Sightings

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Driving on Highway One is quite an experience. When you reach Elk, this beautiful sight is revealed. Charlie Ivor recently photographed this special spot.

Sea stacks are formed when parts of the headlands break off due to the force of the ocean waves. Larger sea stacks can provide important nesting spots for seabirds.

In the photos below, taken by Michael Beattie two years ago, a pair of Canada Geese used a sea stack off the Point Arena/Stornetta Lands to nest on. It was pretty exciting when the chicks needed to fledge from such a great height!

Thanks to Charlie and Michael for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

The weather is delightful, with abundant sunshine!

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Cooks Beach has become a favorite spot for many of us. Look at the beautiful sunset photo Eric Duff took there recently. A Western Gull nonchalantly walks across the sand.

We have one more storm coming in this afternoon, the forecasters say. Then spring will make its presence known, with warm, sunny days ahead.

Thanks to Eric for allowing me to share this moment of beauty with  you here. To find out more about Cooks Beach, here's a link to the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy: http://www.rc-lc.org/

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Richard Charter recently photographed a beautiful, vibrant rainbow on the Sonoma Coast.

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

After the rains, next week could be epic for wildflowers on the coast!

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Another x-rated sighting for you. First I showed you mating Bald Eagles. Today, thanks to Paul Brewer, I can show you amorous male Gray Whales. According to whale expert, Scott Mercer, this isn't the time of year for female Gray Whales to mate. They prefer mating earlier in the year in the warm lagoons off Baja. But sometimes the males have other ideas. Here are some photos of a recent encounter just off Gualala - tails, bodies rolling, and a head next another whale are seen in these first three photos.

And here's proof of the male's intent. His male sexual organ has been dubbed the "Pink Floyd."

Unfortunately for the males, the females just want to get away and continue on their northward migration.

Speaking of the migration, this past weekend and Monday many Gray Whales were seen. Conditions were perfect for spotting their blows. It seems like we hit peak migration, which is normal for this time of year. The mother/calf pairs won't be seen off the Mendonoma coast for a couple of weeks yet.

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/

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Saturday's sunrise was a beautiful gift for getting up early. The Pacific Ocean glowed pink and purple for a few short minutes while I went out on our deck to get this photo.

I took this panoramic photo but no photo would show the entirety of the magnificent sight.

We also had many rainbows yesterday as the storm was slowly moving out.