Sightings

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As I showed you yesterday, there is a lovely little lagoon on the northern portion of Manchester State Beach. There I saw two birds wading in the water. The one on the left was about half the size of the other one. Ron LeValley identified it as a Pectoral Sandpiper. The bird on the right is a Short-billed Dowitcher.

Below there is a portion of a boat, with the metal piece that held the anchor, that recently washed up on the beach. Someone has already incorporated it into a driftwood "building."

And below Mel Smith and Linda Bostwick are standing next to a small refrigerator. It's very heavy. This and the portion of the boat might be precursors of the tsunami debris head our way from the Japanese disaster.

We were lucky and had a sighting of an Elegant Sheepmoth for our own!

And as we picked up debris, a flock of Canada Geese passed by, their wingbeats were audible in the calm morning air.

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Yesterday, Saturday, was Coastal Clean-up day so Rick and I met Linda Bostwick and Mel Smith at the northern end of Manchester State Beach. The fog was just off the coast and the air was cool, perfect for scouring the beach and lagoon for trash.

Here's the path from Highway One. The woods contain walk-in campsites.

Below Linda Bostwick with her poodle, Devi, stand in one of the campsites.

As we walked further into the park we saw beautiful grasses and sedges. A group of Cattails waved in the breezes. The Point Arena Lighthouse stands to the far left.

Below is a beautiful, small lagoon. Tomorrow I will show you two Sandpipers who were fishing in it.

And here is the result of our labors. Rick, Mel and Linda with the debris we picked up. Two items were left on the beach because they were too heavy - a small refrigerator and a small but heavy tire. These could be precursors of the tsunami debris that will  hitting our coast in the months to come.

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Karen Tracy and a friend were walking on the bluffs recently when they came across this beautiful Elegant Sheep Moth, Hemileuca eglanterina. It is a Silk Moth and a California native. This moth only appears in the summer and is a rare sighting.

With its pink wings highlighted in black and its yellow body, this is one beautiful moth. No surprise, this California native feeds on native plants, which include Ceanothus and California Coffee-Berry.

Thanks to Karen for allowing me to share her photo with you here. To see another photo of this moth showing two mating, here is the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/10/16/elegant-sheepmoth-a-beautiful-and-rare-moth-photographed-by-patricia-mcbratney/

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An adult Gray Whale and her juvenile - a calf born earlier this year - have been seen for a week now. It is thought that these whales did not migrate to the Arctic Circle. This is an exciting development for the Grays. They are considered  part of the new Pacific Aggregate Coastal Gray Whales.

Jim Garlock took the photo above. You can see a blow drifting above the Gray Whale. These whales are actually "rock picking," sucking up anthropods and other tasty treats from the rocks, rather than moving mud around as they do in the Arctic.

These two whales have been seen very close to shore, as Robert Scarola's photo will attest. It's very exciting to have them here during summer. Perhaps this will become a regular occurrence.

Thanks to Jim and Robert for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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This old-growth Redwood grew in a twisted fashion. That's what save it from the logging activity that went on here on the Mendonoma Coast in the 1800's. Thank goodness! It stands like a forest god, over two thousand years old. It is on a neighbor's property but we are able to hike down to visit it.

Craig Tooley recently photographed this magnificent tree. You will see that Rick, Huckleberry and I are dwarfed by it. The first time I saw it my heart raced. What a treasure to find in the forest.

To see more of Craig's Coast photography, here's the link to his web site: http://ruffimage.com/