Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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Every winter for the past 17 years a wayward Laysan Albatross has over-wintered in the waters off the Point Arena Pier. Birders from all over the world come to the tiny city in hope of adding this bird to their life list. This year Al hasn't spent much time in the cove and we're not sure why. He, or she - we don't really know, is always absent when it is stormy, and today is very stormy here on the Mendonoma Coast!

Al has an affinity for surfers, often paddling over to "talk." Ken Holmes caught a photo of Al and a surfer and he's kindly allowed me to share it with you here.

There have been reports from fishermen that Al has been seen further north and several miles out. People in the Irish Beach/Elk areas should be on the look-out for this famous bird.

We know he/she is not a breeder as winter is when these large birds give birth. Ron LeValley was on Sand Island in the Midway Atoll, Hawaii on Feb. 7th. He photographed this Laysan Albatross mother as her egg hatched and has allowed me to share it with you here. So wonderful!

To see more of Ron's nature photography, here is his web site: http://www.levalleyphoto.com/home/
Last year Al left on March 28th so we know he'll be leaving us soon, hopefully to return again in late November or early December.

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Mark Hancock caught a beautiful photo of a Red-tailed Hawk resting in a tree with the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean.

This is our most common Hawk. I love their call. You can hear it for yourself at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology web site using this link: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id/ac

Thanks to Mark for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

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Gray Whales, mostly mothers with their calves, have been spotted every day this week. On Thursday Rick and I saw spouts from Highway One.

This is what you look for - two spouts seen on the calm ocean.

 As we drove into Gualala we saw more spouts just off the mouth of the Gualala River. Here is a big spout (behind the rock) of the mother and a little spout of the calf.

 Below the calf has spouted again and you can see the back of the mother Gray Whale

 And here is the tail of the calf.

Clouds may obscure our view for a while as several storms are headed towards the Mendonoma Coast. But we know the whales continue on their long journey, the longest migration of any creature on Earth.

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Judy Mello photographed the full moon rising on March 7th at the B. Bryan Preserve in Point Arena. The Grevy's Zebras aren't paying any attention though, getting a little more dinner before darkness fell.

 And I took this photo early the next morning of the moon setting over the Pacific Ocean. A few wispy clouds decorated the moon. It was mesmerizing!

There have been lots of Gray Whale sightings this past week. I will share a few pictures with you tomorrow.

If you'd like to learn more about the fabulous B. Bryan Preserve in Point Arena, here's their link: http://www.bbryanpreserve.com/

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Tina Doughty noticed this rather scary-looking spider weaving a web near her front door in Gualala. After learning that this spider is harmless - really a good guy in the spider world - she let it be. Her friend, Megan Wilson, photographed the spider, which they named Charlotte Moonface. They became so enchanted with this spider that they brought flies for it to eat.

The Orb Weaver Spider family has more than 10,000 different species and they make up about 25% of the entire spider population. They are among the most colorful spiders and, as you might guess from their name, their beautiful webs are oval.

Thanks to Megan for allowing me to share her photo with you here.