Tag Archives: Craig Tooley

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There are several secluded beaches where Harbor Seal moms give birth. One of them is Tide Pool Beach on The Sea Ranch. Craig Tooley photographed the first Harbor Seal to be born this year swimming with its mom. It's wonderful to watch as the pup bonds with its mother. Harbor Seals only have one pup at a time.

Here's an unusual sighting. This is a lanugo pup. It was born premature and still has its lanugo coat. You can see it is quite hairy. This coat is usually lost before birth but in this little pup's case it is still wearing it. The pup will shed it in the days to come.

You might see a pup on the beach and think it is abandoned. It is not! The mother leaves it there while she heads back into the ocean to feed. If you think a marine mammal is in distress, do not take matters into your own hands. Call the Marine Mammal Center at 415) 289-7350 and they will send a trained volunteer out to assess the situation.

Over twenty pups have been born off The Sea Ranch so far with many more to come. It's a privilege to share the Coast with them.

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

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Craig Tooley, a frequent contributor to this blog, is curating the exhibit of the North Coast Photographers Group. The grand opening is tomorrow at 5 pm at the Dolphin Gallery in Gualala. Craig says, "The exhibit photos consist primarily of nature photographs taken along the majestic Northern California coast. Don't miss it!"

Here are a few of Craig's photos. I don't know if any of these will be in the exhibit but I thought you'd enjoy seeing them here. Below is a Northern Flicker.

 And here is a very young Fox Kit.

 And here is a House Finch giving you a wave.

Good luck to Craig and the rest of the photography group. They sure have some awesome material to work with here on the Mendonoma Coast.

To see much more of Craig's photography, here's the link: www.ruffimage.com

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Western Meadowlarks are very beautiful and also difficult to photograph as it is hard to get close to them. Craig Tooley recently succeeded and here is the result.

Meadowlarks are easier to hear, with their flute-like call. They eats seeds and insects.

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

And to hear the call of the Meadowlark, here's the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/western_meadowlark/sounds

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Craig Tooley photographed more than just Gray Whales when he was up in an airplane last week. He photographed Hearn Gulch.

This is a new public access bluff and beach brought to us by the wonderful folks at Redwood Coast Land Conservancy. You can learn how they accomplished this acquisition and read about their other projects at this link: http://www.rc-lc.org/pages/proj-hearn.html To find this beach, park at mile marker 10.0 and hike north.

To see photos of a recent hike Rick and I took there, here's that link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2013/02/08/a-visit-to-hearn-gulch-is-always-a-treat/ The wave action there can be phenomenal.

And to see much more of Craig Tooley's photography, here is the link to his website: http://ruffimage.com/

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Craig Tooley was photographing from an airplane last week when he came across a pod of Gray Whales.

 The plane circled around and Craig got this second photo.

 Here's a photo of the distinctive Gray Whale tail.

There were thirteen Gray Whales with three mother/calf pairs - a wonderful sighting off the Mendonoma Coast.

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