Michelle Gill took this lovely photo of a waterfall near Bowling Ball Beach after last week's rains.

I think it looks like a painting!

Here's the story on the Sea Otter sighting seen and videoed by Stephany Wilkes.

Sunday evening, March 29th,  Stephany and Ian Wilkes were taking a walk on the bluffs at The Sea Ranch. And they saw something in the water and they thought, “Could it be a sea otter?” Stephany wrote, “I know, I know, ‘It's almost certainly a river otter’ is what we say up here. And that's what Ian and I thought too, until we pretty quickly didn't. I took several videos tonight along the bluff between Helm and Solstice, between 5:23 and 5:37PM. We were running to keep up with it - it was really trucking! You could see its white whiskers in the sunset light, and it dove for several minutes, and was swimming with food on its belly (banging away and eating.) It covered a lot of distance and did not come anywhere very close to shore. What do you think?! Could it be a historic glimpse? I am hoping you'll know who else to ask!”

I sent the videos to various folks, including Jan Roletto of NOAA. Jan wrote, “Yes, it looks to me like a sea otter in the first and fourth videos. I see a shorter tail, round hind flippers, and while on its back, it's trying to break something open by pounding it with a rock.” Jan put me in touch with Colleen Young, a sea otter specialist with California Department of Fish and Wildlife. She wrote, “Thank you so much for forwarding these great videos! This is definitely a sea otter! We will add this to our database of sea otter sightings outside their established geographic range. Thanks again for looping me in!”

sea otter off Sea Ranch 2026-03-29 by Stephany Wilkes

Sea Otter by Stephany Wilkes

Sea Otter off TSR by Stephany Wilkes

Sea otters were abundant off our coast until they were hunted nearly into extinction by the 1880’s. While I know abalone enthusiasts and fisher people might disagree that this is a great sighting, sea otters are important to the ecology of the ocean. They voraciously eat purple urchins, thus protecting the kelp forests. It’s estimated that the ecosystems where sea otters live are 40% more productive, supporting a wide variety of marine life, from seabirds to whales.

Thanks to Michelle for allowing me to share her photo with you here and thanks to Stephany for allowing me to share her videos with you here!

If you can't view the videos, send me an email and I'll email a few to you.

It's cloudy and cold today with no wind.

Carol Escajeda noticed this cloud formation and said it looks like a pelican to her. Do you agree?

I can see it!

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

We thought it was going to rain today but no! Lots of sunshine though clouds are beginning to roll in. At Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay, we had 1.38 inches last night, 1.93 inches from the two days, 49.83 season to date. 50 inches is a nice, wet season!

Ben Angwin was at Gualala Point Regional Park when the fog started to roll in. He had a unique view of a fogbow, one over land rather than the ocean.

Ben said his camera could "see" it better than his eyes. I've noticed this too and it's helped me see them with the naked eyes!

Lots of rain has been hitting the Mendonoma Coast. I have 1.65 inches in my gauge since it started late yesterday, which brings my total to 49.55 inches. 50 inches is a "normal" wet winter. We are definitely going to hit 50 inches as it's currently raining and more rain is headed our way...with some thunderclouds. Yikes!

Gabriel Aguilar wrote, “Look what I found in the Manchester and Elk area.” Gabriel got several photographs of the big elk. And he only had antlers on one side of his head.

I learned these elks lose their antlers in late winter or early spring. And typically they do not shed together. They can shed minutes, hours or even days apart. He has probably already shed it by now and will begin growing out new, impressive antlers. Maybe this will be the year he finds several females, called cows, for his harem.

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

Cool and windy day today with lots of sunshine!

Michael Coustier was watching the action as the Western Gull managed to snag an Ochre Sea Star for his/her meal.

Michael  wrote, “Walking the Gualala Point Regional Park, I saw this Western gull wedged between a couple of rocks.  It looked...odd.  I waited for a moment for him to pop up and saw he was carrying this sea star. I watched him struggle to ingest the sea star for many minutes - it was pretty comical watching him attempt various positions to get the sea star to go down.”

I guess we'll have to file this one under the title, "Where there's a will, there's a way!"

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

We've had some downpours here today and have received over an inch of rain. I'll report totals with my next post!

Bill Budge had his camera at the ready when one of the migrating gray whales breached. He wrote, “I got this photo of a gray whale breaching from our deck. He/she was probably just off Cooks Beach.”

We've seen the first mother/calf pairs. Yesterday, Tuesday, Shari Goforth found a pair just north of Gualala. In the first photo, the mother whale blows three times. In the second photo you can see a calf pressed up to its mom and giving a smaller, solo blow.

Thanks to Bill and Shari for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Another calm, beautiful day today.

Lynn Bailey sent along a motion detector video from March 4 at the Villa del Mar main dumpster. This is in Gualala. It showed a mountain lion strolling through, a gray fox hurrying along, two more mountain lions, followed by a raccoon. The raccoon headed straight for the dumpster.

