On the move

  

A beautiful White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) was found near Gaffney Point in Bodega Harbor yesterday.  I took a short break from work and felt lucky to snap a few quick photos.  The wagtail was feeding along the shoreline, actively chasing after insects.

White Wagtails are accidental vagrants here.  It sounds like this is only the second record for Sonoma County, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that.  

To learn more about White Wagtail records in California, you can check out the Rare Birds of California species account here. 

Color in the clouds

  

The rainbows continued today (22 April 2026).  Here's one that appeared high in the clouds over Sonoma Mountain at the end of the day.

Earth Day

  

Passing showers during the early morning of 21 April 2026 brought views of several rainbows.  Here's a quick shot to help celebrate Earth Day.

Remember to go outside today and send out thanks to the Earth.  As David Byrne says, "She's the only one we have."

Shiny and new

  

The beautiful wings of a California Darner (Rionaeschna californica).  Note how shiny and new they look.  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]  I could see this darner's wings glittering in the sun as it flew across a grassland.  When it landed nearby, I leaned in for a closer view.  Because the wings are so fresh, it's likely this individual metamorphosed recently.  Once a dragonfly has been flying for a while, the wings lose their shine and can show nicks and other impacts.

Colorful fans

  

Wow!  Eric took some striking photos of featherduster worms last weekend.  This is Serpula columbiana, a marine worm that lives in a white calcareous tube and uses its broad fan to filter food from the surrounding water.

The round, trumpet-like structure is an opercular plug.  When the fan is withdrawn into the tube, the plug seals the opening to protect the worm within.

I'm a big fan of these beautiful tubeworms, and Serpula columbiana comes in lots of different color forms, so here are two more examples:

 

 

 

 

 

Photographed in a large, fairly deep tidepool in the intertidal zone in Oregon.  Nicely done, Eric!

Sunset rainbow

  

After off and on rain showers for most of the day (12 April 2026), Eric spotted a brilliant rainbow to the southeast of Cotati at sunset. 

A dip in the creek?

  

We spent some time watching an American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) in a creek along the Oregon Coast today (5 April 2026).  I had trouble deciding which photos to share, so here are a few different views.  Enjoy!