The following is an article written by Jeanne Jackson for her blog Mendonoma Sightings where she documents the wildlife, the land, and the waters of our coast.
I have two x-rated sightings for you. After all, it is Spring and love is in the air. Chris Pechal wrote, “Birds do it, bees do it, and apparently if you are lucky, you might see butterflies doing it. I ran across these Margined White Butterflies mating.” Chris found these butterflies at The Sea Ranch, perched on a Forget-Me-Not blossom.
Sara Bogard photographed a pair of Black Oystercatchers mating on the bluffs of the Point Arena Lighthouse Peninsula.
While not actual mating, I did see a mating dance. Just after dawn on Tuesday, I saw a male Anna’s Hummingbird rise high in the sky, then plummet down, pulling up before he crash-landed, then hovering in front of a tree, giving out a chirp that I’ve learned comes from his tail feathers. He was performing his mating dance to a female perched in the tree. As I watched, he performed his dance several more times. I hope she was as impressed as I was.
Thanks to Chris and Sara for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy beautiful day on the Mendonoma Coast. More rain coming in tomorrow afternoon, Monday, according to the predictors!
How Can You Support the Efforts of Mendonoma Sightings?
- Buy Jeanne Jackson’s book Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year here. The 270-page, full-color documentation of our coast’s beauty would make for a great gift or coffee table conversation piece.
- Jeanne Jackson has also written two children’s books: Sunny Loves Spring on the California Coast and Sunny Loves Summer on the California Coast. These playful children’s books were written to instill within children a love of nature. Jackson will be publishing the other two seasons this year. Those books can be purchased at http://sunnylovesnature.com/
- Check out Craig Tooley’s incredible photography of our coastline here. Buy some prints of his photos, get them framed, and bring the Mendonoma coast home.
- “Follow” and “Like” the Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year Facebook page for direct access to Jackson’s dispatches of life on Mendonoma.
- If you have your own Mendonoma Sighting, contact Jeanne Jackson at mendonomasightings@gmail.com to submit your narrative and photograph so she can document the experience.
