Tag Archives: The Sea Ranch

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David Allen wrote, "Something special about a harvest moon... it was a stark reality hearing the coyotes howling off in the distance, chatting no doubt, about which morsel was next on the menu. So incredibly calm, but also, a feeling of being in the eye of the storm! Mother Nature rules!"

Dave's photo shows the iconic Sea Ranch barn, the Sea Range sheep and goats, a lone cloud and the beautiful full moon. Happy Autumn!

Thanks to Dave for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Dave has also been training his camera on cannabis plants, showing their beauty. You can see Dave's work at his website: http://www.calibrothers.com/

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It's exciting to see Bottlenose Dolphins off the Mendonoma coast! They have been expanding their territory northward over the past few years. Karen Wilkinson found a pod of these dolphins quite close in at Smuggler's Cove off The Sea Ranch in mid-August. She took many,  many photos, which were shared with Bill Keener of Golden Gate Cetacean Research.

Bill wrote, “I was positively able to ID three individuals. First, I was able to confirm that the female we call Sakura has a new calf. She had calves before in Monterey Bay, then about five years ago she had a calf off San Francisco, and now this is her new calf.

“You can tell that the calf is about a month old because of the vertical pale stripes on its body – those are called ‘fetal folds’ which are stretch marks due to the curled-up position the calf had while in the uterus.” Bill said the marks last a couple of months before they fade away.

Bill was pleased to see Karen had photographed Bliss, an older female. Bill wrote, “Bliss is one of the oldest dolphins in [our records.] She was first seen in San Diego in 1982! She is likely in her mid-40s or 50 years old now. Glad she is still going strong!”

The other Bottlenose Dolphin Bill was able to ID was a male named Shiloh. Neither Sakura or Shiloh had been spotted further north than Bodega Bay until now. They were seen years ago in Monterey Bay, but the past six or seven years they have been seen in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Karen also photographed an unknown adult Bottlenose Dolphin and she has a calf with her, which you can see in the photo above. Bill wrote, “As for the unidentified dolphin, now begins a longer process of trying to figure out if it has been seen before in another part of California. It’s fairly uncommon for us to see a totally brand-new adult animal before. But it can happen.”

Here are a few more photos Karen took that day.

And here is a map Karen drew of her sighting at Smuggler's Cove.

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

We are having an oh-so-lovely day this Sunday. It would be a good day to spot...bottlenose dolphins!

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Marilee Wintz titled this photo "I walked in silence with an early bird."

Marilee took this beautiful photo on Walk On Beach, one of the public access points on The Sea Ranch.

Thanks to Marilee for allowing me to share her photo with you here. To see more of Marilee's nature photography, here is her website: https://beautyinspiresus.com/

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On a recent bluff walk on The Sea Ranch with Rick and friends, I spotted this blissful Harbor Seal stretched out on the rocks.

I took this photo with my super zoom, but the seal obviously heard us.

Hello, relaxed Harbor Seal! We sure didn't mean to disturb your rest.

Here's a fun fact: A Harbor Seal can dive 300 feet deep, and stay underwater up to 28 minutes!

It's sunny and quite warm today. There was a thin layer of smoke visible above the horizon during last night's sunset. But no discernible smoke from the inland fires today. Nothing but blue skies, at least in Anchor Bay and Gualala today.  ***UPDATE: 5:15 pm. Several hours ago smoke began to flow over the Mendonoma coast. We hope the winds will shift direction but for now it is hot and smoky here.

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There was a nest of Red-tailed Hawks near The Sea Ranch. The chicks recently fledged. Craig Tooley photographed this fledgling soaring through the sky.

Looks like his/her flying lessons are going very well!

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