Monthly Archives: September 2012

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Fringed Corn Lilies are only found in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. They are rare and special. Growing near water, their huge leaves amaze us in the spring. By the time the flower stalk with white flowers appears, the leaves have been munched on by insects. But the lovely flower rises above the mangy leaves and is a beautiful sight.

John Sperry recently photographed one blooming near Timber Cove.

Actually, the leaves in John's photo don't look very eaten. If you'd like to see some of these endemic flowers,
there are several growing along the pathway to Cooks Beach just north of Gualala.

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

Here's a link to see the leaves in the springtime: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/04/08/fringed-corn-lily-leaves-a-rare-mendonoma-plant/

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Jan de Vries spotted a young Bobcat near his home of The Sea Ranch. It sure looks to be a young one.

This Bobcat hasn't really filled out yet but he's already out hunting rodents. Have I mentioned The Sea Ranch has plenty of gophers? Bobcats can be seen hunting gophers in grassy meadows during the daytime.

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

To see a Bobcat walking a labyrinth on the Gualala Ridge, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/04/21/bobcat-walking-a-labyrinth-an-amazing-sight-on-the-gualala-ridge/

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Craig Tooley recently photographed a juvenile Acorn Woodpecker growing in new feathers.

I love these clown-faced Woodpeckers. They fly in, with their swooping motion, and land on Bishop Pine trees near our bird feeder. Once on the feeder, the bird acts like a secret agent, looking here and there while bobbing its head.

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

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As I showed you yesterday, there is a lovely little lagoon on the northern portion of Manchester State Beach. There I saw two birds wading in the water. The one on the left was about half the size of the other one. Ron LeValley identified it as a Pectoral Sandpiper. The bird on the right is a Short-billed Dowitcher.

Below there is a portion of a boat, with the metal piece that held the anchor, that recently washed up on the beach. Someone has already incorporated it into a driftwood "building."

And below Mel Smith and Linda Bostwick are standing next to a small refrigerator. It's very heavy. This and the portion of the boat might be precursors of the tsunami debris head our way from the Japanese disaster.

We were lucky and had a sighting of an Elegant Sheepmoth for our own!

And as we picked up debris, a flock of Canada Geese passed by, their wingbeats were audible in the calm morning air.

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Yesterday, Saturday, was Coastal Clean-up day so Rick and I met Linda Bostwick and Mel Smith at the northern end of Manchester State Beach. The fog was just off the coast and the air was cool, perfect for scouring the beach and lagoon for trash.

Here's the path from Highway One. The woods contain walk-in campsites.

Below Linda Bostwick with her poodle, Devi, stand in one of the campsites.

As we walked further into the park we saw beautiful grasses and sedges. A group of Cattails waved in the breezes. The Point Arena Lighthouse stands to the far left.

Below is a beautiful, small lagoon. Tomorrow I will show you two Sandpipers who were fishing in it.

And here is the result of our labors. Rick, Mel and Linda with the debris we picked up. Two items were left on the beach because they were too heavy - a small refrigerator and a small but heavy tire. These could be precursors of the tsunami debris that will  hitting our coast in the months to come.