Sightings

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Paul Brewer photographed the sunrise off his Gualala home, showing some of the Douglas Iris in bloom on the bluff.

And Grace O'Malley photographed the sunset  in Timber Cove. Just looks at those luscious colors!

Good morning and good night!

Thanks to Paul and Grace for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/ And to see much more of Grace's nature photography, here is the link to her website: https://graceomalleyphotography.com/

Today is cloudy and chilly, with a chance of some of that wet stuff we've been missing so much.

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This Peregrine Falcon was apparently enjoying the sun in Gualala as he perched in one spot for quite a while. Shari Goforth was there with her camera in hand.

I haven't had any reports of nesting Peregrines...yet! Peregrine Falcons are strong and fast fliers. They prey on smaller birds. In their swooping dive from above, they can reach speeds of up to 200 mph!

To hear their call, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/sounds

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

It was cold overnight, but today has a bright blue sky, and temps in the low 60s. There is some rain in our forecast, and I hope it manifests!

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Tricia Schuster found the non-native Iceplant in full, glorious bloom recently.

The flowers set off the beautiful Pacific Ocean, don't they?

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

We are having a magnificent, warm day. The breeze picked up late in the morning, but with the early morning calm I spotted several Gray Whales headed north.

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Yesterday, Eric Nordvold and Cece Case saw an Osprey flying over Cooks Beach in Gualala. We wondered if he could be the first returning Osprey. The vast majority of Ospreys that nest here migrate far to our south in the fall. A lone Osprey, though, was spotted during The Sea Ranch's bird count in January. But this morning I looked through my spotting scope and there he was!!! Perched on the nest that Rick and I have been watching for years, an active Osprey nest here in Anchor Bay. The males return first and the females will follow soon. They usually arrive around the first day of Spring, but like seemingly everything else, they are apparently early this year. Here is a photo taken by Chris Pechal last year.

It's always exciting to spot the first returning Ospreys. With all that's troubling in our world, knowing that the Ospreys have returned to the Mendonoma Coast brings comfort.

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

Bright sunshine this afternoon, and temps in the low sixties. The ferocious wind has died down, thank goodness.

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Peter Baye found Wild Strawberries, Fragaria vesca,  and he found one not just blooming but with ripe fruit – now that’s early!

He wrote that even in the earliest warm spots these native strawberries ripen up in April, not late February. And while these strawberries are small, they are delicious.

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

We did get two small rainstorms. On Thursday, there was .10 inches at our place and Friday brought .25 inches. Season to date is 36.85 inches. Nice to get some wet stuff! Today is windy, cool, with many clouds racing across the sky. Oh, did I mention that it's incredibly beautiful?