Sightings

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On the Mendocino Headlands, a white Black Oystercatcher chick was hard to miss. Normally the chicks are camouflaged in gray and black. This little chick is white. Roger Adamson located the chick with one of its parents and got several photos.

The chick isn't albino - note the orange beak and normal-colored eye. The term for this coloring is leucistic.

I am told this white chick has a normal-colored sibling. We hope this cute chick survives and is able to fledge. Then we will be watching as it most likely colors up.

I love their calls, a whistling "wheep." You can hear their calls at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Oystercatcher/sounds

Thanks to Roger for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

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When the fog rolls in, as it often does in the summer, the Point Arena Lighthouse takes on a different, softer look. Dennis Latona recently photographed the tall lighthouse shrouded in fog.

To learn more about the Point Arena Lighthouse, here is the link to their website: http://pointarenalighthouse.com/

Thanks to Dennis for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Dennis' nature photography, here is his website: http://www.pinenutz.com/

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This little green frog, recently transformed, was spotted by Debbie Trujillo.

You can see how very small it is perched on Debbie's hand. Here is a close-up of the frog in some greenery.

While these treefrogs are small, they have big voices, especially in mating season.

Thanks to Debbie for allowing me to share her photos with you here. While fog is over the Pacific Ocean, it is toasty warm at our place in Anchor Bay today.

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When tropical clouds drift up from the south, as they did a few weeks ago, it gives us a chance for a beautiful sunset. Tricia Schuster captured the colorful sky.

Watching the sunset is a coast tradition! Thanks to Tricia for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

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The cute, little Western Gull chicks look like small rocks, giving them some desperately needed camouflage. Margaret Lindgren recent photographed a chick near The Sea Ranch.

Here the chick is with one of its parents.

Until the chick can fly, it is vulnerable to predators. We hope all will go well for this chick.

Thanks to Margaret for allowing me to share her photos with you here. Margaret is the owner of Unbeaten Path Tours. I highly recommend taking one of her hikes, which Rick and I recently did. I will have to report on that in another blog post! To learn more about Margaret's tours, here is the link to her website: https://www.unbeatenpathtours.com/