Tag Archives: Craig Tooley

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Craig Tooley was out at Black Point Beach at The Sea Ranch when he noticed dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins!

Bottlenose dolphins by Craig Tooley

A bottlenose dolphin by Craig Tooley

I sent Craig’s photos to Bill Keener of Golden Gate Cetacean Research. He wrote, “Wow, these are great shots, and I can immediately recognize the individual dolphins here! In the background is Allure, in the middle is Bliss, a female who had a calf two years ago, and in the foreground is Fletcher.
“They have all been sighted fairly recently in the SF Bay Area. This is valuable information. We are working on a scientific paper with all the dolphin researchers in California describing how the coastal bottlenose stock is expanding its range north. Craig’s photos are one more set of data that prove it.”

It is the dorsal fin that allows scientists like Bill to identify individual animals. It’s exciting to be able to contribute to Bill’s research through our citizen science, and with the talent of a great photographer like Craig.

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

To learn more about the Golden Gate Cetacean Research organization, here is their website: http://www.ggcetacean.org/

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Craig Tooley titled this photo "A rare sighting." Thankfully, this year seasonal creeks are full, and beautiful cascades such as this one are not hard to find.

A rare sighting - a waterfall by Craig Tooley

And there's a mushroom growing in the foreground.

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: www.ruffimage.com

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Spiders are associated with Halloween so I thought I'd share a recent photo of a scary-looking Orb Weaver. Kathy Gustafson photographed this spider. She and I believe it is a Pumpkin Orb Weaver.

Pumpkin Orb Weaver Spider by Kathy Gustafson

Even though it looks pretty scary, it's a good guy in the spider world. Harmless to humans, orb weavers build beautiful webs.

Rozann Grunig recently photographer spider webs, highlighted by morning dew. They may well have been built by orb weaver spiders.

Spider Webs by Rozann Grunig

Here's a photo of spider web jewels taken by Craig Tooley. It is in Craig's and my beautiful book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year.

Rivers

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

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Just north of Stewarts Point, a bull Tule Elk has been seen on the west side of Highway One with a group of dairy cows. He might just be sharing their feed or he's a little confused during this time of the rut. Craig Tooley got this photo of the rare visitor.

Tule Elk bull near Stewart's Point by Craig Tooley

There is a herd at Point Reyes so perhaps this fellow came from there. He hasn't been seen for the past several days, so we'll have to wait and see if this was a one-time visit or if Tule elk are expanding their territory to include the coast.

Here's a photo of the elk appearing to chase the cows. This photo was taken by Ron LeValley.

Tule Elk Stewart's Point SON 10-10-15 by Ron LeValley 222926

And finally a photo of the elk bugling, taken by Rozanne Rapozo.

Tule Elk bugeling by Rozanne Rapozo

Thanks to Craig, Ron, and Rozanne for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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It's so hot even the African hoof animals at the B. Bryan Preserve in Point Arena are looking for shade. Here are two Grevy's Zebra photographed by Judy Mello.

Grevy's Zebras in the shade by Judy Mello

It's fascinating to learn what Judy and Frank Mello are doing to preserve endangered animals at their preserve in Point Arena. Here's a link to their website: http://bbryanpreserve.com/

Here's one of my favorite photos of a Grevy's Zebra baby with its mother at the preserve. The young zebra had just seen a gopher pop up and couldn't believe what it just saw! This photo was taken by Craig Tooley.

Grevy's Zebra baby with mom APRIL by Craig Tooley

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