Sightings

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Hundreds of young Brown Pelicans have been migrating northward. These hatched-this-year pelicans have brown heads and white underparts. They are accompanied by a few older pelicans. The adult pelicans have white heads and brown underparts. They are also accompanied by dark gulls, Heermann’s Gulls. These smart gulls let the pelicans find fish for them, sometimes even stealing it out of a pelican’s mouth.

When there is forage fish in the water, many birds feast. Craig Tooley photographed a feeding frenzy by Gualala Point Island with Brown Pelicans and several types of Gulls. Brown Pelicans plunge dive, beak first, for fish. It’s quite a sight.

Brown Pelicans also rest in rivers and on offshore rocks. Paul Brewer wrote, “There was a congregation of Brown Pelicans behind Breaker’s Inn having a spa day [on the Gualala River.] I got a few interesting shots from the Gualala Bluff Trail when they all decided to fly at once. They did that twice while I was there. They enjoyed their spa day, but all headed north about 6:30 pm.”

We almost lost Brown Pelicans due to the pesticide DDT, which made their eggshells so thin that they broke when the mothers sat on them. Since DDT was banned, the pelicans have recovered in numbers. To see them flying just over the bluffs is a thrilling sight.

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

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Karen Wilkinson noticed this Black Oystercatcher taking a vigorous bath.

It was a VERY thorough bath as you can see below.

Karen said it made her laugh to see this. It makes me smile to see her photos!

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

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Whimbrels are large, beautiful shorebirds, They nest far to our north in tundra. Non-breeders can been seen occasionally on the Mendonoma coast. Perhaps that is what Rusty Babcock photographed recently at Elk.

Just look at that long decurved beak! They use that beak to get small crabs and other invertebrates. You can hear their twittering call at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Whimbrel/sounds

Thanks to Rusty for allowing me to share her photos with you here. And thanks to her brother, Tom Reidenbach, for sending them to me.

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Dennis Latona was staying at one of the vacation rentals at the Point Arena Lighthouse when his wife looked out the window and saw a Long-tailed Weasel head poking up from its burrow opening. Dennis captured several photos.

I was asked by the Press Democrat to do a feature article on this amazing animal. Two Sonoma photographers, Joan Bacci and Steve Pearce, had learned of a Long-tailed Weasel burrow near Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol. They shared some of their great photos with me for the article and for this post. This photo by Steve Pearce shows the black tip on their tail.

Joan Bacci captured this weasel yawning to start the day - that's quite a pink tongue the weasel has.

Steve Pearce's photo below shows the slim build of this critter. That allows them to dive into burrows of smaller animals.

Joan Bacci photographed one of the weasels looking out of a burrow opening.

Here is the link to my article in the Press Democrat. There are five other photos by Dennis, Joan and Steve to go along with the article. https://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/8643471-181/cute-cunning-long-tailed-weasels-thrive?artslide=1

Thanks to Dennis, Joan and Steve for allowing me to share their photos with you here and with the Press Democrat! You can see more of Dennis' nature photography at this link: http://www.pinenutz.com/

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Tricia Schuster has a small family of Black-tailed Deer near her place on the Mendonoma coast. She noticed the fawns' spots are fading.

The mother Deer is looking right at Tricia. Tricia said the young ones were getting their daily greens!

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

We are socked in with fog today right on the coast. Nice, cool, moist fog. This weather is why many call August "Fog-ust." We saw sun at our house for a couple of hours in the late afternoon yesterday.