Recently Rozanne Rapozo was down near the Gualala River when she saw this female Common Merganser fly by.
Just look at the beautiful reflection in the river. The tips of the wings seem to "touch."
Thanks to Rozanne for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
Today started off cold (42 degrees) but with sun. The wind has picked up over the afternoon and it's supposed to be quite windy tomorrow.
Acorn Woodpeckers are striking birds, with their colorful faces. Ron Bolander recently photographed a female.
The female has black feathers between the white and red feathers on her head. The male doesn't have the black band of feathers on his head. They have a unique call which you can hear at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Acorn_Woodpecker/sounds
Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
oh my, it's WINDY today! There have been power outages because of the wind. And there isn't a cloud to be seen as I type this...just a cold wind!
Karen Wilkinson noticed this Bobcat hiding in the grasses near a trail at The Sea Ranch. She called Mike Petrich to come and take a look.
Mike photographed what I believe is a female Bobcat. Females are quite a bit smaller than males.
Thanks to Mike for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Our string of dry weather continues, much to our delight and much to our dismay. No rain yet in the month of February. No mushrooms to speak of with the dry conditions. I did see my first Western Trillums in bloom this morning!
Some of the "boys" were in an amorous mood but the lone female Gray Whale wasn't interested. To get away from the males, she did a maneuver that looks like she's standing on her head. Barry Weiss and Craig Tooley each got photos of this. The first photo is Barry's.
This isn't the right time of year for females to be impregnated. But tell that to the fellas.
Thanks to Barry 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
Cece Case was in her office at her home in Gualala when she looked up and got the surprise of her life. An adult female Mountain Lion was looking through the window.
Cece does have cats and perhaps this big cat was looking for a tasty treat. Cece got another photo of the Cougar - a look at her full body and tail. You can see it at the Independent Coast Observer's website at: www.mendonoma.com Click on Mendonoma Sightings photos to see it.
Thanks to Cece for allowing me to share her photo with you here.