Tag Archives: Craig Tooley

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Craig Tooley has been at Bower Park on the Gualala Ridge photographing Dragonflies and a Damselfly. Bower Park has a large pond/lake that the Dragonflies love. Here is an Eight-spotted Skimmer.

They are hard to photograph - well, at least for me! I went there last week and tried for some nice photos but had no luck. I did get this photo of some interesting clouds.

And here is the lake.

With warm weather in the forecast, a visit to Bower Park will certainly bring you sightings of dragonflies. Here's a fun fact about dragonflies: They have four wings that can operate independently of each other. As you might imagine, they are excellent fliers. They can fly up, down, sideways, backwards, and they can even hover like a helicopter.

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

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I've been working on an article about dragonflies and I've learned so many interesting facts about them. They evolved over 300 million years ago, long before dinosaurs. Craig Tooley sent along several photos that he has taken over the years. One of them was this beauty, which Kathy Biggs identified as a Variegated Meadowhawk.

My, what purple eyes you have, Variegated Meadowhawk Dragonfly!

Here's a photo I took of a Flame Skimmer, which landed on top of a sprinkler head in my garden, and posed long enough for me to get a photo.

Then the dragonfly, moved, turned around, and let me get a photo of the back.

I love these creatures! Kathy Biggs has a great booklet out entitled "Common Dragonflies of California, a Beginner's Pocket Guide." I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. You can see much more of Craig's nature photography at www.ruffimage.com

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Craig Tooley took this photo of a tiny Mouse, and it sure does look cute!

 

I think Craig photographed a House Mouse, Mus musculus. However you feel about rodents, you have to admit this is a sweet photo.

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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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