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I hear the calls of Wilson's Warblers most days in the forest at Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay. They are beautiful birds, with their vibrant yellow color. Craig Tooley got this photo recently of a male - the black cap on top of his head is definitive.

You can see he is singing! To hear the calls of this warbler, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wilsons_Warbler/sounds

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with  you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

Foggy this morning near the coast, but warm away from the ocean.

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Such a treat to hear a Pileated Woodpecker and an even better treat to get a photo of the largest woodpecker on the Mendonoma Coast. Here's Michael's story:

"I first heard her on the prior Thursday night, never actually seeing her.  I spent the next five nights going back to the same spot. I heard her a few times and it wasn't until last Wednesday I actually found her."

MCOUSTIER@PROTONMAIL.COM

"It took me about six hours of standing in the same spot over those five nights with enhanced hay fever and three ticks.  She is the largest woodpecker in the USA and she was found behind RCMS.” RCMS is our medical clinic in Gualala.

Michael got two other photos I'd like to share with you. The first is a Red-shafted Northern Flicker.

MCOUSTIER@PROTONMAIL.COM

And here is a Red-shouldered Hawk with a juvenile Gartersnake for his/her meal.

 

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

To hear the call of a Pileated Woodpecker - and it's impressive! - you can listen at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/sounds

It's a beautiful day here today with gentle breezes. There are many, many visitors here for the holiday!

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Here's Rita's story:  “I glanced out and saw what I was pretty sure was this big animal across at the neighbor’s driveway (they were not at home) so I  went outside to our front yard to look across the way, and within those couple of minutes this beautiful Black Bear had come to OUR front yard and came face to face with me about 20 feet away with quite a curious look on his/her face... just like me! I am so glad I was able to capture that funny expression and wonderful moment with my iPhone.”

The Bear has soil on his/her muzzle, probably from foraging for food, and was seen on the east side of The Sea Ranch.

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

Windy again today, and clear skies. Temps are cooler today. The Mendonoma Coast is packed with visitors for the 4th of July holiday!

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Pat Whelan has Black Bears regularly visiting her Sea Ranch property. And now her cameras recorded a nice healthy-looking Mountain Lion.

This Mountain Lion was strolling along. It's their home too.

Thanks to Pat for allowing me to share this photo with you here.

ooo, the wind picked up today. Fog is over part of the ocean and beautiful wispy clouds are overhead.

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Mel Smith was out photographing a rather rare sight. He wrote, “Here is the new Moon and the planet Mercury on the 26th of June 2025.”

Mercury is often difficult to spot because it's close to the sun. It's still a little hard to spot it in Mel's photo - look to the left of the Moon. If you click on the photo, you will easily see Mercury. Mercury was relatively high in the evening sky when Mel got his photo.

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

Foggy this morning and sunny this afternoon, temps in the high 70's.