Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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I love seeing Northern Flickers. I often see them coming to neighbors' springs to get water. Craig Tooley recently photographed a male Flicker.

The red "whiskers" tells us this is a male and is the Red-shafted form of Flickers, the ones found here in the west. Their call is distinctive and you can hear it at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology site at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/sounds

Northern Flickers use their big beaks to dig in the ground, unearthing ants and beetles, their preferred food.

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

Another sunny, unseasonably warm day. Really, it's quite lovely but it's just not right for February. But what else can we do but enjoy the warm breezes and bright blue sky?! News flash! Scott and Tree Mercer saw the first NORTH-bound Gray Whale on Monday, Feb. 7th, just about on schedule. The first to head back to the Arctic are the newly pregnant females. They need to get to their feeding grounds as fast as possible. Gray Whales are arriving to the birthing lagoons off Baja California not. So, yes, the grays are coming and going!

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Chris Swarth witnessed a Bobcat successfully hunting a Pocket Gopher. Chris wrote, “I snapped this photo from my kitchen window in The Sea Ranch near the airport. I’d been watching the Bobcat crouched motionless with twitching tail, nose in the grass, for one to two minutes. I grabbed my camera and a few seconds later watched as the Bobcat snatched the gopher from its hole and walked toward me. The Bobcat then sat nearby in the shade and within a few minutes had consumed its prey. It was a large gopher, probably a male.”

I noticed the Pocket Gopher had something in its mouth and queried Chris about it, mentioning the photo shows the food chain in action. Chris wrote, “Yes, the gopher does hold a bit of grass or other plant in its mouth. At the base of this plant, at the gopher’s mouth, at first I thought this was a small bulb. But now I think that this light spot is a bit of distended cheek pouch – the ‘pocket’ which gives the gopher its name: the Pocket Gopher.”

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

Warm with absolutely no wind, and clouds overhead...it sure seems strange for February.

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What a great photo! Rozanne Rapozo was at the Gualala River estuary when she saw this Bald Eagle, the male of the mated pair that call the Gualala area their home.

The pair have been seen mating this past week! X-rated sightings for you today.

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

Fog at the immediate coast, sunny elsewhere. Kind of sounds like spring, rather than winter.

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Sara Bogard was out at the Point Arena Lighthouse bluffs when she noticed a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk and something else. She wrote, "This American Kestrel was diving at this Red-shouldered Hawk. The Kestrel won and the Red-shouldered Hawk flew off, a dramatic moment."

Sara also recently photographed a Belted Kingfisher. Such a cute little gal!

This morning I  heard a Red-shouldered Hawk calling overhead. Their call is quite distinctive and you can hear it for yourself at this link at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/sounds

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

Lots of dark clouds in the sky today but no rain predicted. This morning several people sent me photos of a cloud that looked like a bird...or an angel. I'll share it here soon.

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I recently showed you a video of an adult Mountain Lion, a female, and her two offspring. Now we have a sighting of an adult male. Mike Dinning wrote, “This was Sunday morning at 1:56 am, 15 feet outside the backdoor [of my house] in Point Arena, the vicinity of Ten Mile Road and Schooner Gulch. I was surprised that the Mountain Lion stood there long enough for me to take a picture.”

I sent Mike’s photo to Mountain Lion expert Quinton Martins asking if he thought Mike’s photo showed a male.  Quinton wrote, “What a beauty!!! Yes, it looks like a  male. Stunning.”

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

Sunny and breezy on the Mendonoma Coast today.