Sea gull terrorist . . .

 Gull slamming into the ocean . . .

 and grabbing a crab . . .

He did 'share' a leg of the poor creature with his tag-a-long friend. I'm vegan so the idea of anything eating a crab doesn't appeal to me. I choose not to intervene in nature 99% of the time but I have to admit this was hard to watch . . .

Sonoma coast get slammed by stormy weather . . .

Traveling anywhere in Sonoma County was risky during and after the storm so we stayed coast side. With the reports of 20' waves I couldn't stay cooped up in the house.

All of these photographs were taken at Duncan's Landing. Shooting here you and your camera can get drenched with one big wave.

I stood in the fierce wind and driving rain to get these shots.

Water runoff from the hills create new waterfalls everywhere along the coast. 

Please be mindful of the slick wet roads. Watch for falling limbs, downed trees and flooded roads. 

Living (and dying) in Bodega Bay . . .

California sea lion

Octopus

Gooseneck barnacles

Norma, beach angel

Black-crowned night heron

Migrating American White Pelicans

Great blue heron

Where sanderlings gather . . .

Sanderlings (Calidris alba)

According to Wikipedia; 

"The Sanderling is a small plump sandpiper, 18–20 cm in length. Its weight ranges from 40-100 g. The winter bird is very pale, almost white apart from a dark shoulder patch. The juvenile bird is spangled black and white, and shows much more contrast than the adult. It can be told from other small wading birds, given good views, by its lack of a hind toe."

They gather, they run, they probe for food, and then suddenly they're in flight . . .

Just as suddenly, they've landed. This pattern continues dozens of times as they move down the beach.

 

"The sun, descending the altar of the year, pauses ritually on the steps of the summer months. The great sun overflows; the year burns on. All these autumn weeks I have watched the great disk going south along the horizon of moorlands beyond the marsh. The turn of the sun's wheel, always the imperative, bright sun."

                                                                   ~ Henry Beston

                                                                        'The Outermost House'