Sightings

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The Salal Trail on The Sea Ranch is a public access trail. It begins at Gualala Point Regional Park. Just after the pay station, turn left into the parking area. The signs for the trail are there. The trail goes along Highway One, past the golf course, and then heads west. Salal Creek accompanies you and rewards you with a beautiful sight. John Guinn captured the magic of the Salal Creek falls.

Here's a photo I took some time ago.

It's a beautiful part of the trail.

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

We've had some nice soaking rain. Creeks and rivers are flowing wonderfully now. I read my rain gauge in the 7 am hour. As of Sunday morning we've had 2.68 inches of rain (Donna, I told you an incorrect total this morning!). Season to date we've had 43.41 inches. It's raining as I type this and we have a river of rain event predicted for tomorrow, Monday.

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This sighting is from over a month ago, when the King Tides were taking place. Cindy Morey had a wonderful find during the extra low tides. She wrote, “This Sea Star with 22 arms was alive and in a tide pool way out in the rocks during low tide on Irish Beach. It was really something to see. I've only seen one other one near the same place many years ago.” What Cindy photographed was a beautiful Sunflower Sea Star, Pycnopodia helianthoides.

About ten years ago, a disease called the Sea Star wasting disease severely impacted many Stars, but it seems to have hit the Sunflower Stars the hardest. It’s estimated 90 percent of the big Stars died. I have not had a sighting of one since the outbreak so Cindy’s photo was so very welcome. I shared Cindy’s photo with folks at NOAA and they were excited too. Sunflower Stars prey on Purple Urchins which proliferated in the Stars absence, so with the Stars hoped for recovery, balance may be restored in the ocean.

Thanks to Cindy for allowing me to share her photo with you here. Cindy is an artist with the Coast Highway Artists Collective. You can take a look at this link: https://coast-highway-artists.com/

Rain has returned to the Mendonoma Coast. Hooray!

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The full Moon setting by Fish Rocks presented quite a beautiful picture. As evidence, just take a look at Rozanne Rapozo's photo. Fish Rocks is off Anchor Bay, about five miles north of Gualala.

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

Cold fog this morning, cold clouds this afternoon. Rain beginning tomorrow night!

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Perry Hoffman was photographing this Black Oystercatcher when a big wave crashed behind him or her!

And Mike Reinhart got this interesting photo of two walking down the rocks, along with one sitting/resting in the sun.

This is what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has to say about their calls:

"High-pitched, piping or whistling notes, given singly or in rolling, stuttering, or trilling series, often sounding like an excitable wheee as if given by a kid on a roller coaster." Listen and see what you think: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Oystercatcher/sounds

Thanks to Perry and Mike for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Perry's photography and art, here is the link to his website: https://magentaraven.com/

Looks like our three plus weeks of dry, sunny weather is about to come to a close in a couple of days. Today was clear and nippy!

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Adrian Adams noticed this live Great Blue Heron standing on a roof at The Sea Ranch. But a metal GBH weather vane would be pretty nice!

Great Blue Herons will occasionally get on a roof to search for prey and/or for protection from predators.

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

It was quite cold (for us here on the coast - I know it's very, very cold in other parts) this morning, 37 degrees. But it's sunny and calm this afternoon. We've gone three weeks without any rain as of today. Rain is in the forecast for later next week. Hope so!