Glowing from within

  

We hope you've been enjoying the fall season.

 Happy Halloween!

Hunter at dusk

  

Well, that's one benefit of working late -- a chance to see Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) on the way home!  

Moon at sunrise

  

A beautiful sunrise yesterday morning (26 October 2024) with pink highlights in the clouds surrounding the moon.

Calm seas and...a flash!

  

While watching the sunset tonight (24 October 2024), it felt like good conditions for a green flash.

Sure enough!  Nice green color as the sun disappeared below the horizon.  Here's a tiny bit of it:

Watching and waiting

  

A young Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) in Bodega Bay on 21 October 2024.  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

Trio

  

I didn't have a lot of time, but as I was leaving work tonight there was nice light on the shorebirds in Bodega Harbor.  I'm always a fan of pictures that make it easy to compare species, so here's one with three species of sandpipers.  Can you find all three?

Most of them are Sanderlings (Calidris alba) -- there are a dozen of them, the palest of the three species.

On the right side of the photo, in the foreground and background, there are two Dunlin (Calidris alpina) -- they're a little bit larger, with a little bit longer bill, and much browner coloration.  

And the last one?  In the foreground the 4th bird from the left is a Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) -- the smallest of the three species, darker than Sanderlings but lighter than the Dunlin.

From the Oort cloud

  

We lingered at the coast tonight to try to see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.  After a beautiful sunset (with Venus, above), we eventually located the comet. We had great views with binoculars, and I tried to take a photo, but I'm afraid I don't have experience photographing comets!  But for the record, here's a view of the comet from Bodega Head on 18 October 2024: