Tundra Swans are slowly arriving on the Mendocino Coast

Tundra Swans, Cygnus columbianus, overwinter on the floodplains of the Garcia River. Last year, with our drier than normal winter, brought just a handful of these beautiful white swans. Eight were spotted last week. Richard Kuehn photographed four Tundra Swans in flight recently, always a thrilling sight.

We hope to have hundreds in residence soon. Thanks to Rich for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Thursday's sunrise - the gift that kept giving

The soft pastels of a Mendonoma sunrise, constantly changing and always mesmerizing, can start your day off right. Carolyn André photographed Thursday's sunrise from her home at The Sea Ranch.

Add a cup of coffee or tea and you have the perfect start to the day. Thanks to Carolyn for allowing me to share her photos with  you here.

Candy Cap mushrooms - whee, what a year!

Candy Cap mushrooms obviously do not mind cold weather. They have been popping up in great numbers. This delicious edible is in the  Milk Cap family - Lactarius fragilis. Rick and I find it growing under Bishop Pines and Tan-oak Trees. It's deep orange color is distinctive and it bleeds white liquid when you touch their gills. The most distinctive trait is, however, their unbelievable maple syrup fragrance.

These mushrooms are so sweet you can use them to bake cookies or in pancakes. In Gualala a local gelato company, Gelati Pazzo Marco Creamery, makes Candy Cap Gelato. Here's the link to their web site: http://gelatipazzomarco.com/

Anchor Bay Beach, as photographed by Tom Eckles

I'm happy to be able to share another panoramic photo with you here. Tom Eckles used his iPhone to capture the beauty of Anchor Bay Beach on New Year's Day.

What a great way to celebrate the first day of 2013. Yes, we are having beautiful but cold weather here. It's a nice break from all the rain we had in December.

Thanks to Tom for allowing me to share his beautiful photo with you here. To see more of Tom's photography, which is always untouched and honest, here's the link: tomeckles.com

A big male Northern Elephant Seal at Cook's Beach, as photographed by Paula Ray Power

A very large Elephant Seal occupied the south end of Cook's Beach for some days in December. Rick and I visited the beach and watched from a safe distance as he threw sand over his back.  Paula Ray Power photographed him and I have to wonder at the fellow in the photo. He's too close for comfort. Elephant Seals can move faster on sand than most humans.

Paula took this photo from the overlook. It's interesting to see the tracks made by the big fellow. Males should be headed south to Ano Nuevo State Reserve where mating has begun. Perhaps this Elephant Seal decided to forgo  all that and take a vacation on the Mendonoma Coast.

I thank Paula for allowing me to share her photo with you here. To see an aerial photo of this beautiful pocket beach, here's the link: http://mendonomasightings.blogspot.com/2012/05/aerial-view-of-cooks-beach-as.html

Al, the Laysan Albatross, as photographed by John Batchelder

With the calm weather the Coast has been experiencing, Al, the Laysan Albatross, has been making personal appearances in the water off the Point Arena Pier. On Dec. 30th John Batchelder photographed this famous bird.

Look for Al to the north and west of the pier. Thanks to John for allowing me to share his beautiful photo of Al with you here.

Sandhill Crane sightings are extremely rare on the Mendonoma Coast

Mendocino Coast Audubon Society held their annual bird count on Saturday. A Sandhill Crane was spotted near Lighthouse Road, which is north of the tiny city of Point Arena. It was a great bird to add to their list as it is an extremely rare sighting here.

Two years ago a pair of these beautiful cranes appeared outside my house in Anchor Bay and they danced in the air as if just for me. No one else saw them that day and, as I'm not the most experienced birder, I don't think I would have been believed if I hadn't gotten these photos.

In the days to come birders confirmed my sighting as this pair stayed near the Garcia River flats for some weeks. You can see in my photos that the cranes were calling, though I don't remember hearing them. I think I was too excited with my sighting of a bird I had never seen before.

To hear their call, here's the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sandhill_Crane/sounds

And so we start the first day of the new year, 2013. It will be fun and exciting to see what unfolds here on the beautiful Mendonoma Coast.