Allen Vinson trained his camera at tide pools during a recent low tide. He found an Ochre Sea Star.
And he saw Sea Urchins, the more commonly seen purple ones, and a rarer red one. There is also a Sea Anemone here too.
The Independent Coast Observer publishes the tide tables in its weekly newspaper. Check the tide tables and plan your adventure to coincide with a minus tide or very low tide.
Thanks to Allen for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
Mark Simkins and Kitty Wolfe were at The Sea Ranch when they saw this at low tide - thousand of mussels.
Other creatures to look for are Sea Urchins. Craig Tooley took this photo.
And Sea Stars, this one photographed by Noel Olson. It is an Ochre Sea Star.
Thanks to Mark, Craig, and Noel for allowing me to share their photos with you here. Tide pooling is a Coast tradition.
To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: www.ruffimage.com.
Will Ericson was exploring the tide pools at the Stornetta Public Lands at low tide. He ducked into a cave and discovered this Sunflower Seastar, Pycnopodia helianthoides.
This Sea Star is the largest sea star in the world, growing to more than three feet across. Will said this one was more than a foot across. They eat clams and snails but prefer sea urchins. A lovely "meadow" of sea urchins was nearby. They usually have between 16 and 24 limbs. It *looks* like this one has 21.
I thank Will for allowing me to share his unusual sighting with you here.
To see more photos of the Stornetta Lands at low tide, here's a link to a previous post: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/02/18/low-tide-at-the-stornetta-public-lands-in-point-arena-breathtaking/
On Sept. 3rd, Rozann Grunig found a shocking sight at Shell Beach on The Sea Ranch. The beach was littered with dead Sea Urchins. She also saw a Chiton, a type of sea mollusk, just barely alive. The Chiton was put back into the Pacific Ocean in the hopes it might survive.
Abalones have been found upside down off the Sonoma Coast - there has been much coverage of this event. A Red Tide plus a quiet ocean caused a loss of oxygen in these critters habitat. It is believed by local ocean watchers that this is a natural occurrence. It has happened before and will happen again. Tests are being done to see if something else is happening here. Divers and fishermen tell me while they have seen some dead abalones, there are thousands upon thousands out there and doing fine. The Mendocino Coast looks like it avoided this phenomenon.
I thank Rozann for allowing me to share her photos here.
To see Craig Tooley's photo of the Red Tide, you can see it on this link here on Mendonoma Sightings: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/08/09/red-tide-seen-off-of-the-sea-ranch/
Bull Kelp, Nereocystis leutkeana, grows as forests in the Pacific Ocean off the Mendocino and Sonoma Coast. Right now the waters close to shore are showing healthy forests. Bull Kelp is an annual and its growth rate is phenomenal. Winter storms will rip the holdfasts from the ocean floor and waves will fling many onto beaches. Once Rick and I went to Bowling Ball Beach after a big storm. There in the mounds of kelp were many beautiful abalone shells - a gift from Mother Nature!
Kelp needs nutrient rich waters to grow. The upwelling that occurs here is necessary for the Kelp's growth. Many creatures depend on this plant. Small fish hide in the kelp from bigger ones. Seabirds have been seen to rest on the surface mats. It's believed CA Sea Lions and Harbor Seals feed on it. And it's known that Sea Urchins feed on it.
Tomorrow I will show you a cute photo of Harbor Seals draped in kelp and you will read about what is it like to dive amongst kelp.