Moon shot

  

I wish I had been able to photograph the rising Moon last night -- it looked so big!  And nice early evening light surrounded it.  But here's a quick shot of the setting Moon this morning (17 October 2024), looking west from Cotati.

A fish sampler?

  

Got lucky and noticed this River Otter (Lontra canadensis) at the north end of Bodega Harbor on my way back from the post office today (14 October 2024).  The otter was having a lot of luck, too -- I saw it catch at least three fish in a very short time!  Above, with a flatfish...

Below, with some sort of gunnel?  (Let me know if you can tell what it is!)

 

 

 

The otter spent most of its time fishing and swimming or resting at the surface:

 

 

 

 

It also came close to shore a few times, shook, and had a look around:

 

 

 

I suppose their long whiskers are helpful for locating fish under water, but sometimes I'm still surprised at their skill and success.

 

Sipping nectar in the backyard

  

Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) butterfly in our backyard in Cotati on 13 October 2024.

October morning

  

Yesterday (10 October 2024) Eric and I made a quick trip to Chatham, Massachusetts, and encountered a nice flock of Forster's Terns (Sterna forsteri).  

The terns flew to a sandbar, spent some time roosting and preening, then some individuals took off and started diving on a school of fish in shallow water.  The autumn light was nice and I don't often get to spend much quality time with Forster's Terns, so here are a few photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a relatively large flock of Forster's Terns, ~250 birds.  I didn't get a photo of the entire flock, but here's one that shows the general scene.  [You can click on any of the images for larger versions.] 

 

 

 

And another showing the view to the south:

 

We left feeling grateful for an October morning on Cape Cod.

Northern lights in New England!

  

Northern lights as seen from Walpole, Massachusetts, on 10 October 2024.  Wow!

Falling for fall

  

A few foliage shots from southern New Hampshire on 9 October 2024.

 

 

 

 

 

Fall in New England!

Nice red cap

  

Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) on the University of Vermont campus on 7 October 2024.