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

Summer solstice . . .

Summer solstice officially began at 10:04 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time June 20th this year. Robert Bigelow at Clark Planetarium writes, "While the solstice is commonly called the longest day of the year, it is not the date of earliest sunrise or latest sunset. The earliest sunrise occurs about a week before the solstice and the latest sunset about a week after. This results from a combination of Earth’s changing speed as it orbits the Sun and the tilt of its axis."

Kenai Penninsula, Alaska June 2003 . . .

2003 Net setting for salmon feast ~ Kasilof, Alaska

Removing salmon from the net

Horrified by the carnage, my 7 year-old son looks away as salmon are removed and clubbed

Cousin Lauri filets salmon for salmon sushi

2003 Summer solstice party ~ drumming circle

Fire finally dying down at about 4 a.m.

Rapidly receding glacier

Cousin Lauri and my son ~ Summer 2003

Bunkhouse accommodations ~ Hesketh Island on Kachemak Bay, Alaska

 

Winding down by the fire ~ Hesketh Island

Ten days of Alaskan adventure with my cousin Lauri and her life partner, Greg. Memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.

Wish we were there  .  .  .

Note: If you've always wanted to experience wild Alaska at it's finest, check out Porter's Alaskan Adventures.

These photos were taken with a 2 mega-pixel, point and shoot 10 years ago. I suppose I shouldn't complain about my little upgrade anymore.

To leave a comment click on 'comments' or 'no comment' below. Thank you!

Tracking wildlife on the Sonoma Coast . . .

 Marbled Godwit and Willet. Bodega Bay Winter Migration ~ Photo by Tom Reynolds

Bobcat at Spring Lake ~ photo by Tom Reynolds

A big draw for people who visit and live on our Sonoma Coast is the vast open space, rolling tree studded hills, abundant creeks and waterways, and bountiful wildlife. Those of us who live here and hike the hills regularly, often don't think about the diverse population of wild creatures that live among us. One of the animals that call the Sonoma Coast home is the often maligned mountain lion. 

Photo from Felidae Conservation Fund

In August, a blog reader left a comment about a mountain lion sighting in the Bodega Dunes Campground here in Bodega Bay, CA. I responded to the comment by contacting Zara from The Felidae Conservation Fund and tracker Jim Sullivan. My email to Jim prompted him to go out to Bodega Dunes and check the site for tracks. 

The following is Jim's email response to me:

"Darris:

I went out to the Bodega Dunes campground yesterday and spent an hour and a half walking around the perimeter and some of the densely vegetated areas in the center.  I found tracks and scat of bobcats, coyotes, raccoons and foxes, but no sign of a cougar.  I talked to one of the maintenance people and he hadn’t heard about the incident...and thought he would have.  There is plenty of good habitat there in which a big cat could hide.  But lots of people camping out there have dogs, which I suspect would make it undesirable for any but a very young, hungry cat. Usually when there is a cat around, the dogs bark more or less all night.  (There have been lots of sightings east of the highway, so I don’t have any problem imagining a cat in that area.)

Your story about the raccoons is relevant...they make a horrendous scream and lots of people have confused that noise with cougar screams, including me when I was younger.  Your contact mentioned that they saw deer tracks going through the campsite...if you do make contact with them, try to get them to describe these tracks...normally tracks from deer who are not frightened will be fairly evenly spaced and not more than a couple of feet apart.  If a cat was chasing a deer, the tracks would be clustered in a gallop or pronk pattern, with quite a bit of space between groups of 4 prints.

(Incidentally, the ranger I talked to told me an interesting story.  He was in the bar at the Tides restaurant (Friday evening, I think)  and everybody saw a buck trapped in the mud out in the middle of the bay, just standing there.  After about an hour or so the tide came in enough to float it, and it swam away.)"


Note: 'pronk' means to "jump straight up" similar to a kangaroo.

I  haven't heard back from the reader who left the comment. They indicated that they moved from the campsite they occupied. Jim offered to talk with the person and had more questions about what they saw and heard.

JIM SULLIVAN is a 4th generation Sonoma county native, lifetime naturalist, with a degree in Biology.  He graduated from Notre Dame, studied in Vienna, UC Santa Barbara and San Francisco State, as well as on going studies at SRJC and SSU.  A long time environmental and social justice activist, he served 4 years in the Infantry and was instrumental in launching the Natural Foods Movement..  He is a retired Landscape Contractor, an award winning Plein Air landscape painter, and an internationally certified tracker.  If you're interested in working with Jim, he can be contacted through his website: Animal Tracking and Bird Language.  Jim offers: animal tracking, guided tours, bird language, species hikes, workshops and consultations.  


I highly recommend a tracking experience with Jim Sullivan. A couple of years ago Jim took my family and a friend out for a day of tracking. Jim is an engaging and interesting person with a curious and playful spirit. The day was fun and rewarding for all of us.

Osprey eating breakfast ~ photo by Tom Reynolds