Great Blue Heron as photographed by Allen Vinson

One of the most photographed birds on the Mendonoma Coast is the Great Blue Heron. Allen Vinson recently spotted one. They have a stateliness to them but they can move FAST when they spot prey.

Allen photographed a different Great Blue Heron a while back. This photo is entitled, "And we have liftoff!"

To hear the calls of a Great Blue Heron, here's the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/sounds

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

Last Friday's sunset was exceptional

And Robert Scarola captured it with his camera.

A bit of loveliness for you today. Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Brown Pelican, as photographed by Shirley Arora

Brown Pelicans are headed south and some of the males are in breeding plumage. Shirley Arora photographed one such Brown Pelican down by the Point Arena Pier.

To hear the call of this bird, here's the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/id

Thanks to Shirley for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

Are you scared of spiders?

Well, these aren't exactly spiders. They are arachnids called Harvestmen. They are also called Daddy Longlegs. Craig Tooley photographed a group of them, which is called a snarl.

 I wonder just how many Harvestment are in this snarl. Dozens, yes. Hundreds, perhaps!

Here's what Craig Tooley wrote, “My neighbors, John Holloway and Elaine Reed, asked me to come over and take a few pictures of this interesting collection of arachnids or Harvestmen. When I asked John what he knew about them, he said, ‘There are many species of them around the world, with fossils of them going back 400 million years. They are called Daddy Longlegs, though they are not a true spider.’”

These arachnids are very beneficial, eating many other insects including termites. They only have two eyes, as compared to spiders that have six or eight. They are entirely harmless to humans. John and Elaine’s visitors have formed this snarl for the same reason Sea Lions raft together – for protection against predators, and perhaps for warmth.

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

Bettye Winters photographed a beautiful sunset

On Jan. 19th Bettye Winters photographed the sunset from Irish Beach. Yes, there was a green flash. Bettye's photographs show you what to look for when hoping for a green flash.

 The horizon is clear and the sun appears to separate.

 When you see this separation you know you will see a green flash.

It's small but it's there. The tiny green dot. Thanks to Bettye for allowing me to share her photos with you here. To see a close up view of the green flash, here's the link: http://mendonomasightings.blogspot.com/2012/02/green-flash-was-photographed-by-richard.html

Monday brought us a sighting of Killer Whales

On Monday a pod of perhaps twenty Killer Whales was spotted off Point Arena. Emails and telephone calls ensued as we tried to photograph the pod. They were several miles out, however, and moving FAST. Dean Schuler got this photograph from The Sea Ranch.

 It was fun following them down the coast. Unfortunately for Dean, a fishing boat saw this pod and headed towards them. The pod then dove and disappeared from view.

Though this photo was not taken off the Mendonoma Coast, I thought you'd enjoy seeing this close up that Tom Eckles took from a 12 person inflatable boat in the San Juan Islands. It looks like a male with the very tall dorsal fin and a female with the smaller, curved dorsal fin.

Thanks to Dean and Tom for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see more of Tom's photography, here's his website: tomeckles.com

Frozen river fog - strange but beautiful

Our temperatures have moderated but we've had some very cold temps here on the supposedly temperate Mendonoma Coast. In the upper reaches of the Gualala River, Peter Baye photographed Rime deposits, frozen river fog.

Works of art, brought to you by Mother Nature...and Peter Baye!