Tag Archives: The Sea Ranch

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Rob Diefenbach recently photographed a newborn fawn with its mother.

Something is handing from the mother, perhaps the umbilical cord?

A white fawn was born on The Sea Ranch this year. I had a report with no photo a week or so ago. When I didn't receive any more reports or a photo I thought the fawn had not survived. But this morning the fawn was spotted with its normal-colored sibling and its mother. When I receive a good photo of it I will share it here.

Here is a photo of the white fawn that was born in 2006.

You can see by its eyes and nose that it is not an albino. It was considered a towhead and did eventually color up. Lynda O'Brien took this photo. She described the white fawn as a magical being.

Thanks to Rob and Lynda for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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On a quiet, secluded bluff face on The Sea Ranch there is a colony of nesting Pelagic Cormorants. With nests attached to the steep sides of the bluff, the colony is very special to see. Craig Tooley recently witnessed the parents exchanging places, giving him a chance to see and photograph the babies in the nest.

These shy seabirds attach their nests of grass, twigs and seaweed to the bluff face with their own guano. They dive from the surface of the water for fish, which they chase down underwater.

I thank Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. It's something not all of us would be able to see for ourselves.

To see much more of Craig's beautiful wildlife photography, here's his website: ruffimage.com

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Andy Moore photographed what he thought was an Osprey perched on top of a tree, overlooking the White Barn at The Sea Ranch.

But when I zoomed in on Andy's photo I found he had photographed a White-tailed Kite.

This is such a beautiful hawk. They hover in the air while they hunt for small mammals. The meadows at Gualala Point Regional Park are a good place to see one. To hear the sounds of a White-tailed Kite, here's the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Kite/sounds

Thanks to Andy for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see more of Andy's photography, here is his website: http://www.andystreasuretrove.com/

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Craig Tooley was at The Sea Ranch photographing the group of Pelagic Cormorant nests. He was startled to see a nest with eggs unattended.

 You will see three eggs in the nest. The nests are made on steep cliffs, facing the ocean.

And here the parent has returned to care for the eggs. Several nests now have babies and I'll share that with you soon.

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

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Rick and I were enjoying the beautiful Thursday morning, looking at the wildflowers and hoping to see some Gray Whales. We were just south of Black Point Beach. There's a rock where a few Western Gulls are nesting. As we approached, a squadron of Brown Pelicans flew by, almost at eye level. It's our first sighting of them this spring.

These are adult Brown Pelicans. You can see their white heads.

At this point the Pelicans headed towards land and they gained altitude before heading off to the north.

They are air surfers! It is always thrilling to see them as they glide across the sky.
To see a close-up of an adult Brown Pelican, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/04/26/brown-pelican-splash-down-as-photographed-by-siegfried-matull/