a well known part of a Golden-crowned Kinglet's diet."

Fun fact: Each of the Golden-crowned Kinglet's nostrils is covered by a single, tiny feather. To hear the call of these tiny birds (about the size of a hummingbird), here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Golden-crowned_Kinglet/sounds Their calls are very highly pitched and people with hearing loss often cannot hear them.

Thanks to Karen for allowing me to share her photo with you here!

We received another 0.54 inches of rain, for a total of 1.10 inches from yesterday's storm. 2.69 inches to date with another storm coming in tonight. The ocean is LOUD! Very big surf and waves. The Gualala River looks close to opening!

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It was hard to see the Big-eyed Toad Bug in Craig Tooley's photo. Remember, they are the size of a watermelon seed! Sita Milchev forwarded this close-up for you to see.

What an amazing little bug with big eyes that is able to hop like a toad!

Thanks to Sita for sending along this photo for me to share with you here.

Oh my, we had a big storm this morning! 1.06 inches. Another big one is coming in late Saturday and into Sunday!

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Can you see the bug?

Craig Tooley was at the Gualala River when he noticed a tiny bug. After some research, I believe it’s a toad bug, more specifically a big-eyed toad bug. When I told Craig, he wrote back, “I’ve never heard of such a thing! But very interesting, glad I caught it. I should go down and look around and see if I can see anymore.”

They are about the size of a watermelon seed. And they have exceptional camouflage until they suddenly hop across the sand or mud. Living near the shoreline of fresh water streams and rivers, they are beneficial, eating even tinier insects.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

We've had a few sprinkles today but the sun is shinning this afternoon, at least for a short while. The surface waters of the Pacific Ocean are flowing south to north, indicating a storm is on the way!

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Sara Bogard was out recently with a friend.  She wrote, "Barbara Mehl and I saw two Bobcats north of Point Arena. This one was gorgeous!! And regal.”

Bobcats are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast. They are often seen in the daylight hours hunting rodents in grassy meadows.

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

Warm and calm today - 70 degrees! It's the calm before the storm as we have a big one coming in early Friday. Batten down the hatches!

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Loch Michie has been noticing a particular Acorn Woodpecker working away to drill holes in the building that houses Anchor Bay Store.

After drilling the holes with its powerful beak, the woodpecker foraged for acorns and has begun poking them into some of the holes. These acorns, and the bugs that are drawn to them, will be eaten by these woodpeckers during the winter months.

Normally Acorn Woodpeckers use a dead tree - a snag - to drill holes. Then the dead tree is called a granary tree. Sometimes they will use the dead wood we tend to use for buildings, which is what is going on in Anchor Bay!

To hear the distinctive calls of this woodpecker, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Acorn_Woodpecker/sounds They also have tips on how to protect your building from this activity if this is happening to you.

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

We had a storm move through late Sunday into Monday which dropped 0.38 inches of rain. 1.59 season to date. Today is cool and breezy with lots of clouds zipping by. There could be a beautiful sunset tonight!