Paul Kozal has trained his camera on high and low tides on the Mendonoma Coast. The contrast is amazing. The top photo shows a King Tide, a very high tide at Shell Beach on The Sea Ranch.
And the bottom photo shows the exact same place at low tide. Paul also photographed Iversen Cove's high and low tide. I will share them with you here tomorrow.
To see much more of Paul's photography, here is his website: http://paulkozal.com/
Ron LeValley captured a photo of a Western Gray Squirrel sitting by a tiny forest of mushrooms. Ron wrote, "I know these little fellows like to eat mushrooms. If this one likes those little ones, it must have been very happy as about a thousand of them fruited on the morning I took this picture!"
These mushrooms could be Liberty Caps, Psilocybe semilanceata, and they have hallucinogenic properties. Perhaps this beautiful Gray Squirrel just let them be.
It's obvious Banana Slugs eat mushrooms - a walk in a forest after a rain will show you just how much they love mushrooms. Ann Davis photographed this Banana Slug munching on one.
I believe Gray Foxes and Deer eat mushrooms too. And, of course, we critters with two legs.
Thanks to Ron and Ann for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Ron's nature photography, here is his website: http://levalleyphoto.com/home/
Roland Coombs noticed three ducks swimming on one of the ponds at The Sea Ranch golf course. They were beautiful Buffleheads, perfectly reflected in the water.
These ducks overwinter here on the Mendonoma Coast. They quickly dive underwater for tasty invertebrates. They nest far to our north. I find it interesting that they nest in old woodpecker holes, especially those created by Northern Flickers.
To hear their call, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bufflehead/sounds
Thanks to Roland for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Craig Tooley photographed a rare fire rainbow. Actually, if you look closely, there are two fire rainbows.
This phenomenon is more properly called a circumhorizontal arc. Rather than a rainbow, it is an ice halo, caused by ice crystals in cirrus clouds. It is rare to see one.
Here is one taken by Susan Cerruti. The fire rainbow appeared over the Cypress Center in Gualala
And another by Don Spear.
They are beautiful to see, that's for sure! Thanks to Craig, Susan, and Don for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link: www.ruffimage.com
One of my favorite birds is the clown-faced Acorn Woodpecker. They often appear at our birdfeeder. Clay Yale and Siegfried Matull recently photographed two Acorn Woodpeckers. Both photos show a female. First here is Siegfried's photo.
And next is Clay's photo.
To show you the difference between a male and female Acorn Woodpecker, here is a photo taken by Jim Garlock. The female is on the right and the male is on the left. Note that the red on top of the male's head is bigger and there is no black between his white and red feathers on his face.
The sound of Acorns is quite distinctive. Some describe it as "waka waka." To hear for yourself, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/acorn_woodpecker/sounds
Thanks to Siegfried, Clay and Jim for allowing me to share their photos with you here.