It will be easy to spot the two adult Black Oystercatchers but not so easy to see their three off-spring. Hint: they look like rocks and are on the lower right side. Thanks to Craig Tooley for allowing me to share this photo!
To see more of Craig's photos, go to: http://web.me.com/theruffians1
This morning I was surprised to hear the ocean waves crashing. The Pacific Ocean has been summertime quiet lately. I never tire of watching the ocean and fortunately Carolyn André never tires of photographing it! Here is Carolyn's beautiful photo of big breakers rolling in at The Sea Ranch.
On a trip down Highway One this week Rick and I passed a blaze of color in a snag on the west side. "Was that a...Peacock?" I asked Rick, doubting my own eyes. He turned the car around and there it was, shining like an iridescent ornament in the fog. We were just north of Stillwater Cove County Park, which is in Sonoma County.
It turns out that Stillwater Cove Ranch is nearby and, yes, they have Peacocks. Apparently one of them caught the wandering bug - at least for a day. Every drive down the coast brings a bit of wonder.
I've been watching a group of these small plants, waiting and waiting to see what the bloom might be. My patience has finally been rewarded. If you haven't met, let me introduce you to Little Prince's Pine - Chimaphila menziesii. Thanks go to Peter Baye to for the ID. It's a perennial wildflower in the Heath family and it's a California native, just like me!
Nik Epanchin photographed these nesting Pelagic Cormorants on a bluff face near the Point Arena Lighthouse recently. You can see the babies in the upper nest. What a great photo and I thank Nik for allowing me to share it here!
