Sightings

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It's easy to watch the sunset when you are on the Mendonoma Coast - all it takes is a view of the ocean. With the warm weather the horizon has been clear the past several nights and, sure enough, there were green flashes on Monday and Tuesday. I tried to photograph Monday's green flash but wasn't successful. But at least my photos will show you what to look for. I will also put a link to a beautiful photo of a green flash that was shared here.

                      The sunset begins - rather a strange shape to the sun!

The sun is disappearing and you can see the separation you should look for.

                    And this is where you would see the green flash. Do you see a hint of green in the blazing yellow? This whole top turns emerald green for a second or two just before it disappears.

To see that photo of Frank Vaskelis' green flash, click on this link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/04/28/the-green-flash-its-not-a-myth/

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California Quail are fun to watch and to photograph. The strikingly beautiful male Quail is often seen guarding his family from a high point. Paul Batchelder captured a whimsical moment where a covey of Quail met their metal brother. Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you!

To see a male CA Quail on guard duty, click on this link for another photo on this site: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/06/10/male-california-quail-on-guard-duty-above-our-goldfinch-feeder-quite-a-sight/

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Last night - and a balmy one it was - Rick and I heard a Western Screech Owl calling just outside our courtyard. These owls don't screech! They have a very melodic, soothing call. We know we have Screech Owls in our area in Anchor Bay because last year we found two juveniles in a dark canyon. Here's the link to see them on this blog: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/04/29/hoping-for-a-western-screech-owl-to-take-up-residence-in-my-beautiful-owl-house/

I decided I'd like to learn more about owl calls. I found a great web site, forgetting that I had turned the volume on my iPad all the way up. Huckleberry was sleeping behind Rick and me. It was very tranquil and quiet. Quiet, that is, until I clicked on the very loud "hoo, hoo, hooooo" sounds of a Great Horned Owl. The calls boomed out into our house, echoing off the walls. Huckleberry reared up in great alarm, looked everywhere in the living room and then began barking.

Here's a photo of a Great Horned Owl taken by Steve Wilcox. I thank him for allowing me to share his photo here.

And if you'd like to hear their call, here's a link: http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Bubo&species=virginianus But learn from my lesson and keep the sound down so you don't scare your furry friends!

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On Sept. 3rd, Rozann Grunig found a shocking sight at Shell Beach on The Sea Ranch. The beach was littered with dead Sea Urchins. She also saw a Chiton, a type of sea mollusk, just barely alive. The Chiton was put back into the Pacific Ocean in the hopes it might survive.

Abalones have been found upside down off the Sonoma Coast - there has been much coverage of this event. A Red Tide plus a quiet ocean caused a loss of oxygen in these critters habitat. It is believed by local ocean watchers that this is a natural occurrence. It has happened before and will happen again. Tests are being done to see if something else is happening here. Divers and fishermen tell me while they have seen some dead abalones, there are thousands upon thousands out there and doing fine. The Mendocino Coast looks like it avoided this phenomenon.

I thank Rozann for allowing me to share her photos here.

To see Craig Tooley's photo of the Red Tide, you can see it on this link here on Mendonoma Sightings: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/08/09/red-tide-seen-off-of-the-sea-ranch/

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Recently Siegfried and Gretel Matull returned to their Sea Ranch home via Cazadero. That put them at the top of Fort Ross Road. They were above the fog, looking down. And to their wondering eyes they saw what Siegfried called, "a miracle fog bank" with blue sky above it.

What they were seeing was most likely a partial fog bow, also called a cloud bow, a similar phenomena as a rainbow. A fog bow is usually seen from an airplane. The Matulls were in the right place, at the right time! Thanks to Siegfried for allowing me to share this unusual photo.

And to see a very unusual and extremely rare cloud formation, here's the link to A Cloud falling out of a Cloud on this blog: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/05/13/rare-cloud-phenomenon-a-cloud-falling-out-of-a-cloud/