Napping before the tide comes in

  

There are some pretty plump and healthy looking Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) pups around right now.  Nice to see!

Purple and blue

 

 

Close-up of a Blue Coast Gilia (Gilia capitata subsp. chamissonis) flower photographed on 29 May 2023.

Purple petals and pale blue anthers make for a nice combination:

 

 

 

Bright green

 

 

Every now and then we encounter a really bright green Sunburst Anemone (Anthopleura sola).  

 

P.S.  Are you kidding me, Celtics?  Back to Boston we go!  :)

Cheery

  

Peter asked if some of the paler flowers in the last photo were Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa) with almost no yellow.  Well, the more distant view and the camera didn't really pick up the color pattern, so here's a closer view showing the petals with yellow bases and fun white tips.

Cheery little flowers, aren't they?  :)

Coastal colors

  

Spring wildflowers in northern Sonoma County, 20 May 2023.

Lean on me

 

 

California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus), 20 May 2023

 

[You can click on the image for a larger version.]

 

Trio

  

A quick shot, but it's always useful when you can compare several species in one photo.

From left to right: Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca), Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus).

Photographed in Bodega Bay on 13 May 2023.

Sailor at sea

  

By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella) during the offshore boat trip on 7 May 2023.  We encountered quite a few convergence zones with lots of Velella sailing over smooth seas.  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

Visitors from the South Pacific

  

I finally found a few minutes to look through my Murphy's Petrel (Pterodroma ultima) photos from the offshore boat trip last weekend (7 May 2023).  These aren't stellar shots, but they're the best I have from the day, and I think they're still helpful for learning about different field marks for this species.  Murphy's Petrels are generally rare on day trips from shore, but on this day we observed over 40 individuals.  It was quite a show!

Some individuals were close enough to see the combination of brown and gray feathers on the back and upper wings.  The patterning of silver highlights on the back appeared to be unique to an individual.  (Sometimes it was hard to tell whether some individuals made multiple passes by the boat, but looking at feather patterns in the photos I could distinguish different individuals.)

 

 

Although the lighting was tough for photos and I ended up with a lot of silhouettes, you could still see the pale panels under the wings, and some of the white mottling/frosting on the chin:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Murphy's Petrels are active flyers and although there wasn't much wind this day, they would still arc high above the horizon:

 

 

 
And sometimes bank at strong angles:

 

 

 

It was a good day for learning overall shape — note the relatively large head and thick bill (especially if you are comparing them to a Sooty Shearwater):

 

 

 

Murphy's Petrels are visitors from the tropical south-central Pacific.  Although in the northeast Pacific during their non-breeding season, they'll return to nest on islands in the South Pacific, e.g., Austral, Tuamotu, Pitcairn islands. 

Wish them luck on their journey!

May flowers

 

Hesperomecon linearis photographed in the Bodega Dunes on 13 May 2023.  Many thanks to Eric for the great photo!

Spanning the Northeast Pacific

  

Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) offshore on 7 May 2023.

And here's a view of the entire bird so you can appreciate its wingspan:

 

 

P.S.  You can click on the images for larger versions.

 

With or without porpoise

  

It's a busy week (!), but here are a couple of Dall's Porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) photos from the pelagic trip on 7 May 2023.  One with porpoise (above) and one without (below) — by that I mean the splash is more visible than the animal, which isn't uncommon!

 

 

'Ua'u!

  

A beautiful Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis) flyby during the offshore boat trip on 7 May 2023.  It was a little distant for my lens, but I think you'll still be able to appreciate this handsome species.

Here's a view as it banked away from the boat:

 

 

 

And one more (below), this time as the petrel approached low over the water.  You can probably tell that there wasn't much wind at the time.  Petrels are often easier to find when winds are stronger, but the calm conditions allowed us to go farther offshore (30-35 miles?) which probably increased our chances of finding petrels.

 

 

 

If you're interested, there's a little more about this endangered species in the post called "With aloha" on 25 May 2021.  And there's a helpful species account at this U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service web page.

 

Out of the water

  

Whoops, I'm running out of time tonight, but here's a dolphin photo for you — Pacific White-sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchos obliquidens) from yesterday's pelagic trip out beyond Cordell Bank.

A day at sea

  

A bit of a sneak peek — Murphy's Petrel (Pterodroma ultima) from an offshore boat trip on 7 May 2023.  More photos from the pelagic trip will be coming this week!

Following the coast

  

Gray Whales (Eschrichtius robustus) were visible near shore today (3 May 2023), swimming north along the coast.