Tag Archives: Shari Goforth

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Shari Goforth was at Stewarts Point at dusk to watch the Vaux's swifts enter the old brick chimney. She was rewarded with a sighting of this young Great Horned Owl.

 

Here's what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website, http://www.allaboutbirds.org, says about these owls: "With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. This powerful predator can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs. It’s one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics."

You can hear their hooting calls at this link, also at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/sounds

Thanks to photographed Shari Goforth for allowing me to share her great photo with you here.

Today was a beautiful, sunny, breezy day.

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Shari Goforth headed out in two weeks ago on a Saturday for a pelagic trip out of Noyo Harbor on The Kraken along with 24 other seafarers. Many on board were birders, excited to see different kinds of petrels, albatrosses, skua and terns. Shari is mostly on the trip to spot whales. A blue whale was seen and Pacific white-sided dolphins. And humpbacks! Shari wrote, “It was a gray day, so here are a few photos that are not fogged-in. We were about from eight miles from the red and white whistle buoy outside Noyo Harbor when we encountered a group of humpback whales.”

Look at the green light on the water on the lower right. It's the sun reflected on the whale's body that is underwater. Shari says they can often see a whale before it spouts by noting this green reflection.

Shari got a clear photo of a distinctive fluke and she sent it in to Happy Whale to see if they had a previous identification of this particular whale. They did. Shari wrote, “That fluke is CRC-20332, Cascadia Research collective’s research number,  no nickname, first recorded off Baja 01-03-2022, the only sighting before our photo record on 08-17-2025."

Another photo is of a humpback rostrum showing the mouth nearly closed after a lunge feeding event with one other whale. The barnacles visible on the lower mandible pouch show their exposed cirri, the barnacles’ feeding appendages. Needless to say, it was a great trip!”

Thanks to Shari for allowing me to share her photos with you here. If you'd like to learn more about the pelagic trips out of Noyo Harbor, here is the link: http://noyopelagics.com

To be on their mailing list, you can sign up here: https://groups.io/g/Mendocino-Pelagics

The fog bank is smaller and a ways out over the ocean. Breezy sunny weather happening now!

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The largest animal on Earth, a Blue Whale, cruised up the Mendonoma Coast Monday morning.  Shari was one of several of us notified about this whale. She went out to several choice locations and managed to get these long-distance photos.

Shari estimates the whale was about 1/2 mile out. It is rare for a Blue Whale to be so close to shore. You can read the details of this sighting in tomorrow's Independent Coast Observer. What? You don't subscribe? You can easily fix that at https://mendonoma.com/memberships.html

Thanks to Shari for allowing me to share her photos with you here!

Sunny and mild here in Anchor Bay. But there is a big fog bank lurking and keeping the temps mild.

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Several weeks ago a fabulous pelagic trip was the order of the day on the boat The Kraken of Anchor Charter Boats in Fort Bragg, and Shari Goforth was onboard. They saw three species of dolphins. Today I want to show you two of the Pacific White-sided Dolphins she photographed.

These dolphins like to ride the wake of a boat. That is what the dolphin is doing in the second photo.

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

ah, today is heaven-sent. Warm with little wind - it's just feel so good to be on the Mendonoma Coast!

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This first photo of the Ferruginous Hawk graced page one of the Independent Coast Observer this week. Shari Goforth was on Lighthouse Road in Point Arena when she noticed this large hawk perched on utility pole.

 

We only see these hawks in the wintertime.

To hear their screaming calls, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ferruginous_Hawk/sounds

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