Carolyn Andre got this beautiful photo of a Great Blue Heron as it was just lifting off - so lovely to see.
And Michael Reinhart photographed this GBH basking in the sun.
These herons are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast.
Thanks to Carolyn and Mike for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
It's been sunny and it's been foggy, with temps on the cool side. Late this afternoon, as I write this, the fog has moved back out over the ocean.
This past week or so, Brown Pelicans have been seen in breeding plumage. Their heads are dusted in yellow and their gular pouch - their throat pouch - has turned orange/red. Kate Bloch got this photo of a Brown Pelican in the Gualala River, which shows you this transition.
These breeders will head south to their traditional breeding grounds, which are West Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands. Birders wonder if they will expand their breeding grounds northward, perhaps even the Mendonoma Coast. We’ll be watching!
Thanks to Kate for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
Since Nov. 16th we've had 2.74 inches of rain and the season to date is 12.74. Mushrooms are popping up seemingly everywhere! We've had a nice wet start this year. But now we take a pause and the forecast is clear of any storms through Thanksgiving. This afternoon is bright sunshine after some residual cloud, though it's on the cool side in the mid 50's.
Eric Zetterholm was the first to photograph this Black-tailed buck near The Sea Ranch golf course.
The Buck looks healthy except for those twisted antlers. I queried CDFW. I heard back from Krysten Kellum, Information Officer. She wrote, “CDFW’s Statewide Deer Coordinator Brian Leo tells me: I believe this sometimes happens due to hormonal imbalance, sometimes due to testicular injury or disease. It could also result from damage to the pedicle. Since the antlers are deformed on both sides and the deer appears to be otherwise healthy, my guess would be testicular injury or some other cause of hormonal imbalance.” I learned testosterone is essential for the normal antler cycle of growth and shedding.
It will be interesting to see what happens to this buck's antlers next year.
Thanks to Eric for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
It's raining, it's pouring...
A BIG sandbar has closed the Gualala River to the Pacific Ocean for months. Of course the river seeps through the sandbar, but much of the water backs up in the lagoon. Steelhead and other fish that were trapped in the river can now enter their next stage of life. I went by to check the river Thursday around noon and this is what I saw - a closed but very full river!
Others reported the river breached the sandbar at 4:45 p.m. and I went early on Friday to check it out. Here's what I saw.
A friend joined me, Vicki Robinson, and she asked, "Is that a Bald Eagle?" Sure enough, an adult Bald Eagle was on the sandbar to the left of the new opening - was she watching the newly opened river? ha, she was probably looking for a tasty fish.
Here's a video I took:
Open Gualala River 11.14.25 by Jeanne A Jackson
It was a gentle opening this year. Here's what Dave Jordan wrote on Friends of Gualala River's website: "The river mouth started to breach around at 5 pm Thursday, on a rising high tide, which equalizes tide and lagoon water levels quickly, minimizing the gradient and energy . . . quiet breach conditions. It’s the low tide breaches that are like dramatic dam bursts. Surely the fish were satisfied with the relatively low-turbulence but turbid breach."
To learn much more about the Gualala River, here is the website for FoGR: https://gualalariver.org/
On their website home page is an up-to-date weather report, a feature that might come in handy for some of you.
It's sunny and warm today - 74 degrees - but the barometer is low and falling. Another storm is headed our way for tomorrow.
David Munson captured much of the beauty of last night's sunset.
I went on a mushroom hunt with friends in the late afternoon yesterday. As we returned to Rick's and my place, we could see the colors splashed across the sky behind the house. My friends left and I hurried inside to get a photo of the sunset. But...but...a cloud washed up and over our area and the colors of the sunset didn't penetrate it! What mushrooms did we find? Matsutakes!!! Way earlier than most years.
Thanks to David for allowing me to share his photo with you!
We have a wet storm bearing down on the Mendonoma Coast. I'll have rain totals for those interested tomorrow. Bring it, Mother Nature! And I think the Gualala River might be able to breach the sandbar with all the rain coming.