Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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Kathy Bishop was observing this Great Blue Heron. Lucky for us that she had her camera along. She got this photo of the Heron with a tasty cabezon.

Great Blue Herons are very graceful in flight, with slow wing beats. When hunting for fish, they stand still and then quickly strike at their prey. They are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast.

To hear their calls, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/great_blue_heron/sounds

Thanks to Kathy for allowing me to share her photo with you here. To see much more of her photography, here is a link to her website: http://kathleen-bishop.artistwebsites.com/

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When the sunrise in the east is reflected in clouds and the ocean, it can be amazing. That's what happened this morning. It doesn't last long, just a few minutes. Here's a photo taken from our deck in Anchor Bay. Notice that the ocean is glowing pink!

Richard Hansen took this one from his home in Gualala, which overlooks Castle Rock.

And Rich Kuehn photographed this morning's sunrise from his home on The Sea Ranch.

What a beautiful sunrise, a gift from Mother Nature! Thanks to Richard and Rich for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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Two Bald Eagles have been making  numerous appearances at the Gualala River. They've been seen perched together on two logs and flying over the river. Ken Bailey photographed them this past week. In the first photo, one of the Bald Eagles takes flight, reflected in the river.

And below is a photo of the pair. This photo appeared on page one of this week's Independent Coast Observer, the best small town paper around. (I may be a bit biased...)

Thanks to Ken for allowing me to share his photos with you. To see much more of Ken's photography, including underwater photography, here is his website: http://www.seadreams.org/

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We long for rain. It has been sunny, warm and dry, dry, dry. So it's a surprise that any mushrooms would appear. We did have some rain last month, enough for at least one King Bolete. Eric Estrada found Boletus edulis several weeks ago and his brother, Ricky Estrada, took the photo.

Ricky wrote, “I was recently home and to my great surprise have found that the rains have brought some mushrooms up. The great Bolete is back and mushroom pickers should be excited to get back to the outdoors. [Here] is a picture of my little brother, Eric Estrada, who is nine years old and an avid mushroom hunter. He knows how to pick ‘em, and won’t put down his mushroom book. In his hands is a King Bolete found in the woods on the ridge. Happy mushroom picking!”

Thanks to Ricky for allowing me to share his photo and thanks to Eric for sharing his joy in finding this edible mushroom.

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Allen Vinson recently visited the new addition to the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands. You access this beautiful land behind the Point Arena City Hall. While there Allen had some wonderful sightings. He also got this great photo of a fellow enjoying the waves off Arena Cove.

Allen visited at low tide as you can see by the photo below.

And he spotted a beautiful Ferruginous Hawk on top a tree.

I love this photo below of the big hawk taking off.

And here the hawk is soaring, perhaps looking for a meal.

And this last photo shows the hawk lit up by the sun.

We are very happy that these new lands were acquired and made available to all. They now form another portion of the California Coastal Trail.

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

Happy New Year! May 2014 be filled with wonder and joy.