Sightings

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Okay, I will admit that I'm jealous. Seeing Gray Fox kits playing in your yard is a pretty wonderful experience. I'll let Carolyn Andre tell the tale. "Barry and I have had the most incredible last several days with a young family of foxes. It's thrilling. And exhausting."

"It started late Saturday night [several weeks ago.] Three kits, and what we assume to be their Mom, were running their little butts from one end of the courtyard to the other, jumping on and off of things as they went. They were knocking into chairs, and each other, as they jumped from chair to chair. it was so much fun to watch."

"They repeated the same behavior on Sunday morning. I came out to find my shell collection scattered across the deck and ground. Three flower pots were upended, lying on their side. And they moved a saucer from under a pot to where it sits below. Two of the three kits are carousing below. Like cats, they keep chewing on a pillow and then shake it back and forth in their mouth, as if it were prey. They've tried the large cushions too, but as you can see, the cushions are too big for them so they tire easily. But one of them keeps trying to kill that cushion. Standing on it makes it harder to shake, however."

"Aren't they supposed to be asleep on Sunday morning? I know they had a busy night. I signaled Barry to come look and he pointed out that one of their parents sat on top of our fence or at the table outside the courtyard watching the kits."

"The kits run and jump both day and night. They come back around 8 - 9 pm, run around while their Mom watches. And then again very late - 11 pm to midnight, and somewhere between 4 to 4 am. I can't figure out when they're sleeping. I know I'm not!"

"I never knew what great tree climbers they are. They're like cats. They jump from the fence into the tree and then up while the siblings chase behind and reach for each other's tails to pull or bite. Up the tree, down the tree, back around the courtyard. I think their Mom wants them to run themselves until exhausted."

"I really do know how lucky we are. I had not idea how much they are just like kittens and puppies." I told Carolyn about Gray Foxes stealing a single shoe to give to the kits for playing. Carolyn wrote, "I don't have any shoes out there but I do have gardening gloves. I found one torn up yesterday and the other has disappeared."

Ah, but they grow up so fast. Carolyn and Barry had quite a floorshow for a while. Maybe they will be lucky again next year.

Thanks to Carolyn for the cute story and for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

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There was a nest of Red-tailed Hawks near The Sea Ranch. The chicks recently fledged. Craig Tooley photographed this fledgling soaring through the sky.

Looks like his/her flying lessons are going very well!

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: www.ruffimage.com

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I haven't had a sighting of the two Bald Eagles for over a week, so I was glad to hear they were both seen this morning at the Gualala River. Eric Zetterholm photographed them several weeks ago perched on a tangle of branches and dead trees in the river.

We didn't seen any signs of nest building or nesting this year, but they certainly mated a lot! Hopefully next year they will find the perfect spot in the watershed of the Gualala River to nest and raise a chick. We'll be wishing and hoping!

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

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Kathryn Arnold wrote, “I found this stunning flowering plant clinging to the bluff at Shell Beach. Do you know what it is?” It was new to me so I queried Peter Baye and he wrote, “It’s Seashore Dock [or Willow Leaved Dock] in the Buckwheat family. Those are mostly immature fruits. The fruits mature into corky, floating structures for water dispersal.”

A beautiful and rather unusual native plant for you today. Thanks to Kathryn for allowing me to share her photo with  you here.

We are having thunder and lightning and spatterings of rain, quite unusual for the Mendonoma coast in July!

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Sea Stars, formerly called Starfish, are back, recovered from the wasting disease that decimated their numbers. Cece Case recently photographed three Ochre Stars off Cooks Beach in Gualala.

Peter Fimrite, of the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote about their miraculous recovery. He wrote, "The colorful invertebrates have undergone a remarkable genetic adaptation that is protecting them from the deadly pathogen, a new study has found." You can read Peter's entire article at this link: https://www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/Starfish-on-California-coast-nearly-wiped-out-by-13018262.php

It truly is wonderful news. With the Sea Stars absence, Sea Urchins proliferated, decimating the kelp beds. This led to Abalones starving. It is hoped...and expected...that with the Stars recovery, the intertidal zone of the Pacific Ocean will be more in balance.

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