Storm strandings -- Part 2

Okay, last night I mentioned there were quite a few different types of gelatinous zooplankton washed up on the beach.  Although these "gelatinous bits" can all seem similar at first, the closer you look, the easier it is to tell the different species apart.  It's often helpful to compare side-by-side photos, so here's a parade of plankton for the record:

 

 

Pyrosome (Pyrosoma atlanticum) — see "Fire bodies" from 8 December 2014

 

 

 

 

A salp, possibly Iasis zonaria — see "Wide mouth and ribbon-like muscles" from 29 March 2013

 

 

The swimming bell of a siphonophore, Chelophyes appendiculata — see "Swimming bells" from 3 April 2013

 

 

Part of a heteropod, Carinaria japonica — see "Carinaria -- Part 2" from 7 December 2014

 

 

 

The pseudoconch (false shell) of the pteropod Corolla spectabilis — see "Gelatinous thimble" from 11 August 2012

 

 

Hard to tell at first, but this is a different pteropod, Cliopsis krohni — see "Angel on the sand" from 13 March 2013

This last species can be tricky to identify.  It really does just look like a round blob on the sand.  But note the darker line running through the middle (that's the digestive tract) -- it's a hint that this is more than just a piece of a jellyfish.  These pteropods are delicate (used to being submerged in offshore waters), so they get beat up when they are tumbled in the surf zone and deposited on the sand.  But if you put them in a little bit of water, sometimes their heads (with tentacles) are revealed, as are their "wings" — the foot of a mollusc modified into swimming appendages.  Here's a short video clip so you can see the wings in action.  [If you can't see the video player in the e-mail, click here to see the video.]

Storm strandings

  

Just a quick photo of several pyrosomes washed up on Salmon Creek Beach tonight (28 October 2021).  

 

It's been a while since we've seen pyrosomes locally, but the storm must have pushed some closer to shore as there were hundreds (or even thousands) of pyrosomes on the beach tonight.  Most were relatively small — ranging from ~1-3 cm long.

 

There was an impressive diversity of offshore gelatinous zooplankton washed up tonight — including the pyrosomes, two types of pteropod, one species of heteropod, two kinds of salps, and one siphonophore.  I'll try to show examples of them during the next day or two.

 

To review an introduction to pyrosomes, check out the post called "Fire bodies" from 8 December 2014.

Storm-driven

  

The buoy offshore of Point Reyes reported wave heights between 20-30 feet for most of the last 24 hours.  These photos were taken from Bodega Head this morning (25 October 2021).

As always, it's hard to judge the wave heights in photos without anything for scale.  Below, the Brown Pelicans help provide some perspective.  [Brown Pelicans have a wingspan of ~6.5 feet.]

 

 

 

Sometimes it's nice to see the backs of the waves as they roll by:

 

 

 

Molten wool?

  

There have been some interesting foam patterns in the churned up ocean recently.  These made me think of molten lava and wool at the same time.  Strange!  The parallel contours also brought topographic lines to mind.  (You can click on the images for larger versions.)

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. Looks like ~4 inches of rain in Bodega Bay so far (during the last 24 hours).

Storm swell

  

Pretty serious west swell today (22 October 2021) — the Point Reyes offshore buoy was reporting wave heights between 12-15 feet.

 

 

 

If you're at the coast this weekend, it's a good time to be aware of waves running far up the beach.  Be safe!

Doran angler

  

I almost saved this one for Halloween, but it's a very cool sighting, so I'm excited to share it tonight!  Scott found this fish washed ashore at Doran Beach today (21 October 2021).  Anglerfish live in deep water, so it's rare to see them on the beach.

I'm not an expert in identifying anglerfish, but this appears to be a Pacific Footballfish (Himantolophus sagamius).  

From the side you can see how rounded the body is, how large the mouth is, and how intense the teeth are!   

But the coolest feature is more visible from the front — check out the lure!  Out of water the lure is hanging down in front of the mouth, but look for the long modified spine that ends in a rounded bulb.  In the water, the spine is held upright in the water and the bulb is bioluminescent, attracting prey towards the mouth of the fish in the dark depths of the ocean.

 

 

There's a little more information about Pacific Footballfish on the Cal Academy website.  There's also a very nice photo with the lure in an upright position at the Natural History Museum of LA County.

Many thanks to Scott for sharing this record and the great photos!

Showers and light

 

 

Nice to hear some rain in the early evening tonight (17 October 2021).  Eric looked out at ~6 p.m. and noticed this amazing double rainbow to the east. 

 

Here's a corner view at the north end:

 

 

 

 

And another view from the south end:

 

 

Sounds like more rain is on the way this week, for which I'm feeling very thankful.

 

October at the beach

  

While working on a project in the Bodega Dunes yesterday (15 October 2021), I heard some plovers calling and then out of the corner of my eye I noticed a plover that looked like a good candidate for a golden-plover.  So I took a closer look and had distant but nice views of a Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) — luckily I had a large lens on my camera at the time.

 

 

 View of the golden coloration on the back and the long legs:

 

 

 
And a broader view, with lots of Bull Kelp and mole crab molts washed ashore:

 

 

 

A nice fall scene! 

Tropical view

  

A beautiful Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) on the wires along Westshore Road near Spud Point Marina this morning (15 October 2021).

Here's a close-up:

 

And one more, this time in flight.  The kingbird had just caught an insect and was coming in to land.  Unfortunately, there was a different wire in front of its tail, but it's still an opportunity to appreciate the view from below:

 

 

 

As their name suggests, Tropical Kingbirds are more common in Mexico, Central America, and South America.  They are rare but regular fall vagrants to Sonoma County.

P.S.  Although the pictures aren't as good, I wrote more about this species back in 2012 — see the post called "Tropical" on 3 October 2012.

October sun

It was warm in the sun this afternoon and I turned the corner to see a flash of blue:

Can you tell what it is?

The entire animal is below:

 

 

A nice look at a Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) basking at the edge of a crevice between two blocks.

 

Here's a close-up:

 

Sleeping beauty

  

This Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) walked around in our backyard for a little while tonight (12 October 2021) and then climbed up the side of a wooden bench leg and closed its wings.  We're wondering if it's going to sleep here?  I'll check on it later and then again in the morning.

Backlit

 

 

Okay, okay...I'll admit it, I've been distracted by some sporting events lately,  but here's another view of the falcon photographed on 9 October 2021.

 

P.S.  Way to go, Red Sox!  :)

 

In a dive

  

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) in a dive, 9 October 2021

Colors in the clouds

  

Sunset colors in the clouds, photographed from Cotati on 6 October 2021.

Up in the east

 

 

I was up early this morning and appreciated this view of the crescent moon to the east.  Photographed from Cotati on 3 October 2021.

 

Lunch guest

  

This little jumping spider joined us outside for lunch today (2 October 2021).  The last time I saw this species, I thought it might be Habronattus tarsalis.  The bright orange legs are quite something!