We have a mated pair of Bald Eagles at the Gualala River. Michael Reinhart found this one on the northern cliff overlooking the river and the Pacific Ocean.
She just looks so darn majestic!
Thanks to Michael for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Our warm weather looks to be leaving us. The wind picked up today and there are some clouds rolling in. We're ready for more rain, that's for sure!
Bald Eagles continue to expand northward as their numbers increase. Jon Shiu photographed this Bald Eagle flying over the Navarro River.
From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
"For such a powerful bird, the Bald Eagle emits surprisingly weak-sounding calls—usually a series of high-pitched whistling or piping notes. The female may repeat a single, soft, high-pitched note that has been called “unlike any other calls in nature”; apparently this signals her readiness for copulation." You can listen for yourself at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/sounds
Thanks to Jon for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
We are having cool and dry weather. No rain predicted for at least a week or more. There are overhead clouds late this afternoon, which are making for a dreamy-looking sunset!
Eric Zetterholm was down near the Gualala River when he spotted these two Bald Eagles. The sub-adult eagles is on the left. I believe he/she is about 3 1/2 years old. The eagle on the right is an adult.
Here Eric got another view and the young eagle is stretching its wings.
Thanks to Eric for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
On Friday, at Gualala Arts' Festival of Trees, a Bald Eagle flew over the arts center, delighting visiting family members.
It's sunny and mild today with some clouds - another beautiful day here on the Mendonoma Coast!
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.
Shari Goforth found this bald eagle hunting. She saw all the gulls take flight but the brown pelicans stayed in place. It's very rare for a bald eagle to take a much bigger brown pelican, but gulls are much easier pickings.
Thanks to Shari for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
The past weekend and today, Monday, have been warm with very little wind - perfect autumn days!