Tag Archives: Anchor Bay

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We are having an irruption of CA Tortoise Shell Butterflies. They do have similar colors of Monarchs, but they are much smaller. Shari Goforth got this photo of one of the dozens in my courtyard yesterday.

They were being seen in vast numbers yesterday, Saturday, down in Bodega Bay and in Jenner. Cynthia Schreiner wrote to me last night: "Many people in Bodega Bay saw thousands of butterflies  today, colored/looked like Monarchs, flying south? For an hour maybe two they were everywhere,  not milling around  but quite intent on going south.  So cool, they just didn't alight to get a Pic."

Mating for these butterflies, Nymphalis californica, takes place from March to May, when they emerge from their winter hibernation once the weather warms up.

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

And warm up it has! Another toasty day with no wind here on the beautiful Mendonoma Coast.

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Several weeks ago Diane Hichwa saw this beautiful sight from her The Sea Ranch home.

Quite an amazing sunset!

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

Rain report: Yesterday's storm was a deluge. It didn't relent for many hours. At Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay we received a total of 7.32 inches from the storm that began on Monday evening and rained continuously through Tuesday. That's a truckload of rain! Season to date is 45.33 inches. We now have warm, dry weather predicted through the rest of this week.

***Bonus sighting: this afternoon, Wednesday, I saw an Osprey on the nest we've watched for over twenty years. The male returns first and I saw him poking at the remnants of the nest. It's very exciting to see this Osprey return today!

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A friend of Ron Bolander told  him about this thrasher at his property on the ridge behind Anchor Bay. These relatives of mockingbirds are not usually seen close to the coast - they are birds of chaparral. But the friend told Ron this bird had been here for months.

Ron played me a recording of this bird's song and it is quite unique. You can hear it at this link at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/California_Thrasher/sounds  Like mockingbirds, thrashers also mimic other bird calls.

I'll be looking and listening for this bird...once the storms are behind us.

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

It's a-storming today! And it's cold enough for hail. I just took a photo of a lurking storm cloud offshore - yikes!

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We're finally back to winter here on the Mendonoma Coast. Temps have fallen, the wind has picked up and the wet stuff arrived as promised. This is a photo I took this afternoon from Rick's and my deck in Anchor Bay.

We received a half inch of rain so far! The next two days are suppose to be dry but then a series of storms will pay their visit with rain predicted for at least five straight days beginning late Saturday.

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Ben Angwin photographed a double green flash several weeks ago, on Dec. 28 to be exact. My visiting friend, Barb Bourke, and I saw it too, a real treat.

Kate Bloch got a photo of the next night's sunset, which I inadvertently missed. Kate's shows the rarest of the color, when the green flash turns to violet. Look closely at the very top of the setting sun.

Thanks to Ben and Kate for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

With our string of dry days, green flash watching in order. Two nights ago I saw a beautiful green flash, a double green flash, from Rick's and my deck in Anchor Bay. My golden retriever, Honey Bun, watched the sunset with me. Sorry, I didn't get a photo of the double green flash...it's not easy, though Ben and Kate make it look easy!