Tag Archives: being fed

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Several species of swallows migrate northward to the Mendonoma Coast to build their nests, lay their eggs and then diligently feed their chicks. Craig Tooley wrote, "These little Barn Swallows are perched above the front door of friends of ours. Our friends have graciously decided to enter and exit their house through the back door until the chicks fledge. The swallow parents are hard-working.”

Later Craig noticed this Barn Swallow skimming over the sand, presumably scooping up insects from the wrack on the beach.

Interested to know what beach wrack is? Here's an explanation from the web:

Natural material that washes onto the beach is referred to as wrack and includes algae, sea grasses, and some invertebrates such as sponges and soft corals. Wrack serves as the primary source of nutrients to beach communities and is the foundation for the food chain.

Good to know!

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

It's beautiful here on the Mendonoma coast today, temps in the 70s with a stronger afternoon breeze.

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The Peregrine Falcon nest that Michael Beattie observes has three growing chicks in it. Here's a look at the chicks, taken earlier this month. You can see they are getting dark feathers now.

Here one of the parents has delivered dinner and is flying off for more.

For comparison, here is what they looked like in late May. Quite a difference!

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

The Mendonoma coast has so many micro climates. At the ocean today, it's foggy. Up on the ridge, it's sunny. Take your pick!