Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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The Gualala River had a soft opening this year, but it quickly closed again to the Pacific Ocean, blocked by a huge sandbar. Monday afternoon the river opened with a vengeance! The first photo shows the river flowing strongly into the ocean.

Today Rick and I found two large groups of Harbor Seals, a few in the river with most at river's edge. They were looking for Steelhead, most likely.

The river had sea foam in it, as waves were cresting the sandbar.

We even saw one of the Bald Eagles! He was staring down the Turkey Vulture on the left.

Here's a short video of the wave action this morning.

Video of Gualala River 12.19.18 by Jeanne Jackson

After such a beautiful time at the river, the fog appeared as if by magic, and enveloped the coast!

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Michael Reinhart spotted this bird a few weeks ago, a Rock Wren.

He wrote, “I spotted this Rock Wren on the point to the west of Sea Ranch Lodge, Bihler Point.”

There have only been three sightings of one in recent years. The male Rock Wren is a tremendous singer, singing over 100 different songs. You can hear some of the male's calls here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rock_Wren/sounds Let’s hope we have more sightings of this bird.

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

Today we are having a big, wet, windy storm. Batten down the hatches!

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Gary Levenson-Palmer photographed this beautiful sunset before a rather vigorous storm arrived today. It's amazing how many colors are in this magnificent scene, which was seen off of Irish Beach.

Nancy Trissel photographed this sunrise a few days ago from her home north of Gualala. Sunbeams piercing the clouds makes a beautiful sighting.

Thanks to Gary and Nancy for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We did have some heavy rain today, which was rather a surprise. Sunday is suppose to bring a big storm. We never complain about getting rain, though. It's a blessing.

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Big, fat swells are rolling in today in advance of several storms. Bob Rutemoeller recently photographed some big surf off the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands.

You can see the beautiful Point Arena Lighthouse in the background. The Lands, and the Lighthouse, are such a gift for locals and visitors alike.

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

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Manchester Beach is a great place to beachcomb as interesting things get tossed up by the wave action. But what Doug Forsell found was quite a surprise - a coconut!

Doug Forsell wrote, , “I had a couple of interesting finds on Manchester Beach this week. The high surf and wind blew a lot of Jellyfish in, and the high surf tore them into small pieces. I also found a coconut without a husk. Usually at sea the husk stays on, but maybe the surf knocked it off. It still had liquid in it. I wonder how long it was at sea, and where it came from.”

It's a mystery! The California Current brings treasures from halfway around the world - even a coconut.

Thanks to Doug for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To learn more about Manchester State Park, here is the link: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=437