Sightings

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Rich Trissel keeps a "yard list," a list of birds he sees in their yard north of Gualala. A few days ago he added a Rough-legged Hawk to  his list. Nancy got the photo.

Here is what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says about these autumn/winter visitors: "The Rough-legged Hawk spends the summer capturing lemmings on the arctic tundra, tending a cliffside nest under a sun that never sets. Winter is the time to see this large, open-country hawk in southern Canada and the U.S., where it may be perched on a pole or hovering over a marsh or pasture on the hunt for small rodents. Found globally across northern latitudes, this species occurs in both light and dark forms."

Nancy photographed a light form, adult Rough-legged Hawk.

To hear their calls, here is the link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rough-legged_Hawk/sounds

Here is a close-up photo I found on the web, from the Audubon handbook.

I hope I get to see one of these magnificent hawks! The Trissels and I are neighbors, as the Raven flies!

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

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Dennis Latona knows to train his camera on a beautiful scene. Here's what he captured at the Point Cabrillo Light Station as the sun was setting.

Notice the couple sitting on the picnic table watching the sunset unfold - nice!

Point Cabrillo Light Station is a California State Historic Park. It's found  between the village of Mendocino and Fort Bragg, about halfway between Russian Gulch State Park and Caspar Beach, on Point Cabrillo Drive. To learn more about this beautiful park, here is the link to their website: http://pointcabrillo.org/

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

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Rick and I, along with our golden retriever Sunny, visited the Walk On Beach public access trail on The Sea Ranch. Sonoma County Regional Parks made the Sea Ranch public access trails free to the public recently. What we found when we reached the bluffs had me exclaiming! It was thrilling to see and hear the big waves crashing against the rocks. Yes, it was foggy, but that didn't bother us.

The sounds of the big breakers were amazing and watching the breakers crash against rocks was mesmerizing.

Big Breakers off Walk On Beach by Jeanne Jackson

Big rollers off Walk On Beach by Jeanne Jackson

Here are a couple of short video clips. Enjoy! The sun did come out for the afternoon. And rain is in our forecast for later next week. That would be a blessing!

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These late season heat waves make everyone nervous as we wait for the rains to begin in. Before the last hot weather enveloped the coast, Paul Brewer was on the Jenner Grade when he saw this beautiful sight.

You can see the full moon peaking up over the ridge as fog rolls in from the ocean.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. Would you like to see one of my favorite Paul Brewer photos? Paul caught the setting sun shining through the sea tunnel just as the blowhole went off at Hearn Gulch.

Paul sells his work at the Dolphin Gallery in Gualala and other art galleries on the coast. You can see much more of his nature photograph at this site: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

 

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Tom Eckles was at Gualala Point Regional Park when he saw this beautiful scene.

We had high surf warnings, bringing big waves. The island in the middle is Gualala Point Island, an important rookery for seabirds.

The surf was high enough to flow over the sandbar and into the Gualala River. That, combined with last week's rain, has really filled up the lagoon. Kayaking this weekend could be epic! Our local kayak company is Adventure Rents. http://www.adventurerents.com/

Thanks to Tom for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Tom's photography, you can view them here: https://www.flickr.com/people/eckles/