Tag Archives: Diane Hichwa

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Several weeks ago Diane Hichwa saw this beautiful sight from her The Sea Ranch home.

Quite an amazing sunset!

Thanks to Diane for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

Rain report: Yesterday's storm was a deluge. It didn't relent for many hours. At Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay we received a total of 7.32 inches from the storm that began on Monday evening and rained continuously through Tuesday. That's a truckload of rain! Season to date is 45.33 inches. We now have warm, dry weather predicted through the rest of this week.

***Bonus sighting: this afternoon, Wednesday, I saw an Osprey on the nest we've watched for over twenty years. The male returns first and I saw him poking at the remnants of the nest. It's very exciting to see this Osprey return today!

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Karen Wilkinson had a rare sighting. Experts confirmed she had photographed a Sage Thrasher, a rare bird sighting here. She wrote, “It was a delightful but windy morning on the bluff and this sighting had me puzzling over an ID.  As I watched it for a while, its posture, behavior, and field marks sort of reminded me of three different birds (hermit thrush, mockingbird, rock wren), but none were right in the moment. I was stumped. After coming home and reviewing photos I'm fairly confident that I was looking at a Sage Thrasher - but I would really appreciate confirmation on this one, since I've certainly never seen one here on the coast.”

I sent Karen’s photos to Peter Pyle and Robert Keiffer who agreed with Karen’s ID. Robert wrote, “Yes, Sage Thrasher!  One of my nemesis species for Mendocino County, so the records are few and far-between for the county.  You cannot see the white wingbars, but the profile, mandible shape, light yellow eye, white tail tips evident, streaked breast, grayish-brown overall are all fitting characteristics. Do you enter your records on eBird?  You definitely should for this observation. Great find!” Karen’s sighting was in Sonoma County, where Diane Hichwa tells me there have been very few recorded sightings over the years. And Karen did post her sighting.

To hear the complex song of a male Sage Thrasher, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sage_Thrasher/sounds

I read on their website that one male was recorded singing for 22 minutes straight!

Thanks to Karen for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

Fog over the ocean kept the immediate coast cool, but it heated up just a little ways away. Low 80's at Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay today!

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I love owls! Esther Shain found this Barn Owl roosting in the daylight hours.

When I asked Diane Hichwa what this nocturnal owl was doing during the middle of the day, she said, "Well, they have to be somewhere!" Yes, I guess they do...

Thanks to Esther for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

There was some fog this morning, which came up from the south, but it's sunny this afternoon. Temps are on the cool side, just the way we like them! 69 degrees this afternoon.

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Several weeks ago John Batchelder wrote, “Here are some pictures of the Pacific Loon that landed on Wild Moor Reach, The Sea Ranch. This is one of the sometimes thousands of birds per hour that have been migrating past our area recently.:

After the original sighting and report to Diane Hichwa, the Loon disappeared, but was later observed farther down the street by Marge Entwisle. Marge kept the bird under observation until Roberta Chan arrived and skillfully cornered and captured the Loon in a garage for transport to Bird Rescue.

Truly a team effort lead by Marge and Roberta. Thanks.”

I add my thanks to all. I was astounded at the beauty of the Pacific Loon.

If you see a bird in trouble, call Bird Rescue at 707) 523-2473 [BIRD]. They will send a trained local volunteer, like Roberta,  to assess the bird and arrange necessary transport. We hope this bird is doing well and can be released soon.

Thanks to John for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

Fog has returned over the ocean, sneaking on land in places. It cooled the temps by ten degrees - nice! Fog is the coast's air conditioning! The cool, moist are also aids in fighting the first inland.

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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.