Here's a photo of a healthy-looking Mountain Lion taken by Susan Sandoval for you to see.

Here is the lone Mountain Lion:

Next is the Gray Fox:

Then two Mountain Lions:

And lastly the Raccoon:

That's a busy place! Thanks to Lynn for allowing me to share his videos with you here. the photo of the Mountain Lion was taken in a previous year by Susan Sandoval. The Sandovals and Lynn Bailey live fairly close to one another!

It's a spectacular day here today. Sunny and warm. Happy Easter and Happy Passover to those who celebrate them!

Here is a Calypso Orchid which was photographed by Eddie Reiter. These flowers are so tiny, it's amazing we see them. But the splash or pink/purple amongst the greens and browns may very well catch your eye.

Chris Pechal found a rare white Calypso Orchid, which is a treat to see.

Karen Wilkinson found one of her favorite wildflowers, a Checker Lily.

Many more wildflowers are blooming now as we are having an early bloom.

Thanks to Eddie, Chis and Karen for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It's sunny and warm here today, with no wind. There is a chance of rain in a few days. I hope so!

Flying over bluffs and the Pacific Ocean, Aleutian Cackling Geese have been streaming northward in very large flocks.  Eric Zetterholm photographed this sight on The Sea Ranch.

Michael Coustier got a closer look.

Shari Goforth got this video as the geese passed Gualala Point Island.

Aleutian Cackling Geese headed north by Shari Goforth

To hear their "cackling" calls, here is the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology"

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cackling_Goose/sounds

Thanks to Eric, Michael and Shari for allowing me to share their photos and video with you here.

It's sunny and warm here today with no wind.

There was an appealing nesting box as this male violet-green swallow and female Western bluebird were each trying to check it out. Craig Tooley photographed the kerfluffle.  No blows were exchanged, in fact nary a feather was displaced. Who won out? That is yet to be determined. Craig will be watching!

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photographs, here is his website: http://ruffimage.com

It was hot again yesterday, Friday. Wind picked up overnight and it was very windy this morning. Now the wind has died down and we have another warm day.

Clear weather then moved in and two weeks ago Sunday looked to perfect for a pelagic trip out of Noyo harbor on the Kraken to look for seabirds and gray whales. Shari Goforth was ready her camera. She wrote, “With the break in the rain, sun and calm seas prevailed. Noyo Pelagics, on short notice, came up with enough people to take a half-day trip offshore to the Noyo Canyon. The water was perfect for the trip; the seas were calm, the air was cool with almost no wind, and the skies overcast.

“We were in the middle of the gray whale migration and were hoping to photo document gray whales for identification database. Within the first half hour, we spotted a breaching whale several miles toward the horizon. From then on, we began to see gray whale blows (forceful exhales creating a mist) and stayed the permitted legal distance of 100 yards away from them. We were surprised by humpbacks! It’s not the usual time of year to see humpbacks.

“The captain put the boat in idle (stopped the propeller) to avoid any potential propeller injuries in case we were approached by a curious whale, and we had several curious humpbacks surface near the boat. They don’t have to be very close to know that they have been feeding; their exhales smell strongly like fermented Brussel sprouts! Throughout the day, we photographed many humpback whales breaching, slapping their 15 foot-long front flippers on the water, and thrashing their tails, however, we were only able to get a few views of the underside of the humpbacks’ flukes, the view needed for ID. We had more success with the gray whales and have eight photos of individuals to submit for ID.” Shari and others submit their photos to http://Happywhale.com.

Noyo Pelagics is a collaboration between Mendocino Coast Audubon, The Noyo Center for Marine Science, and Anchor Charter Boats (the Kraken), based at Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg. The trips are open to the public, check the website: http://www.noyopelagics.com for all day and half-day trips, or call for shorter whale watching trips.

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

Toasty warm here today with no wind - unbelievable weather for March.

Last week Paul Brewer saw this Osprey with a cabezon in its talons. It's always thrilling when the Ospreys return.

The nest Rick and I have watched through our spotting scope for more than 20 years is once again occupied. This Osprey is flying north so maybe it is one of the mated pair we are fortunate to see - Paul lives in Gualala and our place is north a few miles, in Anchor Bay.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with  you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is the link: https://paulbrewer.smugmug.com/

It's a beautiful sunny day here, with some breezes. High in the low 70's. There is a fog bank over the ocean, so some areas could be in fog...like Point Arena, perhaps.

We are having an irruption of CA Tortoise Shell Butterflies. They do have similar colors of Monarchs, but they are much smaller. Shari Goforth got this photo of one of the dozens in my courtyard yesterday.

