Sightings

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Alder Creek is at the northern boundary of Manchester State Park. It is where the San Andreas fault heads out to sea. Mel Smith was recently hiking on the bluffs there and got this photo.

Alder Creek by Mel Smith

It looks like the creek is currently closed to the Pacific Ocean by that big sandbar.

If you'd like directions to this spot, this website has good ones: http://www.californiabeaches.com/beach/alder-creek-beach-Manchester/  It's a good mile in by foot, as the road has crumbled away in parts and is closed to cars. I dearly miss this public access spot which gave access to the northern part of Manchester State Park.

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

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Cathleen Crosby photographed this beautiful butterfly and asked me what kind it was. This is a new one for me, so I queried Ron LeValley. He knew what it was, especially since he also recently photographed one. It's a Western Pine Elfin Butterfly.

Western Pine Elfin by Cathleen Crosby

It looks like its feeding on wild lilac, ceanothus, which is blooming in great profusion this spring here on the coast.

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

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Craig Tooley photographed this Anna's Hummingbird backlit by the sun.

Anna's Hummingbird backlit by the sun by Craig Tooley

Such a lovely photo. Anna's Hummingbirds are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photographer, here is his website: www.ruffimage.com

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Michael Beattie notice a beautiful Peregrine Falcon soaring through the air.

A Peregrine Falcon soars by Michael Beattie

He watched it join its mate at a nest with two, perhaps three, eggs inside.

Mated Peregrine Falcon pair by Michael Beattie

Last year there were two known Peregrine Falcon nests on the Mendonoma Coast. Because of Michael, we know there is at least one nest this year.

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

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Magical ForestThis is what we call the Magical Forest and the Enchanted Forest.

008It is found just east of the Gualala Point Regional Campground. The Gualala River glides by.

Gualala River in February by Harmony Susalla

The new owners of the Gualala Redwoods Lands propose to log in the floodplain of this river, starting at the border of the campground and heading upriver five miles. We just can't bear to let this happen. We have created a petition at change.org. It reads:

To Roger Burch, President of Redwood Empire

Sean Burch, Vice-President and GM of Redwood Empire

Henry Alden, Forester

Re: The Timber Harvest Plan “Dogwood.”

Dear Sirs,

We are residents and visitors of the Mendonoma Coast. We treasure our wild river, the Gualala River. We realize the Burch family recently acquired the 29,000 acres of Gualala Redwoods land previously owned by Dr. Edmunds. Perhaps you don’t realize what the land along the Gualala River, the floodplain of our river, means to us. Your proposed THP “Dogwood” would damage the health of our river and jeopardize the creatures that live in and alongside it.

We respectfully ask you to withdraw this ill-advised logging plan.

We ask you to consider selling the land dubbed “Dogwood” to a conservation group. Since “Dogwood” begins at the border of the campground of Gualala Point Regional Park and then goes five+ miles up the river, this land would be an ideal river park, an ideal extension of Gualala Point Regional Park.

Many of us have walked this land for decades. We call it the “Magical Forest” and the “Enchanted Forest.” To log it would be a disgrace. These 300+ acres are a minute part of your 29,000 acres. We hope that you love our Gualala River enough to preserve its continued recovery from past logging.

Please reconsider – for the sake of our river and for the sake of our community.

This petition has been signed by over 300 people on-line and nearly that many on hard copies being circulated in our area. Will you take a minute and sign on our petition? The link is below. Thank you, thank you!

https://www.change.org/p/roger-burch-we-implore-you-not-to-log-alongside-the-gualala-river?recruiter=7156794&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=share_email_responsive