Blue and purple

Just a quick note about a couple of recent observations:

 

There were thousands of By-the-wind Sailors (Velella velella) washed up on Salmon Creek Beach on 16 March 2018.  Most were between 10-20 mm long (those are millimeter marks on the ruler in the photo), but many were smaller than that.  With a storm coming mid-week, there might be more Velella washed ashore.

We also spotted a few Purple Sea Snails (Janthina umbilicata) on 16 March 2018:

 

Although we haven't seen many Purple Sea Snails during 2017-2018, we remain curious about what oceanographic conditions are driving these pelagic snails onshore two years after an El Niño event (with which their appearances here are more often associated).