Tag Archives: Mendonoma coast

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Allen Vinson photographed this White-tailed Kite at the moment it spotted its lunch. When you look at this photo is it any wonder that birds remind us of angels?

 Allen took the photo below on a sunny day. The Kite looks like an ornament in the tree.

White-tailed Kites are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast. They have the ability to be motionless in the air by facing into the wind. This is called kiting and is indicative of this Kite.

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

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Jeff Ward and the Jerrold Baker family were driving down Highway One south of The Sea Ranch. They could hardly believe their eyes. It was a big Roosevelt Elk.

Here's what Jeff had to saw about their extremely rare sighting:

“We were heading south on Highway One from Gualala. All of a sudden Jerrold yells, ‘What is that?!’ It was a Roosevelt Elk! The Elk was in a full sprint at about 35 mph running on the west side of the highway. It leaped over two barbed wire fences dividing the pastures, completely clearing the fences by four feet on each side, incredible to see.”
As Jeff and the Bakers watched in awe, the Elk jumped another fence and was then running south in the northbound lane of the highway. Fortunately there was no traffic and the Elk veered east and disappeared into the forest.
Jeff continued, “My guess is the Elk’s weight was approximately 650+ pounds. The rack was level to my windshield on a Dodge 2500 3/4 ton 4x4 truck and the spread of the points was about 3 ½ feet.”

These huge elk are normally found to our far north, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. What it was doing on the Mendonoma Coast is a mystery. The much smaller Tule Elk can be seen at Point Reyes to our south.

Thanks to Jeff for allowing me to share his photo and sighting with you here.

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Big beautiful waves are crashing against the shore. Craig Tooley was out this morning and photographed the fury.

Craig noticed this Great Blue Heron on top of a tree, watching the waves come in.

Today is a good day to give the Pacific Ocean her due. Never turn your back on the ocean, as we have sleeper waves that can catch people unawares. Also the bluffs crumble so you don't want to stand close to the edge when big waves hit the coast. Just stay back a ways and enjoy the majesty of the Pacific Ocean.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photos. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: www.ruffimage.com

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Paul Brewer recently photographed a beautiful autumn sunrise.

What a treat to see this sunrise progress. A beautiful start for the Mendonoma Coast.

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

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Emily Nelson had two different butterflies recently feeding on her flowering rosemary bush. The first is a Painted Lady. It has been discovered recently that Painted Ladies migrate at 3000 feet elevation - amazing!

And the second butterfly is a California Sister.

Rosemary grows abundantly here on the Coast. It's nice to know that besides flavoring our meals, it feeds butterflies.

Thanks to Emily for allowing me to share her photos with you here.