Tag Archives: Craig Tooley

•

Mylitta Butterflies, Phyciodes mylitta, are small and colored orange, blank and with white edges. I am seeing one or two every day at my place in Anchor Bay. But Laura Baker topped me big-time with her sighting many of these elegant butterflies on a flowering bush at her place in Annapolis.

Here's a close-up for you to see, taken by Craig Tooley.

Life gets a little better when a butterfly comes your way! Thanks to Laura and Craig for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It was foggy this morning, but the fog had pulled waaay back. That yellow thing...oh, yes, I remember!...the sun has appeared.

•

When you find the native Western Azaleas in bloom, take a nice sniff as they have a lovely fragrance. Craig Tooley recently photographed the beautiful blossoms for us to see.

They really are works of art...as created by Mother Nature!

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

Another very foggy morning but it has lifted this afternoon. Can the sun be shining on us soon?

•

Craig Tooley found this little guy/gal. In the second photo Craig put a dime so we can see the scale of the California Slender Salamander. It's tiny!

You can learn much more about them on Gary Nafis' fabulous website at this link: https://californiaherps.com/salamanders/pages/b.attenuatus.html

Gary is the person who identified this little salamander for me. Thanks, as always, Gary!

And 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 foggy right along the coast, and sunny elsewhere. Must be spring on the Mendonoma Coast!

•

Peggy Berryhill tried to tell me she had a snowy Owl in her garden. Snowy Owls are white and are found in the Arctic. But a stone owl with snow on it - yes, Peggy had a snowy Owl.

Craig Tooley photographed an American Robin in the snow. The robin didn't seem to mind it.

Michael Reinhart photographed a Snowy Plover at Doran Beach, Sonoma County. Okay, the bird isn't in snow, but I had to include it because of its  name!

Thanks to Peggy, Craig and Michael for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It was very cold Monday morning and it sleeted a bit at Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay. At higher elevations it snowed again overnight. After morning showers, the sun appeared and passing clouds made for interesting sky-watching.

•

Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers can be difficult to tell apart. Diane Hichwa identified this woodpecker Michael Reinhart photographed as a Hairy.

Here's what Diane said about how to ID a Downy versus a Hairy:

"The white down the back is indicative of a Downy OR a Hairy.

The white outer tail feathers with NO black dots tell me it is a Hairy.

(D for downy and D for dots).

Also the bill length to head width says bigger Hairy."

Here is a photo of a Downy Woodpecker, taken by Craig Tooley, for comparison sake.

Hairy Woodpeckers have a quiet "cheep" call which you can hear at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hairy_Woodpecker/sounds

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

0.60 inches of rain overnight, sunny and mild today. Another smallish storm coming in Saturday afternoon/evening.