Tag Archives: Craig Tooley

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Craig Tooley noticed this Eastern Pacific Red Octopus, Octopus rubescens, in a mussel bed.

I showed Craig's photo to Robert Van Syoc and he wrote:

"It’s pretty common in the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones from Baja up to the Gulf of Alaska. It commonly feeds on small crabs, snails, clams and mussels. Since Craig captured this photo of it in a mussel bed, it may have been dining on some of the smaller mussels in the bed.”

There are so many fascinating creatures that live in the intertidal zone, which we can observe at low tide.

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

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Pam Ryan was observing Gualala Point Island when she saw this Common Murre coming in for a landing.

The top of the rocky island looks pretty crowded! Common Murre's look like small penguins, as they walk around upright.

Here's a photo Craig Tooley took of Murres along with Cormorants on the island. I love the two Murres with their chests together in the back.

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

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Rick pointed it out to me, a completely built Paper Wasp nest in a tree which is along the parking area of our home in Anchor Bay. You can see the small wasps on the outside of their beautifully constructed nest.

The wasps are not as aggressive as yellowjackets or hornets, though they will defend their nest! Luckily the nest is quite high so we will leave it be. Paper wasps are important pollinators and they eat other insects that might be pests in the garden. Something is chewing on my tomato plants' leaves...hint, hint!

A few years ago, a Paper Wasp colony took over a birdhouse on our property, and completely covered the wooden portion. Craig Tooley came over to photograph it.

They create their paper nests by mixing their saliva with dead wood and plant stems to form this papery material. It's quite beautiful, don't you think?

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. This photo of the birdhouse is included in our book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year.

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Craig Tooley photographed a Black Oystercatcher feeding her chick. Can you see the tiny, well-camouflaged chick? Follow the mother's beak down to the chick's tiny beak. There is a second chick on the left side of Craig's photo.

Black Oystercatchers are so distinctive with their long orange-red beak and pink legs! They nest in rocky areas above high tide. They are being studied to see how they cope with sea level rise.

They are talkative birds. One contributor to my column described them as "chattery." You can hear their call at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's great website, allaboutbirds.org. Here's the link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Oystercatcher/sounds

Here is one of my favorite Oystercatcher photos, which was taken by Craig, a "dancing" Black Oystercatcher.

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

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The Gualala River usually closes in the spring, after the winter rains. A big sandbar always forms at the river mouth, and the river then backs up and fills to the brim. We've been waiting and waiting for this to happen this year, and it finally happened mid-week.

Here is what the river looks like when it is closed - just beautiful.

Craig Tooley took this aerial photo of the closed Gualala a few years ago.

You can see the big sandbar stretching across the river's mouth. Some of the river seeps through the sandbar and some of the water will evaporate, as the river slowly loses water. Now is the perfect time to kayak the river.

Fun fact: When the river is closed, the water at the mouth is called a lagoon. When the river is open, the water at the mouth is called an estuary.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to show his aerial photo. To see much more of Craig's work, here is his website: www.ruffimage.com