Sightings

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...of a silvery moon. That's the title Vicki Albiston gave to her recent sunset photo, which shows a crescent moon and the sunset reflecting on clouds.

By the light of the silvery moon by Vicki AlbistonWe haven't seen many sunsets recently, with all the fog covering the ocean. But the fog keeps the temperatures nice and cool, and the plants moist - something to be appreciated.

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

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Local diver, Jack Likins, recently SCUBA dove at Stillwater Cover. He's one of the volunteers with Reef Check California. These divers collect data by doing invertebrate, fish, algae and habitat transects using SCUBA tanks. Here's a photo of Jack taken by David Hills.
Jack Likins scuba diving for Reef Check California by David HillsJack reports that the conditions at Stillwater Cover are pretty dismal. He didn't see much kelp, though he did see some big fish and plenty of abalones in deeper water - over 20 feet deep. He did find the abalones there were hungry. He waved a kelp frond in front of some abs, and they would 'jump' up and grab it.
He then took some of the volunteer divers to a spot off The Sea Ranch to dive for abalone. Of course no tanks can be used for that - it's free-diving only. Here's what Jack found, "Sea Ranch was a completely different story. The bull kelp and the shorter brown kelp is making a strong recovery with some nice thick patches. The abalones looked 'meaty.' The bad news is the purple sea urchins are still pretty dense, but there seems to be enough food for everyone. We didn't see many fish, but maybe because of the wind and currents, which made it hard to free-dive. There is still a lot of sand in areas that are usually rocky this time of the year.
"The Nature Conservancy has developed a website for recreational abalone divers to submit size data for the abalones they catch. The hope is that the data will be used by the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife to help manage our abalone fishery." People can check it out and submit data at https://tncfish.typeform.com/to/CzaLS3
To learn more about Reef Check California, here is the link to their website: http://www.reefcheck.org/california/ca-overview
Here is one of my favorite photos of Jack with a ten+ inch abalone. He was photographed among Naked Ladies, a non-native flower that many of us love.
Jack Likins finds a big Abalone by Roger Rude (Large)Thanks to David and Jack for allowing me to share these photos with you here.

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These reddish frogs are on the endangered species list. Roberta Chan spotted one at the campground at Gualala Point Regional Park on July 30th. The campground is near the banks of the Gualala River.

CA Red-legged Frog found 73116 by Roberta ChanRoberta previously photographed one in the same area in January of this year in the gravel bank of the Gualala River.

California Red-legged frog by Roberta ChanThis rare frog is found almost entirely in California. To learn more about this frog, here is a link to an interesting article: http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/amphibians-reptiles-and-fish/california-red-legged-frog.aspx

Thanks to Roberta for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

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This young Gray fox seemed to pose for Craig Tooley.

A young Gray fox looks at the camera by Craig TooleyThe juvenile Gray fox sure looks healthy! 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

Craig is the featured photographer in my book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year.

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Professional photographer, Paul Kozal, wouldn't miss the opportunity to photograph the night sky this week. The Perseid Meteor Showers, the absence of the moon, and the Milky Way shining bright in the sky was too tempting to resist. A meteor streaks across the sky to the right of the Milky Way, an incredible sight.

Perseid Meteor Shower and the Milky Way by Paul Kozal  I asked Paul how he took this photo. He wrote, 'One exposure, 30 seconds with light painting on the oak tree, taken off of Tin Barn Road."

  Paul stopped along Highway One to capture this photo.

The Milky Way as seen from Highway One by Paul KozalAmazing photos of a beautiful sky. Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share them with you. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.paulkozal.com/