theoutershores

Surfperch and nature on the sandy beaches

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  • Photo Challenge

Examining Leading Lines in Scenes from the Intertidal

  • by minustide
  • Posted on January 19, 2020
  • Wrack Line

Take a Walk on the Wrackline: A Drifted 2019

  • by minustide
  • Posted on January 1, 2020
  • Year End Recap

Beachcombing theoutershores: a 2019 Retrospective

  • by minustide
  • Posted on December 31, 2019
  • Year End Recap

Favorite Photos from theoutershores, 2019

  • by minustide
  • Posted on December 29, 2019
  • Wrackline

Driftline on Display

  • by minustide
  • Posted on December 19, 2019
  • Birds

The Trouble with Surfperch of a Certain Size

  • by minustide
  • Posted on December 6, 2019December 14, 2019
  • Photo Challenge

Bringing out the Red in Rhodophyta

  • by minustide
  • Posted on November 5, 2019

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Beach Combing

theoutershores

My thoughts and experiences on the exposed outer coast. Lots of photos and a few words about intertidal nature. I’m always thinking about sandy beach connections to its sister ecosystems, the rocky intertidal, estuaries, and coastal forests. You can see photos of things I’ve found washed ashore on my Wrack Line pages. If you are looking for new takes on common intertidal algae, plants, and animals, I’m always updating my Variety of Life pages. I love the full-page layout on all theoutershores’ pages.

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Still a little fire in there⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #PacificShells #beachcombing #wrackline #tideline⁣
An enriching convergence⁣ ⁣ Remnants of sister ecosystems, the maritime forest and the subtidal, meet in and enrich the intertidal. ⁣ ⁣ April 22, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #seaweed #algae #kelp #bullkelp #seaweed #algae #beachcombing #wrackline #tideline #fbf⁣
⁣ Stare into the gleaming eye of a purple shore crab⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: This is Hemigrapsus nudus, glaring up at me and lending a ride to a few barnacles. They look like acorn barnacles, Balanus glandula. Also riding along, periwinkles, Littorina.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: If you’re trying to guess the zone from the photo, there isn’t much to go on. The hitchhikers are more or less from the high intertidal, but not tied to it. On exposed shores, purple shore crabs are common among jumbled mid-intertidal rocks, but they can occur higher or lower.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: Purple shore crabs will let you get close if they’re settled. Approaching when they’re out and about will cause them to move away. If you push it, insisting on a closer look, they may turn combative. This one remained docile throughout our brief photoshoot.⁣ ⁣ May 20, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #tidepools #tbt⁣
Dazzling branch patterns⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: Lost in the branches, I blame my difficulty identifying this lovely but mysterious red on their mesmerizing effect. I think it’s Plocamium. If you can set me straight, please do.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zone: This is part of a tuft on a low intertidal rock.⁣ ⁣ April 22, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #tidepools #beaches #seaweed #algae #tb⁣
Lighting it up⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: I’m not certain what it is, but it lights up in morning sunlight. Uncertainty only adds to the pleasure. The stir of discovery is powerful and it extends beyond the shore. I can get close on this one. It’s is probably Ahnfeltiopsis linearis. There are alternatives, but any way you look at it, for a common name, flat-tipped forked, or flattened Ahnfelt’s seaweed will do. It’s another one of those reds that isn’t all that red.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: Beside sand and some blurry reds in the background, there’s not much to go on here. It’s low intertidal.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: This flat-tipped forked red shows up in exposed settings where where sand-scoured rocks protrude a bit above beach level; all the better if seasonal sand burial is likely.⁣ ⁣ June 4, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #tidepools #beaches #seaweed #algae #tbt⁣
Flashing back five years to that mass of drift bull kelp⁣ ⁣ Notes on names: Your choice, bull kelp or Nereocystis luetkeana. It’s the only member of its genus, so if you chose to just go with Nereocystis, people would still know what you’re talking about.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: Bull kelp is pretty much subtidal, but starting in early fall (maybe even late summer), all the way through winter, expect drifted masses to wash ashore.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: This tangle made up of lots of individuals, each with its terminal float (the floats are the inflated bulbs at the ends of the tubular stipes). How many floats can you count?⁣ ⁣ Nereocystis generally completes its growth and reproduction in a year, then dies off, as is the wont of an annual. Drifted masses enrich the beaches. ⁣ ⁣ January 10, 2015⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #oregoncoast #oregonshores #seaweed #algae #kelp #bullkelp #seaweed #algae #beachcombing #wrackline #tideline #fbf⁣
Throwing back to May’s prime Pyropia⁣ ⁣ A lush growth can completely cover favorable rocks. Here, favorable means smooth, rounded, and sand-scoured. ⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: Pyropia, a red, formerly Porphyra, is a complicated group with lots of diversity in the Pacific Northwest. If you’re seeking common names, nori or laver might work for you. In the background, notice a bright green patch. I’m guessing that’s Ulva intestinalis. It pops up at freshwater seeps in the highest rocky intertidal, or higher. With some searching, you’ll also notice patches of acorn barnacles, Balanus glandula, on the right side of the big rock featured in the foreground (they’re white). ⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: This is the exposed high intertidal. These rocks are submerged in swash at the highest tides, or when the surf is high.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: Pyropia is common on mid and high intertidal rocks. It’ll give you a lot of looks, with blades ranging from narrow and ruffled (like the one featured above) to broad. without ruffles. Color ranges from grayish-green to greenish yellow, pale yellow, purple, and dark purplish-brown. Blades tend toward translucent and are a bit rubbery to the touch. Don’t be surprised if you notice iridescence.⁣ ⁣ May 19, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #tidepool #beaches #seaweed #algae #tbt
Slow rolling train⁣ ⁣ Departure, unknown.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Currents and Drifting Stuff: Along Oregon’s outer coast, the surface current flows southward in the summer and northward in the winter, in accordance with the winds. This is a vast oversimplification, but it’s how I experience currents along my home beaches, meaning big driftwood, like the midnight special featured here, which won’t budge without winter conditions, enters the ocean somewhere to the south.⁣ ⁣ December 27, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #intertidal #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #beaches #beachcombing #wrackline #tideline #fbf⁣
The mirror, pitching in⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #intertidal #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #beaches
Filling the frame with Pisaster⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: This shot features the ochre star, Pisaster ochraceus, and the giant green anemone, Anthopleura xanthogrammica.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: Both species are found in the rocky mid intertidal and lower. Ochre stars move around quite a bit. Giant greens hold in place.⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: I have observed a few individual giant greens repeatedly over the last six years. They live much longer.⁣ ⁣ April 22, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #intertidal #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #tidepools #tbt

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Amphistichus rhodoterus anal fin barnacle barnacles beaches beach hopper Beach walk bull kelp Chondracanthus exasperatus drift line driftline Embiotocidae Emerita analoga Floats high tide Hyperprosopon argenteum Hyperprosopon ellipticum intertidal intertidal zone keystone species king tide Lens-Artists Leptocottus armatus low tide Megalorchestia californiana ocean orange Pacific mole crab Pisaster ochraceus redtail surfperch sand sole seascapes sea star sea star wasting syndrome shiner surfperch silver surfperch smooth bay shrimp Staghorn Sculpin starfish surfperch surf zone tideline tidepools tide pools tides turkish towel walleye surfperch wrack line year in review zonation

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