Sightings

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Michael Reinhart trained his camera on a beautiful male Anna's Hummingbird. As the sunlight shone on the little bird, the iridescent colors were revealed.

Mike also photographed a male Allen's Hummingbird, the feisty cousin of the Anna's.

Allen's Hummingbirds numbers are in decline, whereas the Anna's seem to be thriving.

Thanks to Mike for giving us these close-up views of these vibrant hummers.

A beautiful, sunny day on the Mendonoma coast today. Windy on the bluffs with lots of white caps on the ocean. Mary Heibel met me at the Point Arena Lighthouse gates and showed me a wildflower I hadn't seen before, Wallflowers. More on them in another post!

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Ospreys returned to the Mendonoma Coast several weeks ago. They got busy rebuilding their stick nests. Ospreys mostly eat fish, and it's a treat to see them dive for a fish feet-first. Steve Bennett photographed a successful Osprey.

Notice how the Osprey carries the fish. They always fly with the head of the fish positioned to the front. It's more aerodynamic that way.

I love the calls of Osprey. I've been hearing them every day since they returned. To hear their whistling calls, here is the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/sounds

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

Cool weather has returned. We had fog today. It burned back around 2 pm here in Anchor Bay.

 

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Many  native wildflowers are quite small. It's Mother Nature's way of seeing if you are paying attention! Amy Ruegg is definitely paying attention. Here are some of the beauties she found recently. The first is Hound's Tongue, Cynoglossum grande, a member of the Forget-me-not Family.

Redwood Violets, Viola sempervirens, are blooming now too.

The lovely Wild Ginger, Asarum caudatum, joins in the chorus.

And Amy also found Douglas Iris, Iris douglasiana, one of the coast's larger wildflowers.

Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

Another warm day with no wind. It's easy to spot Gray Whale spouts on the ocean. Changes are afoot though, with cooler temps and the possibility of some wet stuff in a few days.

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Karen Wilkinson and Mike Petrich headed out to a tide pool with a UV flashlight at sunset during a recent low tide. They found a group of Sea Anemones shining with light. Karen wrote, “Things got weird on the edge of the Pacific last night! Scientists have found that the protein that helps Anemones light up also acts as a natural sunscreen. This protein allows Sea Anemones to protect their symbiotic algae, zooxanthellae, living in their tissues from harmful UV rays. The fluorescence we see may be a by-product of their natural sunscreen.”

I wondered if Karen and Mike had photographed bioluminescence but Bob Van Syoc wrote, “I’d call this fluorescence, which is a form of luminescence. The Anthopleura Anemones in Karen’s and Mike’s photos have absorbed light from their flashlight and are emitting a longer, lower energy wavelength of light that makes them ‘glow.’”

Aren't they beautiful? Thanks to Karen and Mike for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

The fog rolled in, as it is wont to do, and cooled things off quite a bit.

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Sunbeams through the trees can be a work of art, a work of art by Mother Nature. Shirley Mitchell photographed this beautiful sight.

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

It's a beautiful Spring day on the Mendonoma Coast today. No clouds, a slight breeze and temps in the high sixties. Nice!