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Surfperch and nature on the sandy beaches

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A Rock Crab, Blending In

  • by minustide
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Dreamy Drift Macrocystis

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Melobesia, a Coralline Crust on Seagrasses

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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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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
Sunrise peeks over the foredune⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: The weathered titan in the foreground is resting in the high intertidal. Not super high, but high. Drifted wood doesn’t stay around long in the lower zones.⁣ ⁣ A Few Beach Terms: With the surf at your back, look east toward the foredune. First, your eye passes over a zone of open sand (it’s mostly obscured by the stump). Depending on the tides, the sand here gets washed by the surf twice every day, so it stays more or less free of debris. Then you’ll notice a thin line of driftwood at the back of the beach. This is higher than the surf usually gets, so driftwood accumulates. the vegetated backshore rises onto a shelf above the beach. High tides sometimes combine with big winter surf to hit the backshore with enough force to push driftwood up onto the shelf. You can’t see it here, but there is plenty of wood up there. The higher vegetated ground behind that is the foredune. Don’t count on this explanation to work on all beaches, but it’s pretty good for broad beaches backed by dunes.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: The backshore and foredune are pretty much blanketed by beachgrass, Ammophila, with a dash of sea rocket, Cakile, and dunegrass, Elymus. ⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #beachcombing #driftline #wrackline #tideline #fbf
Sea rocket, quite the pioneer⁣ ⁣ Notes on Names: Sea rocket is a mustard. There are two species on Pacific northwest shores, both introduced, as far as I know. The one shown here is Cakile edentula.⁣ ⁣ Notes on Zones: Sea rocket is at home on backshores and foredunes. This one has pioneered to the base of the backshore shelf, onto the highest part of the beach. ⁣ ⁣ Natural History Notes: This pioneering patch will become a traveler if winter’s spring tides and high surf uproot it. Note seed pods over on the right.⁣ ⁣ November 25, 2019⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #beaches #brassicaceae #SeaRocket #tbt
Beachcomb Quiz: What did this drifter once contain? (answer at the bottom)⁣ ⁣ Clues: (1) There is a bit of remnant content visible in the well, above and left of center; (2) it’s a product used around the world; and (3) note script at the bottle’s base ⁣ ⁣ I don’t know where the drift began or when it ended, but it did end, at least for the time being, up on the backshore among the big wood where empty bottles, floats, light bulbs, and flip-flops end up. I happened upon it less than two weeks ago, on November 25, wedged in a root wad cranny.⁣ ⁣ #intertidal #pnw #OregonCoast #OregonShores #BeachNaturalist #beachcombing #driftline #wrackline #tideline #fbf⁣ ⁣ And the answer is…⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ Pearl River Bridge Sesame Oil. Based in China, PRB is an exporter specializing in soy sauce and other sauces and oils.

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