Tag Archives: Marla Skibbins

•

Marla Skibbins watched as a mated pair of Common Ravens preened each other near her home on The Sea Ranch. Then, one Raven took the other Raven's beak in his/her mouth!

I learned this is called a raven’s kiss or beak-fencing. It is a display of affection, pair bonding, and social bonding. This gentle behavior happens between life-long partners.

Marla was watching Raven love...sweet!

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

Wind, wind and more wind. It's sunny but the wind is pretty unrelenting. The ocean looks like a boiling pot of water with all the white caps. It would be nearly impossible to spot whales with this wind.

•

It’s not every day a black bear comes for lunch. David Skibbins wrote, “My wife, Marla and I were just settling down to lunch  when Smokey dropped by our meadow. After knocking down our woodpecker feeder, he put on a two minute show, wandering back and forth. We were thrilled to have him as a visitor! It is so amazing to live in this place!”

It’s a big, healthy-looking male. Marla got a great video, which you can view here:

http://www.mendonomasightings.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Black-Bear-by-Marla-Skibbins.mp4

Thanks to Marla for allowing me to share her photo and video with you here.

It's a beautiful clear day today, with a nice breeze. Mr. Fog has left and there is a chance for a sighting of a green flash at sunset tonight!