They were being seen in vast numbers yesterday, Saturday, down in Bodega Bay and in Jenner. Cynthia Schreiner wrote to me last night: "Many people in Bodega Bay saw thousands of butterflies  today, colored/looked like Monarchs, flying south? For an hour maybe two they were everywhere,  not milling around  but quite intent on going south.  So cool, they just didn't alight to get a Pic."

Mating for these butterflies, Nymphalis californica, takes place from March to May, when they emerge from their winter hibernation once the weather warms up.

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

And warm up it has! Another toasty day with no wind here on the beautiful Mendonoma Coast.

Baby Blue Eyes, Nemophila menziesii,  are one of my favorite wildflowers. They grow on sunny bluffs. Seeta Chaganti had her friend, Mary Heibel, take her to Manchester State Park to show her the bloom.

Rozanne Rapozo is an excellent photographer and I feel privileged to be able to share her work with you. Around 3 a.m. Tuesday, March 3, a total lunar eclipse was seen from the Mendonoma coast.

A lunar eclipse occurs when a full Moon moves into the Earth's shadow and the Moon turns a deep reddish-orange or “blood red". This happens because Earth's atmosphere filters out all the blue light and refracts the longer red wavelengths into the shadow. This effectively projects all the world's sunrises and sunsets onto the Moon, giving us a blood red Moon.

What a sight!

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

Today is breezy and sunny!

Several weeks ago Diane Hichwa saw this beautiful sight from her The Sea Ranch home.

Quite an amazing sunset!

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

Rain report: Yesterday's storm was a deluge. It didn't relent for many hours. At Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay we received a total of 7.32 inches from the storm that began on Monday evening and rained continuously through Tuesday. That's a truckload of rain! Season to date is 45.33 inches. We now have warm, dry weather predicted through the rest of this week.

***Bonus sighting: this afternoon, Wednesday, I saw an Osprey on the nest we've watched for over twenty years. The male returns first and I saw him poking at the remnants of the nest. It's very exciting to see this Osprey return today!

Catherine Miller saw this beautiful sight from her home on the ridge south of Point Arena.

So beautiful! Thanks to Catherine for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

We are being inundated with rain today. It's pouring! It looks like the eye of the storm is coming right over us here on the Mendonoma coast. Since this morning around 7:30 we have received 3.58 inches and it's still raining hard as I write this at 4:25 pm. And we received 2.42 last night. I am nearing 45 inches season to date. 50 inches is a nice rain year.

Nancy Feehan found a very early Calypso orchid near Timber Cove.

And Karen Wilkinson found Shooting stars at Salt Point State Park.

Mirka Knaster found the first Douglas iris in bloom.

I love seeing the wildflowers arrive. It's like greeting old friends. Thanks to Nancy, Karen and Mirka for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It's been very cold - 35 degrees this morning - and rainy, though we did have a dry spell during much of the day. It's raining again now. Tomorrow, Friday, is predicted to be dry as is early Saturday. Then more rain comes in! 36.02 inches so far season to date.

A friend of Ron Bolander told  him about this thrasher at his property on the ridge behind Anchor Bay. These relatives of mockingbirds are not usually seen close to the coast - they are birds of chaparral. But the friend told Ron this bird had been here for months.

Ron played me a recording of this bird's song and it is quite unique. You can hear it at this link at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/California_Thrasher/sounds  Like mockingbirds, thrashers also mimic other bird calls.

I'll be looking and listening for this bird...once the storms are behind us.

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

It's a-storming today! And it's cold enough for hail. I just took a photo of a lurking storm cloud offshore - yikes!

Lisa wrote up her experience beautifully.

“On a bucolic walk along the Sea Ranch bluffs, suffused with the mid-winter bliss that comes from unexpectedly warm, sunny weather, I strode south along the bluffs, taking in the smells, sounds, and feel of the sun on my skin. A random glance left stopped me in my tracks as my eyes fell directly on a bobcat curled in the grass, also basking in the warmth, eyes at half-mast in pleasure…and probably monitoring my presence for potential threat. I stood for a minute and spoke to it in a low voice, hoping the vibration of my presence and my appreciation for sharing the day and the moment with it would convey. It never moved a hair, though we were only, at most, 20 feet apart; just gazed back at me through narrowed eyes in that distinctly feline manner that always leaves one wondering what exactly they're thinking…

“I'm always gratified by these close encounters with our wild fauna brethren. They reinforce my belief that sympathetic vibrational magnetism is at work in the world, drawing to us those who are attuned to the same energy and outlook we are. We're connected in invisible ways, in ‘mysterious’ ways that don't need to be figured out…simply acknowledged and accepted, gratefully.”

I know what Lisa means about being connected. I had an encounter with a deer in a meadow that was magical. I’ll never forget it.

Magical encounters and more, specialties of the beautiful Mendonoma Coast.  Thanks to Lisa for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

It's a total washout today, Sunday! Since this morning, nearly THREE inches of the wet stuff.