Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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Motion detector cameras are giving us a view of wildlife we might not get to otherwise see. Laura Baker's camera caught the backside of a Black Bear.

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Laura wrote, “Our trail camera caught the backside of a Black bear as it was leaving our property, no doubt after eating its fill of apples and pears from our trees. The funny part is that in reviewing the photos from the past month, we found an earlier, almost identical shot. It appears that the bear would prefer to put a tree between it and the camera, rather than take the easy path along the road, which would put it in closer proximity to the device. But who knows?”

Here's a print a Black Bear left in the mud, this one taken by Terry Bold.fresh-bear-track-by-terry-bold-large It's pretty exciting to see a Black Bear. They do love apples, so if you are on the Mendonoma coast and have apple trees, be prepared to share!

Thanks to Laura and Terry for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

 

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Last night's sunset was a beauty. Paul Brewer once again caught the magic.

sunset-09-17-16-by-paul-brewerWe are having a mini-heatwave today. It's very warm on the Mendonoma coast.

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

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About two weeks ago, Charlie Zinser and Lyle Bassett headed out of Point Arena harbor. North of Saunders Reef, and south of Point Arena, in about 70 feet of water, Charlie had a 30-pound Ling cod strike his jig. I asked him what it was like to hook one. Here's what he said:

"It was like hooking a big log! And then it began to pull hard. I knew I had to get him off the bottom before he got in the rocks, so I pulled hard on him. I managed to get him about halfway up, and he decided to go back to the bottom.

I went through a few tug-of-war cycles with him, and finally got him to the surface, and we then realized how big he really was. I gaffed him and pulled him into the board. That’s when he really got mad!

this-ling-cod-has-a-big-mouth-caught-by-charles-zinser

 

The big Ling thrashed around long enough to rearrange our fishing gear, and then we finally got him in the fish box. I knew that whatever went into that Ling’s big mouth never came back out, so we had to be careful of those teeth.”

It's rather unusual for such a big fish to be in that shallow of water. Ling cod, though, are abundant off the Mendonoma coast. Once in a while, some lucky fisherman will catch one off the Point Arena Pier.

Lyle Bassett took the photo of Charlie, and I thank him for allowing me to share it with you here.

 

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Jackie Brewer noticed the it first. She and Paul were  having lunch on their deck when she saw this young hawk. Paul grabbed his camera and got this photo of the moment the bird was launching itself - a juvenile Cooper's hawk. Perhaps it has spotted something to eat, perhaps a small bird, as that eye looks very determined.

immature-red-shouldered-hawk-by-paul-brewer

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

To hear the call of this beautiful hawk, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/sounds

I originally had this hawk identified as a Red-shouldered hawk. Mark Moore was nice enough to contact me so I could get this ID correct. Thank you, Mark!

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This is the time of year when the fall migration of Monarch butterflies occurs. I have seen one or two nearly every time the sun comes out and warms things up. I am always thrilled to see one. Barbara Rice sent in photos of a male and a female Monarch. The male, shown below, has two dark scent spots on its lower wings. Can you see them?

male-monarch-has-two-scent-spots-on-lower-wings-photo-courtesty-of-barbara-riceThe female does not have these two spots.

female-monarch-lacks-the-two-scent-spots-photo-courtesty-of-barbara-riceThis generation of Monarchs is called the Methuselah generation. They are the ones who migrate, and they live seven months.

Here's a photo taken by Craig Tooley that appears in our book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year. Looks like it's a female!

monarch-butterfly-with-pink-flowers-oct-by-craig-tooleyThanks to Barbara for sending in the first two photos, and 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: www.ruffimage.com