Moon jellyAn acquaintance of mineCockle fragmentTiny tidepool in a deceased DungenessSea nettleSea foamFat gaper, Tresus capaxTrying to decide if this looks like something (one in the mid ground, center left, looks like a dinosaur)BalanceAn eroding backshoreDrifted timber up on the backshore
December 26, 2019
Sea nettleInterplay of clouds, the setting sun, and the mirrorShorebird tracks around a jelly fragmentDriftwood at sunset
Late season discoveries by friends and friends of friends
December 15, rat-tailed sea cucumber, Paracaudina chilensis, Cape Disappointment, WA | Photo Credit: David LealDecember 8, blue shark, Samoa Beach, California | Photo credit: Kristi ErlichNovember 4, Double-crested cormorant with barred surfperch, Cayucos, California | Photo credit: Carol Comeau
November 25, 2019
Rainbow and Neahkahnie from the swash zoneCompanionsA driftline mysterySunrise over the foreduneMy pack and other gear, showing off againMussel stillSurfgrassMidnight SpecialCarcass, Pacific mole crabFrilled dogwinkle egg cases, Nucella lamellosa, probablyThis one got awayA kiss between friendsMoon jellyDrifted DungenessNot sure what makes these burrows, besides shipwormsNew to the driftlineCommon in the driftlinePearl River BridgeWood accumulates on the backshore shelf | Foredune on the right
PromisingBeach hopper workings on drifted seaweedBeach hoppers, Megalorchestia californianaMolt- Pacific rock crab, Romaleon antennariumTrucking across the bottom of a shallow, sand-filled poolGulls gotta investigate a kelp crab carapace (Pugettia producta)Drifted shell- Pacific littleneck, Leukoma staminea
End of the TrailI have a sentimental attachment to my pack Purple shore crab, Hemigrapsus nudus, pinching clawUnderside of a female Dungeness crabSneaking a quick shoreward glance
July 4, 2019
Wrackline windowLast night’s high water lineHow long will it stay upright?I have questionsWithstood last night’s high tideNereid- fell right out of the mussel bed onto the sand belowSoranthera ulvoidea, an epiphyte on reds like black pine, NeorhodomelaDrifting Fucus accumulates pelagic hitchhikersFucus, a good example of dichotomous branchingTillamook Head reflected in a low tidepoolLost and drifted lead lineA lovely drifted tellinPeriwinkles, Littorina, on the move
June 5, 2019
Root wad wedged in high intertidal rocks XL flipflopA curious wrack line findEvery lost float has a storyRemnantsLost bait box
Bull kelp stipes and holdfasts Eccentric sand dollar remainsSurfgrass, PhyllospadixFucus with hitchhikersSwashing away the tracks- but who’s tracks?Drift SargassumDreamy MacrocystisEelgrass, ZosteraTellinA sign of clamming tidesSargassumSo much plastic in the driftline
Drift bull kelpThere’s a little fire on the insideTwin-tailed Siren HotstopperA drifted Pyropia fragmentSitka spruce branchletOld drifted velellaPacific razor
April 22, 2019
Lot of plastic and terrestrial material in the driftDrifted rock scallop shellDrift line stillBleached Velella test Thatched barnacles on a drifted musselDrift bull kelpDrift surf grassSpruce forest and subtidal meet in the intertidalSock meet bull kelpStipeColor in a tidepoolRace ends in a low intertidal boulder fieldPink scallopEccentric sand dollar, shell fragment Live eccentric sand dollar, disturbedNucella raceways in the cobbles
March 19, 2019
Waiting on low tideNucella eggs on a drifted mussel shellWhitecap limpet, Acmaea mitra (probably)Sunset in the swash | Tillie on the horizon
March 18, 2019
Sunset from the swash
February 22, 2019
Lost recreational surf fishing lineJust a little strip of sand at low tide, otherwise it’s strictly cobbles
February 21, 2019
Moon jelly fragmentThe gulls are going to feastBull kelp holdfastDrift bull kelpWeathered California musselGaper clam chondrophoreCrate fragmentLost line and the wad (component of a shotgun shell)Holdfast, stipe, and pneumatocyst- can you find them?Lost buoy perched high in the cobblesLost and drifted crab trapShark tooth | a rarityThe wad, one of the more common items in the winter drift line
February 18, 2019
What awaits in the driftline?Overturned drift cockleMoon jellyDriftline dominated by terrestrial materialAlways a lot of nylon line in the driftlineHello from the swash zoneDriftline still lifeEccentric sand dollarCockleWhat forces flipped this root crown?This net’s not fishingLots of stumpsl in the winter driftStumps sometimes carry boulder-sized rocks in their rood crowns- which they eventually releaseDon’t see much broken glassGaperThis’ll sit a while, not longBig wood at the base of the backshore shelf | vegetated foredune beyond Pacific razorOn any sandy beach, what are its source of rocks?Greetings from the foreduneSo many toothbrushesOn the backshore, hanging aroundMy view through the drifted timberWhy is decay so captivating?
February 17, 2019
A light dusting on the foreduneThis limpet’s a mystery to meGaper fragmentPacific razorCockle fragmentKeyholeCalifornia musselAn inside look at the gaperEccentric sand dollarAn inside look at the Pacific razorA little color on a dreary beachFloat | what’s its story?Dropper in the driftBull kelp in decayUbiquitous melted blue plasticI present to you, the wadTo disagree would be an exercise in futility | If you doubt it, ask the foredune
January 21, 2019
Winter surf deposits logs and erodes the backshoreDriftline dominated by wood and bark chips, a little plastic, and footprintsPlastic lighters are super common in the winter drftlineAll kinds of human-made material makes its way into the winter driftline How many ecosystems are represented here?The wad, a shotgun shell componentHistory lies at the foot of the backshore shelfLost beanieCockle, probably Clinocardium nuttalliiFish eggs among other drifted materialMermaid’s purse | big skate egg caseTennis ball, missing its fuzzCassin’s auklet, probablyAlways a lot of flip flops in the winter wrackMade, bottled, and sealed by Gallo in California | 4/5 QuartStudy in bleached bones | western grebe, perhaps?
January 1, 2019
Subtidal meets forest in the intertidal driftDrift line dominated by terrestrial material and subtidal worm casingsConifer branch tip with a ribbon of drift eelgrassLost Kwikfish | A salmon lure, lost upriverShorebird tracks at the base of the foreduneCouldn’t be farther from the real thingBow lineSpin-N-Glo drift bobberIt wouldn’t be winter without drift bull kelpWinter’s waves cast ashore countless unidentifiable jelly blobsCockle fragmentFreshly deposited wood at the base of the backshore shelfWhat’s this old buoy’s story?Gaper fragment, featuring the chondrophoreCockle cupBull kelp, graceful, even in the driftPacific razor clam, Siliqua patellaDungeness carapaceMoon jellyThe golden hourBeach tutorial: swash zone and the mirror, wet sand, dry sand and the zone of new big wood, an eroding backshore shelf, and finally, the foredune From the foredune
theoutershores 