All the big wood got mobilized by a big spring tidePlastic, terrestrial plant material, and cellophane tube worm casings (probably Spiochaetopterus costarum)Cellophane tube worm casings, probably Spiochaetopterus costarumSea palm Postelsia palmaeformis***
November 23, 2015
Cellophane tube worm casings (probably Spiochaetopterus costarum) and Sitka spruce needlesBig wrackBalancing actWrecked commercial crab gearGood-sized cobble dragged ashore on drift bull kelpBull kelp drift massBull kelp holdfastMore cobble dragged ashore on bull kelp – holdfasts still attachedThe white layer is dead barnacles smothered by accumulated summer sand ***
October 17, 2015
There’s a beach hopper party under and along this bull kelp stipeAn intertidal millipede?Dropped off my gear while I got to know Alloniscus on the backshoreBeach hoppers make a living on beach beach cast algae. Their shows, little holes, outline the edges of this feather boa kelpLots of molted Emerita tests in the drift Foredune stabilized by an Ammophila monoculture***
October 3, 2015
Beach hopper; eelgrassBeach hoppers rejoice – a drift line dominated by eelgrass ZosteraDrift mass of fresh eelgrass ZosteraLot of of greedy ravens left those tracksWants a share of that elk carcassLarus tracksSea rocket CakileBackshore habitat of the the isopod, Alloniscus perconvexusAlloniscus perconvexus trackShy little Alloniscus perconvexusA sloppy, fluffy mound is a reliable show for an Alloniscus perconvexus burrow Raven tracks***
September 6, 2015
Sun-bleached by-the-wind sailorTaking the beachThis Fucus has been adriftBarnacle moltsDriftline full of barnacle and juvenile mole crab moltsCommon murreExcavating NephtysLarval stage Thinopinus pictus | “See ya” Moon jellyChondrophore Tresus capaxThis barnacle looks oversized on such a small pebbleFall is the season for beach cast algaeMegalorchestia columbianaPisaster ochraceusWish I knew this one… SurfgrassA leafy green – sea lettuceEelgrassMola molaBull kelp Nereocystis luetkeanaBig WoodSitka spruce coneCormorantSperm whaleWorld travelerWalk-in freezer panelDungeness crab carapaceRoly poly Alloniscus up in the big woodLost recreational crab gearA pioneering dunegrass, ElymusMegalorchestia californiana, exoskeletonDriftersLost DIY buoy***
August 30, 2015
Beachcast rattail sea cucumber Paracaudina chilensisClear jelly blobCommon murreMytilus californianus and Semibalanus cariosusOld bleached Velella velellaBarnacles on a crab carapaceMetacarcinus magister carapacePinching claw, Metacarcinus magisterSurfgrass, and some hitchhikersUnexpected beach castStowable wheeled bedPlastic seashellYou can’t hide from the gullsSurfgrass PhyllospadixWashed awayNorthern fulmarAureliaNereocystis pneumatocystRockfish carcass, gull tracksDiodora asperaSiliqua patula
July 4, 2015
Lot’s of baby Pacific mole crabs Emerita analoga in the drift lineFucus and eel grass ZosteraMoon Jelly AureliaAngling in vainThose gulls will pick at anythingI just don’t know…A jelly lens captures the sun and magnifies the sand grains beneathEccentric sand dollar test Dendraster excentricusSea gooseberry Pleurobrachia, a ctenophoreCallianax raceway Jelly fragmentTracksDrift Fucus and hitchhiking pelagic barnaclesA freshwater plant, huh?Pinching claw – Dungeness crab Metacarcinus magister
June 17, 2015
The wait for low tideGood use of cobblesSurvived last night’s high tideLost lensA rare appearance on the surfaceOnly time you’ll see this cutie out and about is when a gull pulls it out of the kelpCallianax showPacific razor clam Siliqua patulaCallianax trailDungeness crab Metacarcinus magister carapaceTellinSlippersnailCobblesWrack line constructionStrap kelp Lessoniopsis littoralisSea cabbage Hedophyllum sessileDrift away on the making tideBig wrackWorked good while it lasted***
May 30, 2015
To the beach!15 cm rule A clean drift line, as far as the eye can seeLook at all that beach hopper activity – guess Copenhagen really does satisfyIn the surf***
May 18, 2015
Fresh drift Egregia meziesiiMacrocystis has a float at the base of each bladeSmall pelagic barnacles on a Macrocystis bladeSea foamButterfly shell (chiton valve)Drift logVelella impression on a driftwoodWrackline puzzleCairnSargassum muticumLots of old and new Velella velella in the drift lineFucus and by-the-wind sailor in the drift lineDrift mass of Macrocystis; just a bit of Egregia meziesii in the mixMostly Macrocystis and a few bleached and fresh Velella velellaEgregia meziesii with floats***
April 20, 2015
Bleached by-the-wind sailor skeletons carpet the drift line Eccentric sand dollar Dendraster excentricusBird’s nestAnti-staticTangleFetch?Newly arrived drift log, carpeted with LepasOld Velella, new drift lineFrequent in the wrackA few old Velella velella in the mixAlmost hidden among the bleached Velella velella testsA 9.5′ high tide kissed this fire pit at 1:45 am***
April 11, 2015
By-the-wind sailor Velella velellaSargassum and by-the-wind sailorBy-the-wind sailor; Jockey Cap in the mirrordrift line dominated by by-the-wind sailorBy-the-wind sailor in the drift lineBy-the-wind sailor driftExtensive by-the-wind sailor driftBy-the-wind sailor Velella velella***
Fresh driftline – 15 cm ruleScrubbyFloatBull kelp drift massShearwaterPelagic barnacles on a drift logBait bottle?Crab buoyLonely driftwoodSpace on a California mussel is hard to come byMade in PortlandKnow your bony fish anatomy?Pacific razor clamLost knotCassin’s aukletCalifornia musselSheathCocklePolystyrene floatBull kelp bladesLineNice mixMacomaFuel cannisterMulti-use productWestern grebeSparkling jelly blobBull kelp drift mass***
January 10, 2015
Conifer needles, brown and green, in last night’s driflineMelted plastic; I thought it was a rib boneFloatA line-up of older bull kelp stipes and pneumatocysts (floats); the blades are eroded awayGiant barnacle test embedded in a bull kelp holdfastCommon murre, non-breedingCairnPlenty of sticks up in the cobblesPlastic bagBeen knocking around a whileSize 8Pacific razor clamBull Kelp drift***
theoutershores 