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John Landon and family from Bozeman, MT were vacationing here at the end of June. John wrote, “One afternoon we hiked a short distance into a Sonoma coast cove to hunt for beach glass and abalone shells. We spotted an aerie on the cliff face above the cove with two well-feathered Peregrine Falcon babies. Also, on the cliff face above the beach was a just-fledged Peregrine on top of a Tan-oak.”

The Landons watched the parents feeding their offspring and encouraging the other two chicks to fledge. John came back the next day to find the nest empty. He brought his long lens and got some wonderful photos of one of the fledglings.

Peregrine Falcons used to be a rare sighting, but we have had successful nests for the past several years. It's good to see them thriving here on the Mendonoma Coast!

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

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Rick and Teresa Denniston noticed this Peregrine Falcon perched in the snag usually occupied by the two resident Bald Eagles.

Two Peregrines have been seen near Arena Cove recently. We had several successful nest on the Mendonoma coast this year. Tomorrow I will show you a few photos of a Peregrine who had just fledged.

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

It's foggy, no, it's sunny, wait, it's foggy again. That's the weather report on the immediate coast. Warm, though, with very little wind. Rick and I walked at Gualala Point Regional Park late this morning with our rescue golden retriever, Duffy. Put these words to the tune "The Twelve Days of Christmas." This is what we saw.

Three bucks with antlers, Two Brown Pelicans, and an island full of many, many birds.

Gualala Point Island was nearly covered in birds today. Common Murre chicks are getting ready to fledge by leaping off the island into the ocean, following the sound of their fathers' voices. Good luck, little Murre chicks!

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A rare plant has bloomed near Rick’s and my home in Anchor Bay, last year and this year too. We took wildflower aficionados Mel Smith and Linda Bostwick to see the spiky maroon and white flower last weekend. There, growing in sandy soil and forest duff, was a Sugarstick, Allotropa virgata.

Here's a closer view of the flowers - they are quite beautiful.

Sugarsticks, also called Candysticks, are parasitic plants. They feed on fungi in the soil. The two places I’ve found them have Matsutake mushrooms in the fall. If you have known Matsutake spots, look and see if you might also have Sugersticks. Last year’s flowers are still standing as leathery thin stalks.

Interesting that they seem to be associated with Matsutake fungus!

We have had cool, foggy weather on the Mendonoma coast this week. The sun finally appeared mid-afternoon. There are lots of people here with their fancy cars, as there is a car show on Saturday at Gualala Arts. It's free and lots of fun. Here is a link to the Gualala Arts Center about the event: http://gualalaarts.org/2018/07/10th-annual-gualala-arts-auto-show-8th-annual-pinewood-derby/

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Okay, I will admit that I'm jealous. Seeing Gray Fox kits playing in your yard is a pretty wonderful experience. I'll let Carolyn Andre tell the tale. "Barry and I have had the most incredible last several days with a young family of foxes. It's thrilling. And exhausting."

"It started late Saturday night [several weeks ago.] Three kits, and what we assume to be their Mom, were running their little butts from one end of the courtyard to the other, jumping on and off of things as they went. They were knocking into chairs, and each other, as they jumped from chair to chair. it was so much fun to watch."

"They repeated the same behavior on Sunday morning. I came out to find my shell collection scattered across the deck and ground. Three flower pots were upended, lying on their side. And they moved a saucer from under a pot to where it sits below. Two of the three kits are carousing below. Like cats, they keep chewing on a pillow and then shake it back and forth in their mouth, as if it were prey. They've tried the large cushions too, but as you can see, the cushions are too big for them so they tire easily. But one of them keeps trying to kill that cushion. Standing on it makes it harder to shake, however."

"Aren't they supposed to be asleep on Sunday morning? I know they had a busy night. I signaled Barry to come look and he pointed out that one of their parents sat on top of our fence or at the table outside the courtyard watching the kits."

"The kits run and jump both day and night. They come back around 8 - 9 pm, run around while their Mom watches. And then again very late - 11 pm to midnight, and somewhere between 4 to 4 am. I can't figure out when they're sleeping. I know I'm not!"

"I never knew what great tree climbers they are. They're like cats. They jump from the fence into the tree and then up while the siblings chase behind and reach for each other's tails to pull or bite. Up the tree, down the tree, back around the courtyard. I think their Mom wants them to run themselves until exhausted."

"I really do know how lucky we are. I had not idea how much they are just like kittens and puppies." I told Carolyn about Gray Foxes stealing a single shoe to give to the kits for playing. Carolyn wrote, "I don't have any shoes out there but I do have gardening gloves. I found one torn up yesterday and the other has disappeared."

Ah, but they grow up so fast. Carolyn and Barry had quite a floorshow for a while. Maybe they will be lucky again next year.

Thanks to Carolyn for the cute story and for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

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There was a nest of Red-tailed Hawks near The Sea Ranch. The chicks recently fledged. Craig Tooley photographed this fledgling soaring through the sky.

Looks like his/her flying lessons are going very well!

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: www.ruffimage.com