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Continue reading →: Pop Goes the WeaselBoth the American Mink and the Northern River Otter are “mustelids”, members of what’s commonly called the weasel family. The family is full of carnivorous creatures ranging in size from the tiny Least Weasel, weighing in at about 1 ounce, to the Sea Otter who tops out at about 99…
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Continue reading →: Healing WatersAlmost at the other end of Humboldt County, Trinidad is nearly two hours away by car from my Garberville home. It’s one of the state’s smallest incorporated towns with a slowly declining population of less than 500. Even though much of the town sits on a flat a couple hundred…
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Continue reading →: There Is a Season…Tern, tern, tern. It is the season of terns on Humboldt Bay. These species of birds are in the same family as gulls, but you can see the difference in an instant. Gulls are heavy and slow, terns are so light and agile they have an almost insect-like weightlessness as…
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Continue reading →: Kingfisher KerfuffleBelted Kingfishers are fairly common along the South Fork of the Eel, For as loud and sassy as they seem to be they are also remarkably skittish. In other words, if they see you before you see them they will disappear in a hurry, often sounding a mocking rattle as…
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Continue reading →: Bay Day, Bay Day!The heat has been intense in Garberville lately, so much so that just after a cool shower provides a bit of a reprieve, sweat glands immediately get back to work. The best remedy for such a day is a trip to Humboldt Bay where the bracing coolness and salt tingle…
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Continue reading →: Long Time No See, Old FriendsWhile there is always something fascinating going on at the river on any given day, there are those rare quiet days when I find myself furtively checking my email. However, once in awhile there are days that feel as though some sort of energetic wrinkle has rendered a gathering of…
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Continue reading →: Eagle Nest Update August 4, 2025It’s getting late in eagle season, and this may be the last report from the nest until November or December when refurbishments begin for the 2026 season. I thought I would share below some of the other residents of the Benbow Valley that I am lucky enough to observe in…
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Continue reading →: Eagle Nest Update, July 23, 2025When I arrived at the Benbow Bald Eagle nest watching spot Wednesday morning I was prepared to see nothing of the young eagle or its parents, knowing that the bird was likely flying now based on its “branching” activity seen last week, and could be anywhere. The valley was quiet…
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Continue reading →: Eagle Nest Update July 14, 2025When I arrived at the Benbow Bald Eagle nest watching spot last Monday I could hear the juvenile crying loudly and persistently. The sound made me smile as last week I heard very little crying and saw very little action in or around the nest. I am used to not…
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Continue reading →: June Swoon, Part TwoSummer starts to get serious in June. The soundscape includes louder and more abundant insects and less ardently singing birds. Algae begins to appear in the river, as do polliwogs and tiny newly hatched fish as well as a myriad of invertebrate life forms. Grasses finish turning brown and dryness…
Welcome to Free Range Photography, a photo-journal of encounters with birds and wildlife, mostly in Humboldt County, California.
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