Tag Archives: Anchor Bay Beach

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It's not unheard of to have an Elephant Seal here, but it doesn't happen too often. And when one appears, it's always on the beach, the sand. But not this big fellow. Traci Segelstrom wrote, “Here’s ‘Gus’ the Elephant Seal at Anchor Bay Campground.  He has completely stolen my heart. Who even knew Elephant Seals had eyebrows?!”

Paula Stillman also photographed him. She wrote, “This Elephant Seal picked campsite 33 to chill and relax for awhile. Apparently he’s a regular around here.”

Last week Mark Vanderwoude also found the big Elephant Seal in residence. He wrote this fun story.

“I was at the Anchor Bay Campground this morning and it appears that Mr. Elephant Seal has commandeered Spaces 32 and 33 without a reservation, and has no intention of paying. He isn't very friendly and the staff has no intention of inviting him to leave any time soon. Seeing is believing when campers with reservations are told of his disregard for their reservations, they now understand why ... he's huge!”

Mark also pointed out the many scars on this Elephant Seal’s back.

While resting on the beach, or favored campsite, Elephant Seals fast, living off their blubber. Dogs will need to be kept on leashes while this big fellow is in residence.

Thanks to Traci, Paula and Mark for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

A wait-five-minutes kind of day. Showers, sunshine, downpours, wind, roiling clouds - the Mendonoma Coast has a little bit of it all today. Nearly two inches of rain from the storms.

 

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Lisa wrote, "To my joy I realized it was a very low tide, so I spent an hour or so with pants rolled up trolling the tide pools and rocks, delighted by all the small wonders and beauties waiting for a curious eye to discover. Along with the array of the usual muted orange and purple starfish I found one that was a deep, bright reddish orange - absolutely stunning! It had been turned upside down by the outgoing tide and was stuck on its back, so I righted it where it would soon be doused by the salty sea goodness again." Lisa found a Bat Star.

She wrote further, "Much to my excitement I also spied two live Abalone, clinging to their exposed rocky perches, waiting out the ebb of the tide till they could hide once more in their watery world. The bigger one was about 11 inches in diameter with an opalescent sheen of soft greens and pinks."

"And then, something I've never seen at Anchor Bay Beach before - a Sea Cucumber! This one was about a foot long, orange and beige beauty."

"The tide-pools themselves were absolutely gorgeous pieces of abstract living art… What an amazing place we live in where even the bounty of the sea shares itself with us to continually inspire awe and wonder."

Thanks to Lisa for allowing me to share her photos with you here, and for her beautiful prose!

It's sunny and mild this afternoon after the cooling morning fog.

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Lauren Hall recently explored the intertidal zone off Anchor Bay Beach at a low tide. She found healthy Ochre Stars.

Lisa Wieneke also explored that area and she too found Ochre Sea Stars.

It's so heartening to see they have recovered from the Sea Star wasting disease. Stars are an important part of the ecosystem of the intertidal zone!

Thanks to Lauren and Lisa for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

There will be fireworks in Point Arena tonight. So, of course today is foggy. It's foggy, breezy and barely 60 degrees. Hopefully for those attending the show, the fog will pull back later today.

 

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Sea Stars, also known as Starfish, are being seen in tide pools off the Mendonoma coast. That's good news, because we were losing them to a wasting disease. Patricia Maxwell went to Anchor Bay Beach with her daughter and a friend during a recent low tide. Her daughter, Lauren Hall, took these two photos, which show Ochre Stars, one purple and one orange.

These were two BIG Sea Stars, according to Pat.

Thanks to Lauren for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

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Lloyd Chasey kayaked from Anchor Bay Beach on a calm day recently. Here's what he said, “I had been waiting for a calm day on the ocean and had a chance on Thursday. I was just off Fish Rocks with the Loons flying overhead on the migration, and the Murres nesting on Fish Rocks. It was great to be out on the water.” What Lloyd didn't mention were the two beautiful Ling Cod he caught from his kayak.

Lloyd looks pretty darn happy, don't you think?

Thanks to Lloyd for allowing me to share his photo with you here.