Sightings

•

Judy Pfeifer has been seeing whales, including one made of foliage and wearing a large white mask. She wrote, “A Whale practicing social distancing and masking up against the Covid 19 virus was spotted hanging out in the garden of Shannon Wilson in Gualala.”

Mark Crawford photographed a statue wearing a mask at Stewarts Point on a terribly smoky day recently. I asked Arch Richardson if the statue was Bigfoot. He wrote, “Yep, that's Stewarts Point version of Bigfoot.  He looks pretty good with the mask and the flag.”

So, even foliage whales and Bigfoot are wearing a mask these days! Thanks to Judy and Mark for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Fortunately the smoke is gone and we are having a beautiful autumn day today. Whale watcher, Scott Mercer, saw four Fin Whales today, an awesome sighting!

•

Young Bucks can be seen practicing jousting. Michael Reinhart photographed such an occasion.

Pretty soon this fighting will be for real as the mating season of the Black-tailed Deer will soon be upon us.

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

Fog in Point Arena, sunny in Gualala, hot when you get a little away from the immediate coast. No smoke - hooray! Something for everybody today.

•

Last Friday, hundreds of Brown Pelicans were seen at the Gualala River estuary. Paul Brewer was there with his camera to photograph them.

Some were bathing, others were resting. Paul photographed some in flight.

The pelicans with brown heads and white tummies are the juveniles. The white-headed pelicans with dark tummies are the adults.

Brown Pelicans are so elegant in flight, but when they come in for a water landing, the results can be comical. The Gualala River estuary is a fun place to watch the show!

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

Sunny and warm here today!

•

Many coast residents, and visitors too I would imagine, photographed the sunset on September 22. Tricia Schuster was one of them, photographing near her Sea Ranch home.

Paul Brewer also photographed the sunset, this from the vantage of Gualala.

And I photographed it too, a little further north of Paul, from our home in Anchor Bay.

Autumn is know for beautiful sunsets, as storms to our north bring clouds, but this one from the last day of summer was one to remember.

Thanks to Tricia and Paul for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We need the onshore breezes to return to blow away the smoke that has enveloped the coast. The forecast shows they should arrive...may it be soon!

•

Sometimes the pure loveliness of seeing a Great Egret land near you can fill you with happiness. Rick Denniston recently witnessed such a sight.

Great Egrets are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast.

Other year round residents are Great Blue Herons. Sara Bogard recently photographed one just taking flight.

Thanks to Rick and Sara for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Sunny, breezy and warm here today. Hot weather coming in for a few days.