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Wildflower season begins early on the Mendonoma coast. One of our longest bloomers is the Douglas Iris. Marsha Dupre recently photographed some.

Barbara Rice found Indian Warriors.

Bea Hoover photographed Wild Ginger.

And Jutta Leibrock found Common Camas.

We have had rain showers this weekend, which will be wonderful for all the beautiful wildflowers. I was told on a wildflower walk led by Julia Larke that 45 different species of wildflowers were found at our new public access spot, Pelican Bluffs. That's amazing!

Thanks to all above who have allowed me to share their photos with you here.

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One sign of spring is the appearance of the first Harbor Seal pups.Here's a photo of a newborn pup. It's important to keep humans and dogs off the beaches where these pups are born. At The Sea Ranch, near Shell Beach, docents are on the bluffs to inform people about their presence.

Here the newborn is nursing. Doesn't the mom look blissful?

And lambs appear at The Sea Ranch flock. Life is good when all you have to do is munch the fresh grasses!

I'll be sharing more photos of spring with you in the days ahead. Thanks to Allen for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see more of Allen's nature photography, here is his website: http://allenvinson.smugmug.com/

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Andy Moore recently spotted a Red-tailed Hawk perched in a tree.

Perhaps the red-tail was enjoying the sunny weather!

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

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Peter Baye had a fun sighting recently. He wrote, “An hour before sunset, I saw a small bird that I first thought was a Spotted Towhee from its movements. However, the round head revealed it was a daytime appearance of a Northern Pygmy Owl. It must be fairly hungry after last week’s long rains, since they can’t hunt well with the din of raindrops. It didn’t seem to mind my staring and taking photos.”

I love owls so I was happy to see this photo. Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share it with you here.

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Richard Hansen is the lucky person to live in Gualala and overlook Castle Rock. He has photographed various waves hitting a submerged rock in front of Castle Rock, which creates some interesting sightings. He swears this wave was ready to hug the distinctive rock.

One of my favorite photos by Richard of waves and Castle Rock is this one, taken a few years ago. It looks like a big monster is planning on hugging the rock.

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

Lovely sunny weather today. Lots of birds are singing their mating songs. It's a great time to be on the Mendonoma Coast.