Paul Kozal's photograph of the Cypress trees near Stengel Beach at The Sea Ranch and the Milky Way is simply beautiful.
Paul told me it was a 30 second exposure and during the exposure he used a flashlight to light up the Cypress trees in the foreground. Enjoy, enjoy!
Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.paulkozal.com/
Happy New Year!
Roxanne doesn't know who drew this picture in the sand at Shell Beach on The Sea Ranch, but she really enjoyed seeing it.
Roxanne wrote, "It is wonderful to see how humans interact with nature to make lovely, improbable, anonymous, modest masterpieces. I think of this when I see clever driftwood structures on the beach, or mysteriously balanced rock cairns near the shore. Such pieces of art are particularly precious because – like all works of nature – they are ephemeral. They will be gone with the next tide. It seems an honor to appreciate them during their short lives. I felt compelled to share them with you!”
I thank Roxanne for letting me share her photo with you here!
Sunny, breezy and chilly is the forecast for the next several days. The recent rains brought the seasonal creeks to life, always a happy occurrence.
Michael Reinhart spotted this bird a few weeks ago, a Rock Wren.
He wrote, “I spotted this Rock Wren on the point to the west of Sea Ranch Lodge, Bihler Point.”
There have only been three sightings of one in recent years. The male Rock Wren is a tremendous singer, singing over 100 different songs. You can hear some of the male's calls here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rock_Wren/sounds Let’s hope we have more sightings of this bird.
Thanks to Michael for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Today we are having a big, wet, windy storm. Batten down the hatches!
John and Janice Batchelder had a wonderful sighting of Humpback Whales a couple of weeks ago. Seen off of The Sea Ranch, it was quite a spectacle. Here a Humpback is breaching. Humpbacks are among the most acrobatic of whales.
Below you will see one of the Humpback's long flippers.
The Humpbacks were following their food source, forage fish like huge schools of anchovies. Along with the whales, Gulls and Brown Pelicans were feasting too.
Thanks to John for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
Common Ravens can be seen flying overhead every day. Gary Curtis recently photographed two of them resting on a bluff at The Sea Ranch.
They are very intelligent birds, and have been known to use tools. They can vocalize and one was even trained to say "Nevermore!"
Thanks to Gary for allowing me to share his photo with you here.