When tropical clouds drift up from the south, as they did a few weeks ago, it gives us a chance for a beautiful sunset. Tricia Schuster captured the colorful sky.
Watching the sunset is a coast tradition! Thanks to Tricia for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
The cute, little Western Gull chicks look like small rocks, giving them some desperately needed camouflage. Margaret Lindgren recent photographed a chick near The Sea Ranch.
Here the chick is with one of its parents.
Until the chick can fly, it is vulnerable to predators. We hope all will go well for this chick.
Thanks to Margaret for allowing me to share her photos with you here. Margaret is the owner of Unbeaten Path Tours. I highly recommend taking one of her hikes, which Rick and I recently did. I will have to report on that in another blog post! To learn more about Margaret's tours, here is the link to her website: https://www.unbeatenpathtours.com/
We wonder when this elk's hormones will kick in and he will leave the Mendocino coast in search of a mate. But for now, he seems content to hang out with a herd of domestic cows on a farm north of Point Arena. Ferne Fedeli recently photographed him with his growing antlers.
He looks pretty darn handsome, don't you think?
Thanks to Ferne for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
The Point Arena Lighthouse has a feline Guest Relations Manager and Rodent Control Specialist named Arena Mina, according to Lighthouse Executive Director Mark Hancock. He wrote, “Arena Mina was lounging in her office doorway when a Great Blue Heron landed in the field outside and proceeded to start hunting gophers. ‘That’s actually one of my jobs, but there are enough to go around out there,’ Mina said.'
Mina continues, ‘In any event, after one failed attempt, the heron strolled away towards the Lighthouse and ultimately out beyond the fence-line to the bluff where it was finally successful. One less for me!’”
It's nice to know there is no competition between Arena Mina and that hard-working Great Blue Heron! Thanks to Mark for the cute story and for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
The Point Arena Lighthouse and surround grounds, plus the Point Arena-Stornetta Land abutting it, is one of my favorite places on the coast. Here is a link to learn more about our favorite lighthouse: http://pointarenalighthouse.com/
Mary and Dard Hunter had a Chestnut-backed Chickadee nest in their birdhouse. Can you see the chick peeking out the hole?
Mary took this photo, headed into town to do a few errands, and by the time she returned, her husband, Dard, told her the chicks had fledged!
Here's a close-up of one of these beautiful, little birds, taken by Dorise Ford. It's unusual for a chickadee to be at a seed feeder, as they are insect eaters. Maybe this chickadee was just resting!
Here is a map showing their range.
Rick and I also had a family of these chickadees this year in a birdhouse we had attached to a tree. Now we are hearing the fledglings in the trees. They travel in fairly large groups, sometimes accompanied by Pygmy Nuthatches. I love their chirping calls, one of which is "chick-a-dee-dee."
Thanks to Mary and Dorise for allowing me to share their photos with you here.