Tag Archives: male

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I recently showed you a video of an adult Mountain Lion, a female, and her two offspring. Now we have a sighting of an adult male. Mike Dinning wrote, “This was Sunday morning at 1:56 am, 15 feet outside the backdoor [of my house] in Point Arena, the vicinity of Ten Mile Road and Schooner Gulch. I was surprised that the Mountain Lion stood there long enough for me to take a picture.”

I sent Mike’s photo to Mountain Lion expert Quinton Martins asking if he thought Mike’s photo showed a male.  Quinton wrote, “What a beauty!!! Yes, it looks like a  male. Stunning.”

Thanks to Mike for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Sunny and breezy on the Mendonoma Coast today.

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Michael Reinhart trained his camera on a beautiful male Anna's Hummingbird. As the sunlight shone on the little bird, the iridescent colors were revealed.

Mike also photographed a male Allen's Hummingbird, the feisty cousin of the Anna's.

Allen's Hummingbirds numbers are in decline, whereas the Anna's seem to be thriving.

Thanks to Mike for giving us these close-up views of these vibrant hummers.

A beautiful, sunny day on the Mendonoma coast today. Windy on the bluffs with lots of white caps on the ocean. Mary Heibel met me at the Point Arena Lighthouse gates and showed me a wildflower I hadn't seen before, Wallflowers. More on them in another post!

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Ray Douglas recently photographed this lovely dragonfly, a Flame Skimmer.

Ray and I wondered about the yellow color at the top of the dragonfly's wings. Dragonfly expert, Kathy Biggs, to the rescue. She said Ray photographed a female.

For comparison, here is what I believe is a male. He nicely landed on a sprinkler head and I got this photo.

I wrote an article for Sonoma Magazine's summer edition about where to see dragonflies. You can read it at this link: http://sonomamagazine.ca.newsmemory.com/?selDate=20190701&editionStart=Sonoma+Magazine&goTo=040

Thanks to Ray for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

It's sunny and warm at our place in Anchor Bay, though a fog bank lurks over the ocean!

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Shawn Doebling had a Bobcat sighting recently. Shawn wrote, “We live off  Fish Rock Road in Gualala. This is the first time we’ve seen one here. Do you know how to tell if it’s male or female?” Looking at Shawn’s photos we believe the Bobcat is a male.

Male Bobcats are substantially bigger than females.  Adult males weigh between 20 and 30 pounds and are about three feet in length. Females can be about two feet in length and weigh only 11 pounds. You only see males and females together during courtship and mating. Then the male takes off, leaving the female to care for her young. So, if you see a Bobcat bringing food back to a den, you can be sure it’s the female.

Thanks to Shawn for allowing me to share this Bobcat photo with you here.

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California Quail have their chicks later than many other birds. The first little puffballs have arrived. David Yager recently photographed the striking male.

The male often perches on higher ground to watch over his mate and chicks.

Jeanine Aguerre caught a cute photo of a Black-tailed Jackrabbit and a CA Quail close to each other. The male Quail does not look intimidated by the large hare!

I haven't received any photos yet of Quail chicks. When I do, I will share them here.

Thanks to David and Jeanine for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Sunny, warm, no wind...the Mendonoma Coast is simply perfect today.