Fort Bragg

After four days hiking along the Lost Coast Trail we headed south to a studio I reserved in Fort Bragg, Mendocino County. One of the odd results of my tumble and camera mishap was that the fully charged battery in my camera completely drained after using it for only about 20 minutes each day. Normally, I can spend four or five days doing near constant photography before I have to replace the battery, but I chalked it up to water in the machine and moved along. Luckily, I had a second, fully charged battery waiting in the car at the end of the hike.

We arrived in Fort Bragg and spent several hours exploring MacKerricher State Park. This small park has amazing tidepools, long stretches of sandy beach, and beautiful coastal bluffs. The tide was quickly coming in, but I was able to get a few shots of seaweeds in the upper intertidal (thanks for the ID help @hfb and @gbentall !) and spent about twenty minutes strolling along on the bluffs. While most of the coastal wildflowers had already flowered, there were still scattered Sea Thrifts (Armeria maritima) and Seaside Daisies (Erigeron glaucus) in bloom. I also saw that my battery was already half drained. By that evening it empty and any more photography would have to wait until I got home and could recharge them. Still, I was able to add several new species to my Mendocino County list as well four "lifers" (Largemouth Bass and three seaweeds) to my overall list.

And for those interested in this sort of thing....As of June 23, 2018, I have:

Inaturalist documented at least one species in 43/58 California Counties
Have 100 or more photodocumented species in 7/58 counties
Past 250 photodocumented species in two counties (Monterey and San Benito)
Mendocino County now has 56 species

And since the beginning of the year I have added 112 new species to my photodocumented life list of 1744 species!

Sometimes it's just fun to share! :-)

Posted on July 15, 2018 11:28 PM by rjadams55 rjadams55

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Rockweed (Fucus distichus)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

June 23, 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Little Rockweed (Pelvetiopsis limitata)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

June 23, 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Turkish Washcloth (Mastocarpus papillatus)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

June 23, 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Rough Limpet (Lottia scabra)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

June 23, 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Western Sea Slater (Ligia occidentalis)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

June 23, 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

California Ground Squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

June 23, 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

June 23, 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Description

I spoke with the one of the rangers at McKerricher State Park and he said that Lake Cleone is occasionally stocked but he didn't know with which species. There were four of these fish, each of which was between 10" and 12" inches long, seen along the west end of the lake.

@dominic , do you recognize this one? Thanks!

Photos / Sounds

Observer

rjadams55

Date

June 23, 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Description

@hfb , @gbentall would you mind double checking this ID? Thank you!

Photos / Sounds

What

Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

June 23, 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)

Observer

rjadams55

Date

June 23, 2018 12:22 PM PDT

Comments

Wooo hoooo!!! Keep it up, RJ! :)

Posted by sambiology over 5 years ago

Add a Comment

Sign In or Sign Up to add comments