Tag Archives: Gualala Point Regional Park

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Rattlesnakes prefer warm climes than the Mendonoma Coast. There are legends of a rattlesnake hitching a ride on a logging truck and falling off near the ocean. Perhaps that is what happened here. But there were two of them spotted within a week.

The first one was seen near a road at Gualala Point Regional Park by Kathy Bishop.

It was identified by Gary Nafis as an adult Northern Pacific Rattlesnake. It appeared to have been run over by a vehicle and it soon died.

However another adult was seen several days later at the south end of The Sea Ranch. Jim Merryman photographed the head and the tail.

I wondered if these extremely unusual sightings of rattlesnakes could be because they are searching for water. Gary Nafis told me they don't drink water. He said, “Rattlesnakes get most of their water from food, which they’re always looking for until they find it and go underground to digest. They often need to travel out of their usual home territories in their search, which could be happening here. Both snakes are adults, so it’s not a case of juveniles looking for a place to settle.”

Jim said about an hour after his sighting he saw a White-tailed Kite with a snake the same size as the rattlesnake so perhaps the Mendonoma Coast is once again free of rattlesnakes.

To see Gary Nafis' fascinating website about amphibians and reptiles, here is the link: californiaherps.com

Thanks to Kathy and Jim for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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Ken Browning recently led a geology hike at Gualala Point Regional Park. He showed us a small earthquake fault at the south end of the beach.

The fault is below the fence and wind-blown trees.

 Here's a closeup of the fault.

 Close by are these wonderful moon rocks. These formations are also at Salt Point State Park. I discuss these formations at this blog post: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2013/03/02/moon-rocks-and-a-few-other-oddities-at-salt-point-park-as-photographed-by-john-sperry/ if you'd like to learn more. That is Diane Hichwa inspecting the formation.

 And I was struck by this rock's impersonation of a turtle. Hope you enjoy it.

If you'd like to learn more about this beautiful park, here's the link: http://parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Get_Outdoors/Parks/Gualala_Point_Regional_Park.aspx There is a wonderful campground in this park on the east side of Highway 1 with campsites right along the Gualala River.

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Andy Moore photographed what he thought was an Osprey perched on top of a tree, overlooking the White Barn at The Sea Ranch.

But when I zoomed in on Andy's photo I found he had photographed a White-tailed Kite.

This is such a beautiful hawk. They hover in the air while they hunt for small mammals. The meadows at Gualala Point Regional Park are a good place to see one. To hear the sounds of a White-tailed Kite, here's the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Kite/sounds

Thanks to Andy for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see more of Andy's photography, here is his website: http://www.andystreasuretrove.com/

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Brown Pelicans are on the move. The first adults have been seen over the past two weeks. Just yesterday, Rick and I saw several flocks fly by when we were at Gualala Point Regional Park getting a geology lesson from Ken Browning. I'll be sharing some of what we learned in a later post.

The first Brown Pelicans spotted are adults. One of the indicators is that their head is white. Paul Brewer photographed one of the first to be seen on April 30.

We particularly cherish these birds because they were so severely impacted by the pesticide DDT that they landed on the Endangered Species List. DDT was banned in the US in 1973 and Brown Pelicans have slowly added to their numbers. They recovered enough to be taken off the Endangered Species List in 2009.
Hooray for the Brown Pelicans!

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Paul's photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

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With calm, dry weather forecast the Pacific Ocean will settle down. But with the several storms that hit late last week the ocean was in full voice. Robert Scarola photographed some big waves recently at Gualala Point Regional Park. The couple in the photo had to run from the big surf.

 The couple below is on the sandbar, a dangerous place to be when the Gualala River is running so fast.

Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share his photos with you.