Nan Brichetto took this photo last week before the huge "Rocky" fire in Lake County was fully contained. I thought it so unique and powerful that I would share it with you here.
Thanks to our heroic firefighters this fire is contained. But others are still burning and weather conditions have once again brought smoke and heat to the Mendonoma Coast.
Thanks to Nan for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
Martin Steinpress noticed two Great Egrets out on the ocean surface. They were standing on kelp, feeding. It is an amazing sight to see.
Here is a photo of two Great Egrets taken by Bettye Winters. The one of the right has nabbed a fish. Great Egrets have yellow beaks and black legs.
Thanks to Martin and Bettye for allowing me to share their photos with you here. We are having a heat wave here on the Mendonoma Coast today. Being near the water, like these Egrets, would be a good idea for today!
Irene Leidner took this photo from an airplane above Manchester Beach. Isn't it lovely?
Manchester Beach is huge - there are five miles of shoreline. It is in Manchester State Park and you can learn more about it at this website: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=437.
Here is another photo of the waves at Manchester Beach, taken by Beth Petit. This is a place where you might find something washed up on the beach from halfway around the world.
Thanks to Irene and Beth for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
Robert and Nancy Scarola were visited by a Gray Fox family. The mother went off to hunt for a gopher and left her three kits on a flat rock to wait for her.
She returned with a gopher in her mouth and the three kits were then free to play in the Scarola's garden. A photo of what happened next will be in Thursday's edition of the Independent Coast Observer. It shows why Gray Foxes are also called Tree Foxes!
Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
The Pacific Slope Flycatcher is a hard bird to spot but photographer Ron LeValley was up to the challenge.
They have a distinctive call. You can hear it at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at this site: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pacific-slope_Flycatcher/sounds
These small flycatchers eat insects...on the fly!
Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photo with you. To see much more of Ron's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://levalleyphoto.com/home/