Tag Archives: Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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One of my favorite birds is the Hermit Thrush because of their beautiful, trilling songs. Michael Reinhart recently photographed one singing.

There are two Hermit Thrushes singing to each other near our place in Anchor Bay. They begin singing even before sunrise. To hear their lovely call, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hermit_Thrush/sounds

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

Billowy, white fog appeared overnight over the Pacific Ocean and immediate coastline, though it held off for many to see the beautiful Northern Lights, a rare occurrence here. I will share photos of that soon. There is another chance to see it a little after sunset tonight here on the Mendonoma Coast...if the fog doesn't roll back in!

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Perry Hoffman photographed this Pigeon Guillemot, and it looks like he is dancing.

But I read on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology site, http://www.allaboutbirds.org that male Pigeon Guillemots march around a female showing off their orange/red feet! What better way to display them by jumping up in the air.

Pigeon Guillemots have a high-pitched call which you can listen to here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pigeon_Guillemot/sounds

Thanks to Perry for allowing me to share his fun photo with you here. To see much more of Perry's photography, here is his website: https://magentaraven.com/

It's so very lovely here today, Friday May 10. Yesterday was downright toasty, but today is cooler, with temps in the low 70's and no wind!

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Sara Bogard was out at the Point Arena Lighthouse Peninsula when she saw this Ferruginous Hawk looking at her. She quickly got this photo.

A few of these hawks will overwinter here on the Mendonoma Coast and it's always a treat to see them. They will be leaving soon as their breeding season will be commencing soon. Here's a map by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that shows where they will be headed.

Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photo with you here. And thanks to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for being so awesome. Their website is http://allaboutbirds.org They also created the Merlin Bird ID that lets you use a smartphone to listen to a bird's call. It then will ID it for you. I've been waiting for this app all my life! You can learn about it here: https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ It's a free app, but you just might be inclined to hit the donate button on their website as a thank you.

oh boy, we had a lot of rain the past five days, five inches of the wet stuff. I'm at 48.10 inches season to date, a nice wet winter. Today is sunny and breezy.

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Michele Melio was at Shell Beach, one of public access trails of The Sea Ranch. She wrote, "I saw something red, maybe a Downy or Hairy Woodpecker. No, something better, a Pileated Woodpecker, nature's chainsaw."

"The Beaver is nature's builder and engineer, but the woody woodpecker lives up to its name. They can turn a tree into sawdust and wood chips in a matter of days. I've never seen one in this area before, as they generally hide and hunt in the forest on the ridge with the bigger trees. I tried my best to get a better shot, but it kept calling "ha-ha-ha-ha-ha." Then comes a noisy pair of humans walking down the trail talking loudly. It took off cackling the entire way."

It's not always easy to get a photo of one of these prehistoric-looking birds. Here's another look at one of these beauties, this one taken by Mike Petrich.

Pileateds have a very unique call. You can listen to it at this link at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/sounds

Thanks to Michele and Mike for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

The storm late Friday brought another inch of rain, and we sailed past 25 inches season to date. It's raining Saturday afternoon and another storm is due in Sunday. Bring it, Mother Nature!

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Ferruginous Hawk's scientific name is Buteo regalis. And this beautiful hawk IS regal! Ron Bolander recently spotted one, last Saturday to be more exact, near Lighthouse Road in Point Arena.

Here are two fun facts from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website, http://www.allaboutbirds.org:

Ferruginous Hawks and Rough-legged Hawks (plus the Golden Eagle) are the only American hawks to have feathered legs all the way down to their toes.

Ferruginous means rust-colored, and refers to the reddish back and legs of light-morph birds (which are more common than dark morphs).

To hear the call of this hawk, here is the link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ferruginous_Hawk/sounds

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

We are having rain today, Tuesday. Over 2/3 of an inch so far. More to come overnight. Coast waterfalls are beautiful now and seasonal creeks are full and racing towards the Pacific Ocean. There's a feeling of abundance in the moist air.