Out of the sea

 

Dramatic light surrounding the North Farallon Islands.  Photographed from Point Reyes on 29 November 2019.

 

Snowy in the mountains and snowy on the beach

 

Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus), Dillon Beach, 28 November 2019

 

Lingering

 

Lingering showers and swell on the morning of 27 November 2019.

 

Perched in the rain

 

Finally, some rain!  This afternoon this Burrowing Owl was perched on the soil mound outside of its burrow.  You can see that its feathers are a little wet.  We've received 0.7 inches of rain so far (as of ~9 p.m. on 26 November 2019).

 

The cave-dweller and the king

The light was getting dim, but it was fun to see this wren and kinglet up close while walking near the Russian River yesterday (25 November 2019).  Both were feeding on the ground, loosely associated with a small flock of sparrows:

 

Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus)

 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)

P.S.  "Trogolodytes" means cave-dweller and "Regulus" refers to a king.

Facing west

 

Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) near Jenner on 24 November 2019.

Monet with merganser?

 

We took a short walk in the Quarryhill Botanical Garden in Glen Ellen this afternoon (23 November 2019).  There was nice fall light, and a view of a Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) in the lower pond.  The effect of the lighting and reflections reminded me of a Monet!