By PETER O’DONOHUE |January 14, 2021 at 11:31 a.m. FORT BRAGG — There’s a new neighbor in Fort Bragg and she has a fascinating story to tell. Hers is a tale of high seas adventure, untimely death, scientific discovery and eventual resurrection — of a sort. It’s a story told not just through words, but also through…

From the Field: “Yesterday, I responded to a the remains of a subadult Harbor Seal located at Westport Union Landing, north of Westport, with what appears to be a hide with bite marks. Orca?”  Data reported to California Academy of Science, specimen not collected. Related data: 4 years ago (April 18)  Deceased Orca washes in…

From the Field: “You never know what might wash up on our coast.  This is not a marine mammal, but it is certainly something worth investigating”.  Level A Data collected.  Specimen sent to Marine Mammal Center.    

Fog horns, heavy surf, and sea lions barking are all part of the acoustic environment on our coast.  Composer and local jazz musician John Gilmore has combined this soundscape with original musical compositions to create a unique collection of “music” inspired by the Mendocino coast. Incorporating the field recordings where he lives, John offers his musical interpretation…

I’ve always thought of myself as an ocean guy.  I grew up on the Atlantic — to be more precise, smack on Long Island Sound, that expanse of salt water that marries the shorelines of Connecticut and Long Island — and spent my boyhood exploring the marshes, estuaries and mudflats of that usually calm body…

The Fort Bragg Orca Orca beach strandings are rare. So rare, in fact, that there are fewer than 30 skeletons on display worldwide. In April 2015, an Orca was found on the beach at MacKerricher State Park, just north of Ft. Bragg. Spanning 26-feet, the Fort Bragg Orca will be the largest Orca skeleton on…

I love fall.  I love the blustery days and the wild seas.  It was a spectacular day on Monday out at Spring Ranch, one of my favorite places to walk along the coast with my pooch. The seas were churning and I noticed a good amount of sea foam in the water, and it reminded me that I’ve…