Tag Archives: Craig Tooley

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Are you afraid of arachnids? Craig Tooley isn’t. He wrote, “The Harvestmen are back. They’ve actually been back for over four months. I just had not gotten out to get any pictures. They are really quite amazing, though I’m not sure exactly what they are eating.”

Craig’s photo shows a cluster of Harvestmen, a non-venomous arachnid also called Daddy long-legs. They are actually quite beneficial to a house. They are omnivores, eating insects, other spiders, aphids, dead insects, fungus, and more. They form clusters for protection.

Craig got a close-up of a couple of Harvestmen. He found the lead one was smiling at him!

Hope this photo makes you smile!

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

It's a stunning day on the Mendonoma coast. We are sad, though, that all the beaches and parks have been closed. Even the Point Arena Pier closed to everyone except the fishermen with boats. We'll get through this...together.

Spring doesn't know...

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Calypso Orchids, Calypso bulbosa, are blooming in undisturbed forests now. Craig Tooley recently photographed one.

Don't be fooled by Craig's extreme close-up - these native wildflowers are very tiny, only about three inches high. Notice the leaf on the left of the flower. It is easier to spot as it lays nearly flat on the forest floor. These wildflowers need a fungus in the soil to thrive so they can not be transplanted. They are also called Fairy Slippers or Venus's Slippers.

This morning Rick and I walked our neighbor's property where a handful grow. Yes, Lonnie and Bob, they are blooming now!

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

Absolutely lovely day with blue skies and a gentle breeze. Gray Whale spouts can be seen over the serene Pacific Ocean. Things are to change tomorrow with the promise of rain.

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Always lovely to see, Western Trilliums are in bloom on the Mendonoma Coast now. Tricia Schuster photographed one of the first ones to bloom.

Promise me you won't pick them! If picked, the leaf-like bracts won't be there to produce food for next year. Picking trilliums can kill them, or at the very least, set them back for years. So not worth it, right?

Western Trillium blossoms change color as they age. Here's a photo Craig Tooley took some years ago showing the fresh white trillium and an older trillium, perhaps 5 to 7 days older, with a pink blossom.

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

Another sunny, warm, dry - as in no rain for weeks - day. New flash! The first of the northbound Gray Whales have been seen of our coast. These are the newly pregnant females headed to their feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.

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A rare bird was seen the week after the Christmas Bird Count in January. Diane Hichwa wrote, “Last Wednesday Bill and Paget Lenarz, who had come up to help with the Bird Count, were still watching for birds. They noticed at Pebble Beach a very light gull on the sand below. Not wanting to disturb it, they stayed on the bluff trail. They called me, and I phoned Craig Tooley to get photos. This was just what was needed to document the bird!”

Diane sent Craig’s photos to Dan Nelson, a Sonoma County expert on gulls, and he confirmed the sighting. He wrote, “A classic first winter Glaucous Gull. Nice!!” The Audubon Guide describes this gull as “a big, pale, ghostly gull of the far north.”

It's easy to take gulls for granted, but they can travel great distances, and have a story to tell. Glaucous Gulls are the second-largest gulls in the world! You can hear their calls at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Glaucous_Gull/sounds

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

The wind arrived during the night. Today the ocean is whipped up into a froth and it's sunny, but chilly.

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The Christmas Bird Count takes place in January here on the Mendonoma coast. During the event, a Red-tailed Hawk nest was seen at The Sea Ranch. The call went out to wildlife photographer Craig Tooley to come and photograph it. Craig got one of the Red-tails perched on the side of the nest as the other flew away. The hawks were working on reinforcing the nest. They use the same nests for some years.

Eric Zetterholm recently photographed a pair of Red-tailed Hawks, the larger female and the smaller male, near the Gualala River.

We don't know if the nest Craig photographed is their nest.

John Wall also photographed a Red-tailed Hawk, perched on a Sea Ranch road sign. John said there was a new traffic cop in town!

Thanks to Craig, Eric and John for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's wildlife photograph, here is his website: www.ruffimage.com