Ferne Fedeli's donkey, Jack, puts up with Common Ravens shearing hair right off his back!

Birds are gathering nesting materials on the Mendonoma Coast. But two brazen Ravens are taking their gathering of hair to a new level. Ferne Fedeli caught them biting/shearing the hair off the back of Jack, the donkey. The Ravens actually leave about 1/2 inch of hair on Jack, according to Ferne.

Below you will see the back end of Ferne's Icelandic Horse. The Raven has scored some nice soft horse hair though the horse wasn't pleased about it. While the donkey was fine with the harvesting, the horse tried to bite the ravens. Still this raven has a mouthful of hair for its nest and a rather smug look on its face!

Maybe it feels good to Jack, as if being groomed. We know Common Ravens are very intelligent. These two have found an easy way to gather nesting materials.

Thanks to Ferne for allowing me to share her fun photo.

Perhaps the loveliest of them all, Calypso Orchids are blooming in untouched forests.

Jinx McCombs is fortunate indeed. She has what she calls a messy forest. In that untouched forest is a group of Calypso Orchids. They won't grow just anywhere. They need a fungus in the soil to grow, hence they cannot be transplanted.

These exquisite wildflowers are very small. Here is one with Jinx holding a piece of bark. You can see by her thumb how small they are.

They have a slender leaf that is found growing on the forest duff - I more often see the leaf first, rather than the flower itself.

Always a joy to find, this delicate orchid is blooming now on the Mendonoma Coast. Thanks to Jinx for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

Two Rothchild Giraffes, as photographed by Emilie Raguso.

Giraffes in Point Arena? You bet! The B. Bryan Preserve has a group of these endangered giraffes. Emilie Raguso recently visited the preserve and took these photos. The first photo is entitled "Getting a leg up."

I so admire what the Mellos are doing here. Along with these giraffes, they have zebras and antelope, all endangered in their native lands. By appointment you can visit this wonderful place at feeding time. There are also guest cottages. To learn more about the preserve, here is their website: http://bbryanpreserve.com/ As their website states, Africa on the Mendocino Coast.

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

Allen's or Rufous Hummingbird? Only the experts know for sure.

Allen's and Rufous Hummingbirds look so similar that sometimes even the most experienced birder can't tell one from the other. I've been advised to just call them Selasphorus Hummingbirds and I'll always be right. Siegfried Matull recently photographed what he believes is an Allen's Hummingbird. Whatever you call them, they sure are beautiful!

These feisty, slightly smaller Hummingbirds migrate through the Mendonoma Coast in the spring and again in fall. They fight with our year round Anna's Hummingbirds, darting here and there like kamakazi pilots. When my chives are in bloom, one of these beauties likes to feed on the purple blossoms.

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

The Stornetta Lands waterfall is back in all its glory!

There is a beautiful waterfall on the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands. However several years ago the waterfall "broke." The water no longer cascaded off the high bluff but it found a way down inside the rock. I'm happy to report that the waterfall is once again flowing over the bluff. In fact it is spilling off the bluff in two waterfalls. Margaret Lindgren recently photographed them.

To see this waterfall, which has been refreshed by the wonderful rains we are having this week, go down Lighthouse Road. Before you reach the pay station of the Point Arena Lighthouse, you will see a parking area to the left with a porta potty. Enter there and hike south along the bluffs. The scenery is magnificent there, with a sinkhole.

As you can see by the photo, with our golden retriever, Huckleberry, the sinkhole is huge!

Continue heading south - it might take fifteen minutes or so - and you will come to a seasonal creek. You need to hike down, cross the creek, and then climb back up. Go a little further south and look back. Here's a photo I took some time ago, before the waterfall disappeared for several years. You might be able to see the Lighthouse in the distance.

And below is a look at the waterfall when it fractured and the water went inside the rock face.

I am so glad the waterfall is flowing where we can see it. And because these lands are protected as the first land based part of the California Coastal National Monument, they are preserved for all of us to enjoy.

Thanks to Margaret for allowing me to share her photo with you here. Margaret leads hiking tours here on the Mendonoma Coast. Her website is: www.unbeatenpath.weebly.com

Mission Bells - they are difficult to find but Frank Drouillard found them.

I have not yet seen these perennial wildflowers. They grow near oaks and can be hard to spot. Frank first noticed the stems and then went back to capture this magnificent photo.

Mission Bells, also called Checker Lily, are members of the Lily family. Their scientific name is Fritillaria affinis. Below is a closeup of the flower.

In Reny Parker's wildflower book she writes,
 "Mission Bells
  the sound in the forest
  no one's around to hear."

Thanks to Frank for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

The first Ospreys have returned to the Mendonoma Coast.

Oh, to live where Ospreys choose to nest is such a joy. On March 10th the first Ospreys, males, returned to the Mendonoma Coast. Paul Brewer photographed one of the first ones. The Osprey has nabbed a Seaperch.

And as of Sunday some females have arrived. There is a nest to our west that we can watch through our scope. Sure enough, a male and a female were seen. It will be fun to watch them work on rebuilding the nest, mating and hopefully starting a new family.

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