The White Fawn born this summer is coloring up.

It's unusual to have a white Fawn born but it has happened in 2006, 2009 and now in 2013. In each case they colored up, proving that they weren't leucistic but tow-heads. Mike Mee got a recent photo of the white Fawn with its normal-colored sibling.

 Here is how the two fawns look on July 10th.

The mother of these fawns is light colored. Peggy Mee sent in this photo and theorized that she might have been the white fawn born in 2009.

A wonderful mystery to contemplate here on the Mendonoma Coast. Thanks to Peggy and Mike for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

A storm has just passed through bringing .65 inches of rain at our place in Anchor Bay. Early rains are always welcome, freshening up the plants and dampening down the fire danger. Can wild mushrooms be popping soon? I will most certainly let you know!

You never know just what you might see at Manchester State Park Beach.

Bettye Winters loves to walk on this huge crescent-shaped beach. She has sent me photos of so many different creatures she sees on her walks. But this is a first. She saw a hang glider!

The several people on the beach were sure surprised to see this person glide by.

Thanks to Bettye for a unique sighting and for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

I have to admit it, I just love Owls!

Kathy Bishop came across two Great Horned Owls that were roosting. She snapped a couple of photos and then beat a quick retreat. One of Kathy's photos was published in yesterday's Independent Coast Observer in my Mendonoma Sightings column. You can see it on-line at mendonoma.com. The other two photos I am pleased to share with  you here.

What beautiful owls! Here it what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says about Great Horned Owls:

"With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. This powerful predator can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs. It’s one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics."

That stare is a little intimidating! Their call is the "hoo hoo" call. Hear it at this link:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/great_horned_owl/sounds

Last year Rick and I were privileged to take part in a release of two Western Screech Owls back into the wild, about ten miles north of where we live in Anchor Bay. Here is the link to learn more about this heartwarming event: http://mendonomasightings.blogspot.com/2012/12/two-western-screech-owls-released-back.html

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

The largest woodpecker on the Mendonoma Coast is the Pileated Woodpecker.

Pileated Woodpeckers are big, as big as a crow. They can be 16.5 inches long with a wingspan of 29 inches. I more often hear these prehistoric-looking birds than see them. One was recently feeding on the ground and Craig Tooley got this photo.

Their favorite food is carpenter ants. But termites are swarming and I'm wondering if that might be what this big bird had found in the ground.

Here is a photo of a female that Craig got another time. Note the lack of red by her beak.

I always feel fortunate when I see a Pileated. Along with hearing their calls, I hear them drumming on snags. They are also unique in that they create rectangular holes while searching for ants.

To hear the calls of a Pileated Woodpecker, here is the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/pileated_woodpecker/sounds.

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

Fawns are growing up, healthy and beautiful!

Robert and Nancy Scarola were fortunate to have several fawns born at their Sea Ranch property. Here is a recent photo of two fawns that were born earlier this year. They have lost their spots. They also seem to be posing just for Robert.

Below is a photo of these two fawns just after they were born. They love to play with each other.

Black-tailed Deer are a wonderful part of the landscape that is the Mendonoma Coast.

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

Stunning aerial photo of trees topped with fog.

Tom Landecker was flying over Gualala when he saw this sight. He turned his airplane around so he could get this photo.

You can see the sun was about a half hour or so from setting. The tops of the trees are draped with individual clouds of fog. Quite an amazing sight.

Thanks to Tom for allowing me to share this beautiful photo with you here.

Ron LeValley went on a boat to see seabirds but found a Blue Whale instead.

Ron took a boat out of Noyo Harbor. He and the others on board got to see Humpbacks and a few Blue Whales.

Here you see the behemouth spouting.

And below you can see its mottled back. Ron tells me you can identify individual Blue Whales by the patterns on its back. 

Here is the Blue Whale's very small dorsal fin.

And here's a photo of a Blue Whale's tail. 

You won't see Blue Whales come out of the water much. They don't - probably can't - breach like Humpbacks or Gray Whales as they are so huge. They are extremely endangered as they try to recover from intense whaling of years past.

A reference book I enjoy is "Whales and other Marine Mammals of California and Baja" by Tamara Eder. She writes that at birth a Blue Whale weighs about 2.5 tons and is 23 feet long. An adult can weigh up to 200 tons (181,000 kg) and be up to 110 feet (34 m) long.

I was told some years ago that if you see an island in the ocean where there wasn't one before, you've just seen a Blue Whale.

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