Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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Ray Douglas recently photographed this lovely dragonfly, a Flame Skimmer.

Ray and I wondered about the yellow color at the top of the dragonfly's wings. Dragonfly expert, Kathy Biggs, to the rescue. She said Ray photographed a female.

For comparison, here is what I believe is a male. He nicely landed on a sprinkler head and I got this photo.

I wrote an article for Sonoma Magazine's summer edition about where to see dragonflies. You can read it at this link: http://sonomamagazine.ca.newsmemory.com/?selDate=20190701&editionStart=Sonoma+Magazine&goTo=040

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

It's sunny and warm at our place in Anchor Bay, though a fog bank lurks over the ocean!

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Paul Brewer photographed this Bushtit, seemingly posing just for him.

Bushtits are small songbirds. I love how they look for insects, oftentimes upside down! They often can be found with the flocks of Chestnut-backed Chickadees that we also have in our area.

Bushtits don't really have a song. Their calls are a high chipping sound. You can listen to their calls at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bushtit/sounds

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 to his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

Today's weather report is the same as yesterday - sunny and breezy!

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We've been waiting and waiting for the mouth of the Gualala River to close. Rick and I checked the river late yesterday and it was still open, though the spillway had narrowed. Later this morning we found it closed and the lagoon filling up. Here are some photos from today, taken from the Gualala Bluff Trail.

The very long, skinny spillway that flowed south, and then emptied west into the ocean, stayed open until today. This was an unusual configuration of the river mouth.

With the river "closed" to the ocean, the lagoon will fill up, like a bathtub. Kayaking will be stellar now!

Sunny and breezy here on the Mendonoma coast today!

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Shawn Doebling had a Bobcat sighting recently. Shawn wrote, “We live off  Fish Rock Road in Gualala. This is the first time we’ve seen one here. Do you know how to tell if it’s male or female?” Looking at Shawn’s photos we believe the Bobcat is a male.

Male Bobcats are substantially bigger than females.  Adult males weigh between 20 and 30 pounds and are about three feet in length. Females can be about two feet in length and weigh only 11 pounds. You only see males and females together during courtship and mating. Then the male takes off, leaving the female to care for her young. So, if you see a Bobcat bringing food back to a den, you can be sure it’s the female.

Thanks to Shawn for allowing me to share this Bobcat photo with you here.

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Don Chigazola noticed this young Red-tailed Hawk perched in a tree on an oh-so-sunny day.

When the hawk took flight, Don was ready with his camera.

And we have lift-off!

To hear the call of a Red-tailed Hawk, here is the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/sounds

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