Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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Robert and Nancy Scarola recently witnessed several Cliff Swallows building nests in a tunnel on The Sea Ranch Golf Links. There was, of course, a muddy area nearby.

Here's one of the Swallows with a bit of mud, headed back to the nesting area. These Swallows fly so fast it was difficult for Robert to get this photo.

 It looks like several nests are complete and occupied, as Robert's photo shows below.

Birds have to be among the most hard-working creatures on earth. Many migrate, some thousands of miles, twice every year. Then comes nest building, which in the case of these Swallows is a bit of mud, one bit after the other until the job is complete. Then they have to feed their young, tirelessly bringing insects back to the nest. It's easy to take them for granted but they are inspiring. Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

If you have Swallows build a nest in an inconvenient spot - say over your front door - please don't destroy the nest. Tack up a cardboard box so it will catch the waste. No mess for you below and a guarantee of a fun sighting in the weeks to come.

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Open meadows are where it is possible to have a Bobcat sighting. Andy Moore had his camera ready when a Bobcat was spotted hunting on The Sea Ranch.

Andy's photo shows the tufted ears of this Bobcat and its wonderful markings. This Bobcat looks very healthy indeed. Thanks to Andy for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Check out Andy's great web site at: http://www.andystreasuretrove.com/

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Frank Drouillard sent a link where you can watch today's eclipse. Venus will be crossing the sun, an cosmic event that will not occur again for over one hundred years. Here is the link to NASA where you can view it on-line: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

A late storm passed through yesterday. This morning's sunrise reflected off the clouds in the western sky was beautiful. The nearly full moon was an extra bonus.
Is that an Orca fin in the clouds? Cloud watching this morning was great fun. One cloud looked just like a boletus edulis mushroom. 

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I love this little wildflower. Little Prince's Pine, Chimaphila menziesii, has begun to bloom in a sunny spot in Anchor Bay.

It's a perennial herb and a native of California though it is found in other western states. It is growing in sandy soil at the 600 foot elevation. This small pink wildflower is a rare sighting on the Mendonoma Coast.

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The Japanese tsunami debris is still supposedly several months away from the West Coast but Gary Humfeld can't help but wonder if this water bottle might be from that catastrophic event. Gary found this at Manchester State Park beach.

We first need to determine if the characters are Japanese. When a large buoy was found a month or so ago, it turned out to have Korean characters on it. Here's the link to see that buoy and a smaller one found by Gary.
http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/04/16/asian-buoys-found-washed-up-on-manchester-beach-are-they-possibly-of-japanese-origin-and-from-the-tsunami/. And to see a lightbulb (!) that washed up on our Coast, here's that link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/04/17/ushio-light-bulb-washed-up-at-manchester-state-beach/