Sightings

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Martin Steinpress was out on the rocks at low tide at Cooks Beach. He wrote, “I saw a few medium-size Sea Stars, including two orange ones next to a bunch of Purple Sea Urchins. I found a whole ecosystem of inhabitants beneath and between some Mussels, including these small, one-inch-diameter Sea Stars. It’s nice to see them returning to our coast in a big way.”

Sea Stars, formerly called Starfish, were devastated by a wasting disease. It’s believed to be a virus, and warmer waters might be a factor too. We have an over-abundance of Sea Urchins, causing an imbalance in the Pacific Ocean’s ecology. Sea Urchins have been eating much of the kelp, which leaves not enough kelp in some areas for the Abalones.

Sea Stars eat Sea Urchins, so we are rooting for their continued good health!

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

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Gary Levenson-Palmer captured this beautiful photo near Irish Beach this morning. You can also see the Pacific Ocean is roiled up, and - wow - is it loud today.

Carolyn Andre photographed a rainbow on The Sea Ranch.

And so did Jon Loveless.

I also want to show you what I saw from my house in Anchor Bay just after dawn this morning. Quite a storm cloud!

I love the cloud shows that often appear after a storm. We got another inch of rain last night and the storm door is open. Thank you, Mother Nature.

And thanks to Gary, Carolyn and Jon for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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Nicholas Wilson wrote, "The Navarro River mouth sandbar finally breached naturally early Monday Jan. 8, 2018, letting backed-up river water flow into the Pacific, and allowing reopening of Hwy. 128. Due to continued wet weather through the week, today Friday the 12th was the first chance I had to get aerial photos of the new channel through the sandbar. Here are two views taken with a DJI Phantom 4 Advanced flying camera. It was low tide, with a strong current flowing out through the new channel. The lower five miles or so of the river is a tidal estuary, with sea water flowing in through the channel during high tide.

How wonderful to see this river from the air! We are all glad it opened, as did the Gualala River. When the Navarro backs up, it can flood Highway 128. The Gualala River doesn't have development in its floodplain, and consequently causes no problems when it floods.

Thanks to Nicholas for these great photos. If you'd like to connect with him, here is a link to his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nicholas.wilson.3975

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Jeffrey Jermaine recently photographed Smuggler's Cove, a cove on The Sea Ranch.

There are some great tide pool spots close to the this cove. Donna Martinez, owner of Sea Ranch Abalone Bay, a vacation rental, has a great website where you can learn about where to tide pool on The Sea Ranch. Here's the link: http://searanchabalonebay.com/activities/sea-ranch-tide-pools/

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

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Ron LeValley was exploring the Arcata Marsh when this North American River Otter swam up to inspect him as he was walking around the lake.

I wonder what this River Otter was thinking!

River Otters are seen in the ocean, in rivers and creeks, and even on land. In fact, one big River Otter crossed Highway One in downtown Gualala once. Now that's a sighting.

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