Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

•

I love seeing and hearing CA Quail. They have their chicks with them now, and they can be seen hurrying along under bushes and grasses. Ruth Downes recently photographed this male CA Quail amidst some of his offspring. He sure is a handsome fellow!

Ruth also Yellow-cheeked Chipmunks feeding right along with a CA Quail couple.

It must be summer on the Mendonoma Coast!

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

It's toasty warm when you get a little ways from the Pacific Ocean.

• 2 Comments

•

Roxanne Holmes spotted this handsome Dungeness Crab on a beach at low tide at The Sea Ranch.

I wonder if this crab was smiling at Roxanne!

Thanks to Roxanne for a fun photo and for allowing me to share it with you here.

It's sunny and breezy on the Coast this afternoon!

•

The proliferation of trail cameras gives us insight into our natural world. Carl Romick wrote, “Our trail cam picked up this photo last Thursday at 9:50 am. The path is above Galloway Creek off Schooner Gulch Road, about three quarters of a mile from the coast.”

It’s striking that this Cougar was seen mid-morning. They are supposed to be nocturnal, but we have had several recent sightings in the daylight hours.

Joni Goshorn's trail cam captured a video of a Mountain Lion near Point Arena. It's quite misty and you can see the time is 12:25 am on June 23.

6-23-22 1225am Mountain lion in the mist

Thanks to Carl and Joni for allowing me to share their photo/video with you here.

It's a foggy day here today with temps in the low 60s. It's always nice when Mother Nature helps to water our gardens with nice, moist fog!

•

Craig Tooley recently found one of my favorite birds, the Pileated Woodpecker. I heard one calling in the Anchor Bay area this morning.

These prehistoric-looking birds are quite large - their wingspan can be 29 inches. The red streak on the woodpecker's cheek tell us this is a male. They have a very unique call, which you can hear at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/sounds

The folks at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have created a fabulous, free app that you can upload to your smart phone. It's called the Merlin Bird ID  app, and I've been having so much fun with it! You hold your phone up to birdsong and the app identifies the bird, showing you a photo along with the name. You can find it at this link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell-lab/id773457673

The Merlin app is brilliant and sure to be a hit with youngsters too!

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

Today is simply lovely here on the Mendonoma Coast. Clear skies and a gentle breeze. Two Finback Whales were seen yesterday morning, which means there is a lot of feed - anchovies! - in the ocean. We're hoping to see our first Blue Whale of the season any day.

 

•

Black-tailed Deer do swim, and they are occasionally seen in the Gualala River. Paul Brewer recently photographed four Does wading in the river.

Perhaps they were thirsty! The Gualala River looks beautiful now. Look how blue that water is!

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is the link: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

It is a lovely day here on the Mendonoma Coast. Gentle breezes, temps in the 70s and the fog has been pushed way back. We are in for a warming trend for the next four or five days.