Foam flurries

  

Recent weather forecasts have included a lot of different things  — scattered showers, gusty winds, elevated seas, flood advisories, thunderstorms, water spouts — but I don't think anyone mentioned foam flurries!  Strong winds and large waves conspired to launch pieces of foam skyward today (19 February 2024).

Here are a few wave photos, too.  Swell heights reached almost 20 feet:

 

Weathering the storm

  

A short story about a hummingbird and her nest.  Before the storm on 4 February 2024, I had photographed this Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) on a nest.  During the storm, I wondered how she was faring and if the nest would survive the storm.  I hadn't had a chance to go back until this past weekend, but here she is on 10 February 2024:

 

 

The nest made it just fine, and it looks like she might be incubating now.  [Anna's Hummingbirds generally lay two eggs, each ~12 mm (~0.5") long.]

Somewhat surprisingly, while I was walking towards this area I was listening for hummingbirds in case she had moved to a different location when I heard a hummingbird calling and followed it to a different nest location.  Then I checked the original site and found that nest intact, too.  So here's a second Anna's at a nest:

 

 

I love how the greens of the hummingbird feathers match the greens of the moss in the nest.

Barking up the right tree?

  

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) in Cotati on 10 February 2024.

Setting crescent

  

 It was little too dark, but I decided to try anyway...and the photo turned out somewhat interesting.  I like how it looks like a painting!  Crescent moon before it disappears behind low clouds over the ocean on 10 February 2024.

Resting in the harbor

  

What do you think — Is this a Kelp Pipefish (Syngnathus californiensis)?  

Photographed in Bodega Harbor on 3 February 2024.

Bronze sculpture?

  

A very large egg case, probably from a Big Skate (Raja binoculata), washed up on the beach on 5 February 2024.

Such an interesting design with those long curved ridges. Here are a couple more views:

  

 

 

 

 

And if you'd like to learn more, I wrote a longer post about a Big Skate egg case back in 2012 — see "Just in case" on 7 March 2012.

A paler cousin

  

Thanks to Colin for getting the word out that a Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii) was visible from the Lucas Wharf area in Bodega Harbor this morning.  I was nearby so went over for a quick look, and Scott was there to point me in the right direction.  This is a rare species here, with fewer than a handful of records for Sonoma County.

Here are a few other images for the record.  Note the large, pale bill.  In the last photo, you can compare the Yellow-billed Loon with several Common Loons.  It's a little bit larger and has more of a brownish tone overall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photographed in Bodega Harbor on 3 February 2024.