Tag Archives: Gualala Point Regional Park

•

American Kestrels are the smallest of falcons. They hunt for insects and other small prey in open spaces, perching on wires or poles. They face into the wind, flapping and adjusting their long tails to stay in place.

Ben Angwin found one overhead, soaring, at Gualala Point Regional Park.

Mel Smith found a female taking a bath in the birdbath at his place in Point Arena.

Kestrels are declining in parts of their range; you can help them by putting up nest boxes.

To hear the call of this falcon, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/sounds You can also learn how to make a nesting box for these beauties at this link: https://nestwatch.org/?s=American+kestrel

Thanks to Ben and Mel for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It was a mostly cloudy day as rain is due in tonight. Tomorrow, Tuesday, should be rainy!

•

Craig Tooley was at Gualala Point Regional Park when he saw this sight.

I believe that's a Lingcod that the Harbor Seal caught for its dinner.

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: http://www.ruffimage.com

oooo, warm - no, HOT weather has moved in and the fog is AWOL. Our annual autumn heatwave has begun. It gives you the chance to see a green flash if you are lucky enough to be on the Mendonoma Coast!

•

Ben wrote, “I saw at least two Humpback Whales a ways out. They were feeding, swimming in circles, possibly bubble netting a bait ball. I was able to catch them by following the birds.”

There’s a good clue here – follow the birds. Brown Pelicans, Gulls and other birds will often be at the seafood buffet where the whales are feeding.

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

It's sunny today but very windy! No spotting whales this afternoon - the ocean is full of white caps!

•

Ben Angwin was at Gualala Point Regional Park when the fog started to roll in. He had a unique view of a fogbow, one over land rather than the ocean.

Ben said his camera could "see" it better than his eyes. I've noticed this too and it's helped me see them with the naked eyes!

Lots of rain has been hitting the Mendonoma Coast. I have 1.65 inches in my gauge since it started late yesterday, which brings my total to 49.55 inches. 50 inches is a "normal" wet winter. We are definitely going to hit 50 inches as it's currently raining and more rain is headed our way...with some thunderclouds. Yikes!

•

Michael Coustier was watching the action as the Western Gull managed to snag an Ochre Sea Star for his/her meal.

Michael  wrote, “Walking the Gualala Point Regional Park, I saw this Western gull wedged between a couple of rocks.  It looked...odd.  I waited for a moment for him to pop up and saw he was carrying this sea star. I watched him struggle to ingest the sea star for many minutes - it was pretty comical watching him attempt various positions to get the sea star to go down.”

MCOUSTIER@PROTONMAIL.COM
MCOUSTIER@PROTONMAIL.COM

I guess we'll have to file this one under the title, "Where there's a will, there's a way!"

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

We've had some downpours here today and have received over an inch of rain. I'll report totals with my next post!