Tag Archives: Mendocino Headlands

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Ron LeValley photographed the leucistic Black Oystercatcher. The bird fledged from the Mendocino Headlands, and Ron found it on a nearby mussel bed.

We've seen other instances of this. Last year,  Roger Adamson photographed this leusictic Black Oystercatcher chick.

And here's a leucistic American Robin, photographed some years ago by Susan Gonzales.

And a leusictic Dark-eyed Junco, photographed by Barbara Pratt.

It's always startling to see! Thanks to Ron, Susan, Roger and Barbara for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Ron's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://levalleyphoto.com/home/

Sunny, mild day on the Mendonoma coast. Might be a chance to see a green flash at sunset tonight!

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On the Mendocino Headlands, a white Black Oystercatcher chick was hard to miss. Normally the chicks are camouflaged in gray and black. This little chick is white. Roger Adamson located the chick with one of its parents and got several photos.

The chick isn't albino - note the orange beak and normal-colored eye. The term for this coloring is leucistic.

I am told this white chick has a normal-colored sibling. We hope this cute chick survives and is able to fledge. Then we will be watching as it most likely colors up.

I love their calls, a whistling "wheep." You can hear their calls at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Oystercatcher/sounds

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

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Ron LeValley photographed this beautiful sight recently - the Mendocino Headlands.

Mendocino Headlands by Ron LeValleyToday the coast is shrouded in fog. Sometimes it pulls back, as it did for the 4th of July parade in Point Arena this afternoon. It was a fun parade, with hundreds of little children watching from the sidewalks. I marched with our golden retriever, Sunny, with the Paws for the Library entry. The Point Arena Library is raising money for a seismic retrofit, a costly proposition! If you'd like to contribute, here is their website: http://coastcommunitylibrary.org/

Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Ron's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://levalleyphoto.com/home/