Sightings

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Juvenile Brown Pelicans have brown heads and white tummies - adults have white heads and dark tummies. The young ones appeared a little earlier than normal this spring. Michael Reinhart recently photographed these two.

On a nature walk with the 3rd grade class of Arena Elementary School this past Monday, we saw seven Brown Pelicans glide by in an undulating line. The children quickly counted them!

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

The June gloom continues. Not much wind, but it's pretty cool.

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Fred Stanin hit the Gray Fox jackpot. A Gray Fox mother with her little kits have been seen near his home. Fred wrote, “This week we have had the pleasure of watching a new family of foxes at our home in Sea Ranch." Fred’s photo shows the mother nursing her rambunctious kits; paws can be seen akimbo.

Fred wrote further, "Then the mom lays on top of the fence while the kids have their fun.”

Life is good when you get to watch cute fox kits! Thanks to Fred for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

It's overcast today, with the sun trying to break free. Breezy too.

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Strong spring winds can sometimes drive By-the-wind-Sailors, or Velella velella, onto local beaches. DeDe Plaisted found a group of these animals mixed with Kelp that had also been tossed up on the beach. They are a vibrant blue which tells us they had very recently been stranded.

They have a small sail that catches the wind and blows them over the surface of the sea. Under certain wind conditions, they may be stranded on the beach, as DeDe found out recently. Mother Nature gave these animals an edge - about half of them have the sail tilted in one direction, and the rest have it tilted in the opposite direction. This way, some are driven out to sea where they can survive, while others sometimes perish on the beach.

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

There is no wind today at my place and it's warm and toasty.

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Brandt's Cormorants are nesting along the Mendonoma Coast. Jon Shiu photographed this group at the Mendocino Headlands.

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: “The largest cormorant on the Pacific Coast, Brandt’s Cormorant is an expert diver that can swim deeper than 200 feet in pursuit of fish and shellfish. In addition to standard cormorant black, Brandt’s sports a vivid cobalt-blue throat patch and eyes during breeding season, along with wispy white feathers on the head. This species nests and forages in the California Current, an area of rich upwelling between British Columbia, Canada, and Baja California, Mexico.”

How great to see the blue throat patch in Jon’s photo!

Thanks to Jon for allowing me to share his photo.

It’s sunny with a gentle breeze…a beautiful day on the Mendonoma coast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Suzy Rudy wrote, “A heads up to local botanical observers. The nice patch of Coastal Lilies at the southern border of Salt Point State Park, northbound lane is blooming. The population is quite a bit larger than last year - no doubt the blessing of the year’s rains.”

These orange beauties are endemic to California and are now only found on the North Coast. A visit to Salt Point State Park would be a great choice for the holiday weekend.

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

Super foggy this morning but the sun has chased the fog back over the ocean. It's a beautiful afternoon here on the Mendonoma Coast.