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Shari Goforth headed out in two weeks ago on a Saturday for a pelagic trip out of Noyo Harbor on The Kraken along with 24 other seafarers. Many on board were birders, excited to see different kinds of petrels, albatrosses, skua and terns. Shari is mostly on the trip to spot whales. A blue whale was seen and Pacific white-sided dolphins. And humpbacks! Shari wrote, “It was a gray day, so here are a few photos that are not fogged-in. We were about from eight miles from the red and white whistle buoy outside Noyo Harbor when we encountered a group of humpback whales.”

Look at the green light on the water on the lower right. It's the sun reflected on the whale's body that is underwater. Shari says they can often see a whale before it spouts by noting this green reflection.

Shari got a clear photo of a distinctive fluke and she sent it in to Happy Whale to see if they had a previous identification of this particular whale. They did. Shari wrote, “That fluke is CRC-20332, Cascadia Research collective’s research number,  no nickname, first recorded off Baja 01-03-2022, the only sighting before our photo record on 08-17-2025."

Another photo is of a humpback rostrum showing the mouth nearly closed after a lunge feeding event with one other whale. The barnacles visible on the lower mandible pouch show their exposed cirri, the barnacles’ feeding appendages. Needless to say, it was a great trip!”

Thanks to Shari for allowing me to share her photos with you here. If you'd like to learn more about the pelagic trips out of Noyo Harbor, here is the link: http://noyopelagics.com

To be on their mailing list, you can sign up here: https://groups.io/g/Mendocino-Pelagics

The fog bank is smaller and a ways out over the ocean. Breezy sunny weather happening now!

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Kate Bloch managed to photograph a rare blue flash to go along with the green flash.

The reason we can't see more colors than green has to do with atmospheric dispersion.But every now and then, a talented photographer will catch magic and show us the blue flash.

Thanks to said talented photographer, Kate Bloch, for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

Thick fog this morning but it finally cleared at Rick's and my place mid-afternoon. Temps in the low 60's.

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Ospreys fish in the ocean and in rivers for fish. Their other name is Sea Hawks. Yep, the Seattle Seahawks are named after an Osprey...I presume! Ron Bolander was out with his camera and he was ready when this Osprey flew by with its catch.

If you know what kind of fish this is, I'd love to know. So would Ron. See how the Osprey has positioned the fish? It's the best aerodynamic position for the big bird to fly with the fish.

This is a good time to see and hear Ospreys on the Mendonoma Coast. The chicks have fledged and they are beginning to fish for themselves. To hear the distinctive call of an Osprey, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/sounds

Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photo with you here. And get well soon, Ron!

The heat has left the immediate coast and the fog has returned. We also have some high clouds drifting through, making it a little humid today. Temps in the low 70's. Yay!

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A week ago Wednesday, a sundog appeared off Point Arena. Mel Smith captured the beauty.

Sundogs are a type of halo that appears when sunlight refracts off ice crystals in the atmosphere. These ice crystals are usually hexagonal and are often found in high-altitude cirrus clouds.

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

ooo, it's hot at Rick's and my place today but it's perfect right on the bluffs. Bonus sighting: Humpback whales have been seen in numbers!

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I'll let Ben tell the story. He wrote, “On Thursday last week, I went on one of my usual hikes in Gualala Point Park.  This took me out to the north end of the bluff trail.  I rounded a corner and to my surprise a doe and two fawns, still with spots, were crossing the trail right in front of me."

"I was able to get a few pictures and happy with capturing a family portrait, I continued my hike out to the Salal Creek waterfall.  On my way back, I rounded the corner to find that ‘Dad’ had joined the party."

"He was staring at me from not 20 feet away, all four points of him.  I am pretty sure I have seen him before, down by the big pool in Sea Ranch.  We looked at each other for a bit, I got a few pictures and then I just said, ‘Thank you’ and I walked away.”

I too feel gratitude when I have an experience like this. And I think it's a great idea to say 'Thank you' like Ben did.

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

Sunny and warm today, the wind picked up late this afternoon. We're going into a warming trend so now is a good time to head for the Mendonoma Coast!