Sightings

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The largest animal on Earth, a Blue Whale, cruised up the Mendonoma Coast Monday morning.  Shari was one of several of us notified about this whale. She went out to several choice locations and managed to get these long-distance photos.

Shari estimates the whale was about 1/2 mile out. It is rare for a Blue Whale to be so close to shore. You can read the details of this sighting in tomorrow's Independent Coast Observer. What? You don't subscribe? You can easily fix that at https://mendonoma.com/memberships.html

Thanks to Shari for allowing me to share her photos with you here!

Sunny and mild here in Anchor Bay. But there is a big fog bank lurking and keeping the temps mild.

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Several weeks ago Marva Jacobs wrote, “We had a very large Bear eating cherries, even though they are not ripe yet, at 7:45 am!   He first ripped open a hole in the plastic netting and sat under the tree eating the windfalls. Awesome and terrifying. A good six feet tall, standing on his hind legs, and probably 300 pounds!”

The average weight for an adult female  Black Bear is 175 pounds, and the average for an adult male is 400 pounds. Sure looks like a big male to me!

Black Bears are omnivores, which means they pretty much eat anything, including carrion. I know from experience that they love apples and huckleberries.

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

Foggy this morning, blue skies appeared this afternoon. A big fog bank is lurking over the Pacific Ocean. It's been keeping us nice and cool as much of the country is under a heat dome.

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Tom Crane found a beautiful Bobcat in the grasses of a meadow. He wrote, “My wife, Deidre Harrison, urged me to forward this beauty to you, taken at Gualala Point Regional Park.”

The Bobcat nearly blends in with the tall grasses.

Thanks to Tom for allowing me to share his photo with you here, and thanks to Deidre for encouraging Tom to send it in to Sightings!

Lots of fog today, keeping temps down. My friend, Shari, says this is "no-sky July."

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Paul Brewer found this Anna's Hummingbird feeding on the Crocosmia plants in his Gualala garden.

What a wonderful, colorful photo with our year round Anna's hummer finding nectar in this plant which is also called Coppertips.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of his nature photography, here is the link to his website: https://paulbrewer.smugmug.com/

Foggy this morning but it quickly pulled back. Temps were in the low 70's this afternoon, and the breeze picked up.

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Terry Phardresher found an elusive Phantom Orchid near her Gualala home.

This native wildflower is also called Ghost Orchid as it is white. It has a symbiotic relationship with a fungus called Leathery Earthfans as it can’t produce its own food. The fungus feeds on the roots of nearby trees. This three-way partnership allows the Phantom Orchid to survive in dark forests. The interconnectedness of Nature is on full display here.

Terry told me recently she has found a second one!

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

Foggy this morning, sunny this afternoon, and the wind is absent.