During the last few days, there have been large schools of bait fish near shore. The last time this happened, it turned out to be Night Smelt (Spirinchus starksi), e.g., see these posts from August 2018 — "Getting into a good school?" and "Fish, fish, fish!". I haven't been able to identify the fish yet this time, but I started reviewing my photos from 1 August 2020 and there were some fun ones:
In order of appearance: Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) and Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) with fish...then Heermann's Gulls (Larus heermanni) chasing a tern (trying to make the tern drop the fish) and finally a Heermann's Gull trying to pull a fish out of a pelican's pouch. More photos to come!
4 comments:
Love thphoto of the Heerman’s gull trying to pull the fish
away! Great capture.
Do you know what has caused the brownish-red tide in Bodega Bay? It seems to have caused jelly fish die-off. We also see a lot of dead bull kelp. Connections?
Yes, the recent algal blooms have primarily been caused by a dinoflagellate called Akashiwo (that's the genus). It has been known to cause bird deaths (loss of water repellency in feathers) and fish kills (clogging gills). I haven't heard of it affecting jellyfish or kelp. We typically see jellyfish and kelp washing ashore at this time of year, and that occurs in late summer even without dinoflagellate blooms. (Bull Kelp is an annual, so you'll see both blades and entire plants washing up on beaches at the end of the growing season.) So, no, the current bloom is probably not directly connected to the jellyfish and kelp you're seeing, but it could cause other problems. (Some people are irritated by it, too, so it might be good to avoid spending lots of time in the water if it is discolored.)
Jackie
Thanks for the information! I learn so much from your blog, and just love the beauty and detail you include about flora, fauna, sea and sky. Thank you!
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