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Just in time for Autumn, Monarch Butterflies are beginning to grace us with their presence. They travel here to feed before their long migration southward. Paul Brewer recently photographed several in his Gualala garden.

See the two black dots on the Monarch on the left, on his lower wings? That tells you it's a male.

These Monarchs are the Methuselah generation, the long-lived generation that makes the fall migration.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photos with you here. You can see Paul's nature photographs displayed at the Gualala Arts Dolphin Gallery. Here's the link to their website: https://gualalaarts.org/dolphin-gallery/

The day started out partly-sunny, but for the first time in weeks, smoke has drifted down from the fires in far northern California and Oregon.

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Rozanne Rapozo was down at the Gualala River when this Brown Pelican came in for a landing. As graceful as they are in the air, they can be quite clumsy when landing in the water.

And here Rozanne has photographed the gular pouch of a Brown Pelican.

The gular pouch is the flexible skin located on the pelican’s lower jaw and connected to the throat.

Thanks to Rozanne for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

It's a beautiful day here today - a mixture of fog over the water, cool temps and sunny skies over the land.

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Nancy Gastonguay photographed this Bobcat and then wondered if perhaps she had photographed a Lynx.

Lynx aren’t found here. They are forest-dwelling cats in northern latitudes such as Montana, Maine and Minnesota, where deep snow and spruce/fir forest are common. Bobcats and Lynx are in the same genus. Here is an interesting graph showing the differences between the two.

I've never seen a Lynx, but I have seen Bobcats here on the Mendonoma Coast. The best places to see them are meadows as they hunt for rodents.

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

It's a beautiful calm day here on the coast today - just loverly.

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Kate Bloch was at the right place to capture this beautiful photo of a breaching Humpback Whale. Just imagine you are in a little boat close to this big cetacean when the whale crashes back into the ocean. Talk about rocking the boat!

Copyright Kate Bloch 2023

Humpback Whales are feeding off the Mendonoma Coast now. Mothers have been seen with their calves. Scott Mercer tells me the calves will be going off on their own soon.

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

It's sunny and warm here today, with the breeze picking up this afternoon. It's a great time to be on the Mendonoma Coast!

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It's so fun to watch Brown Pelicans plunge-dive for fish. They hit the water beak first! Jon Shiu photographed this awesome sight.

With many Brown Pelicans here, along with Humpback Whales, some with their calves, the waters off the Mendonoma Coast are abundant with feed - the food chain in action.

Thanks to Jon for allowing me to share his photo with you here. Another of Jon's photos will be in tomorrow's Independent Coast Observer. It shows the gular pouch of a Brown Pelican. Don't miss it! What? You aren't a subscriber??? You can remedy that by going to the ICO's website and subscribing. https://www.mendonoma.com/

Drippy fog was what dawn revealed this morning. There is still a lot of fog this afternoon, but the sun is trying to break through. Temps are in the 60's. There is very little wind and the ocean looks calm from my vantage point!