Young Western Scrub Jay all puffed up...just what is going on here?

Siegfried Matull photographed a juvenile Western Scrub Jay all "puffed up." He caught the bird molting - growing in its new feathers. For instance, the gray feathers on its head are being replaced with blue ones.

Jays completely molt once a year, an activity that takes place in times of low stress - after nesting and before migration. Other birds that have a complete molt are Chickadees, Flycatchers, Hawks, Hummingbirds, Owls, Swallows, Thrushes, Vireos and Woodpeckers. It's an amazing phenomenon, don't you think? To completely replace each and every feather, that is a lot of energy expended.

To learn more about molting and much, much more about birds, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: cornell lab of ornithology

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

A young Raccoon, as photographed by Craig Tooley

Young Raccoons are fun to photograph. They are inquisitive, active and photogenic. That's all Craig Tooley needs to get a great photo.

With the dark facial markings across its eyes, you can see why Raccoons are nicknamed "Masked Bandits." Raccoons are very intelligent and they are quite dexterous with their front paws. Recently a Raccoon got in a cat door of a friend. It proceeded to open each canister on her counter until it found the canister containing brown sugar. Yep, that Raccoon had a real sweet tooth and ate all the brown sugar.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his cute photo. To see more of Craig's nature photography, here's his web site: http://ruffimage.com/

To see a charming photo of a Raccoon family, here is the link: http://mendonomasightings.blogspot.com/2011/09/charming-photo-by-coastal-photographer.html

Pacific Giant Salamander, an unusual creature that is found on the Mendonoma Coast

Sue Tara was cleaning up her land in Gualala last week when this big guy crawled out from under her deck.

These big Salamanders - they can be more than a foot long - can actually vocalize. If disturbed they give a throaty call that sounds a lot like a dog bark. They start out life in the water and need unpolluted waterways to thrive. Logging is their other threat. What a unique and wonderfully bizarre creature we see once in a great while on the Mendonoma Coast!

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

Cliff Swallows. as photographed by Jonathan Raymond

Jonathan Raymond captured a group of Cliff Swallow fledglings on a roof. They were calling their parents to come feed them...NOW!

 And Jonathan got lucky with this photo - one of the parents feeding junior with a sibling protesting nearby.

Thanks to Jonathan for allowing me to share his photos with you here. And here's to the hardworking parents of newly fledged babies everywhere. They are amazing in their dedication.

Can you see the woman in the wave?

Ron LeValley photographed a beautiful wave from the Little River Headlands in Mendocino County. When he looked at his photo he saw a woman in the wave with magnificent hair. Can you see her?

To see more of Ron's beautiful photography, here's his website: http://www.levalleyphoto.com/home/

And to see Ron's photo of a "perfect wave," here's the link: http://mendonomasightings.blogspot.com/2012/05/perfect-wave-as-photographed-by-ron.html

A walk at Gualala Point Regional Park, always wonderful

Rick and I always purchase a Sonoma County Parks annual pass. The place we use the pass the most is by far Gualala Point Regional Park. Recently we hit a perfect day with no wind.

 Here is our golden retriever, Huckleberry, and Rick at the start of the trail.

 We walked out to the bluffs and were rewarded with views like this one. Gualala Point Island is on the right.

And we returned an hour later to where we parked my car, a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SL. It's a great car for curvy Highway One but it's a tight fit for Huckleberry behind the seats.

To see a sunset photographed at this park, here's the link: http://mendonomasightings.blogspot.com/2011/08/beautiful-sunset-at-gualala-point.html

Two Sea Stars, one on a Sea Urchin shell, photographed by Craig Tooley

Tide pooling is a Coast tradition. The Independent Coast Observer prints a weekly tide table, which I always cut out and put on my refrigerator. At low tide, locals and visitors alike head to the beach. Craig Tooley recently photographed two different Sea Stars, which are sometimes call Star Fish. One Sea Star is on top of a Sea Urchin shell.

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

To see a photo of a huge Sea Star, the Sunflower, here's the link: http://mendonomasightings.blogspot.com/2012/03/sunflower-seastar-found-at-stornetta.html