The Natural History of Bodega Head

    Close-up of the large eye spots on the forewing of a Common Wood-Nymph butterfly ( Cercyonis pegala ).  Here's the entire butterfly,...

    If you've been at the coast recently, you might have encountered these dragonflies zipping around, sometimes in large numbers.  Wand...

    Gray Hairstreak ( Strymon melinus ), laying eggs among mint flowers in our garden, 2 August 2026.  

    Walking over to the farmers market this morning, I caught a glimpse of a dragonfly exploring the sun-exposed branches of a willow tree. ...

    The beautiful wings of a California Darner ( Rionaeschna californica ).  Note how shiny and new they look.  [You can click on the image ...

    We spent some time watching an American Dipper ( Cinclus mexicanus )  in a creek along the Oregon Coast today (5 April 2026).  I had tro...

More warm air temperatures = more butterfly sightings.  Today (8 March 2026) I was in Cotati and came across a few Mourning Cloaks ( Nymphal...

      Air temperatures reached at least the high 60s in Bodega Bay today (7 March 2026).  I started seeing butterflies zipping by in the mor...

    Air temperatures reached a balmy 65-70 ° F in Cotati yesterday (1 February 2026).  I took a quick look for butterflies in the afternoon....

    I helped out with the Western Sonoma County Christmas Bird Count today (28 December 2025).  It was a very calm and warm day at the coast...

    Air temperatures reached the mid-high 50's today, but the afternoon sun was warm enough to activate this dragonfly.  It zipped into ...

    Nice to see a Black Saddlebags ( Tramea lacerata ) over our backyard this afternoon (8 June 2025).  

      Satyr Anglewing ( Polygonia satyrus )       Close-up of a California Darner ( Rhionaeschna californica )   Both photos from Cotati on ...

    Wow!  When Claire started to ask me if I could help with a moth i.d. today (1 May 2025), I had no idea she would be taking me to see thi...

    It warmed up quite a bit in Cotati today  — at one point our outdoor thermometer was reading ~80 ° F (~26 ° C).  Butterflies were defin...