Gliding into the New Year

  

I helped out with the Western Sonoma County Christmas Bird Count today (31 December 2023) and got lucky at the end of the day with a Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) sighting.  Seemed like a good way to turn the corner into 2024!

Happy New Year!

Light in waves

  

The waves were still sizable at the coast today, with swell in the 14-17 foot range.  And I didn't expect it based on the forecast, but the sun was out for most of the day, leading to some beautiful colors in the water, especially in contrast to the breaking waves and spindrift.  Enjoy!  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

 

 

Storm waves

  

Swell heights at the offshore buoy reached 28 feet this morning.  

In photos, it's often hard to tell how large the waves are, but having birds in the photo can help.  

For scale, most of the gulls in these photos have wingspans in the 4-foot range (some a little less, some a little more).  Each photo has at least one gull.  [You can click on the images for larger and sharper versions.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although there have been storms with similar wave heights in this area in the past, the two storms this year (5 January 2023 and today) have felt different, with much more intensity.  Best to use extra caution!

Wavelength?

  

Some nice waves off the outer beach of Point Reyes this morning (26 December 2023).  

At times the sun angle was just right to light up the spindrift!

 

 

The swell today was ~12 feet, but wave heights will be increasing this week from an offshore storm near the California/Oregon border.  Stay safe out there!

 

Blue Christmas?

  

Well, the waves were on the larger side today (10-12 foot west swell), but we picked a safe spot and went out for a little holiday tidepooling in the mid intertidal zone late in the day.  One of my favorite observations was this beautiful blue shrimp!  I'm not sure which species this is, but I couldn't resist sharing the photo.  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

Home for the holidays

 

Rough Limpets (Lottia scabra) resting in their home scars.  

Look closely at the three largest limpets and how they fit into the depressions in the rock.  When submerged at high tide, the limpets will crawl around to graze on algae on the rock, but they will return to their individual home scars as the tide falls.  Using a close-fitting home scar might help reduce water loss when the limpets are exposed to air during low tide.

P.S.  I showed another fun example of a limpet home scar back in 2018 — see "Headed home" on 19 May 2018.

Happy Holidays to all!

Here's the scoop!

  

Quite a few folks guessed correctly that last night's mystery close-up (above) is a worm tube.  Here's the entire tube as we found it washed up on the beach:

 

 

Meet Pectinaria californiensis!  These interesting worms are commonly called "ice cream cone worms."  Perhaps you can see why in the next photo:

 

 

 

 

Although I'm holding the tube with the wider end up, the worm lives buried in the sand with the broader end of the cone facing downward, as in the illustration below:

 

Modified from Gordon, D.C.  1966.  The effects of the deposit feeding polychaete Pectinaria gouldii on the intertidal sediments of Barnstable Harbor.   Limnology and Oceanography 11: 327-332. 

The worm's head extends outwards from the wide end of the tube.  They are deposit-feeders, so they'll use their tentacles to gather sand particles, pass them to their mouth, remove organic material, and then eject the particles from the narrow end of the tube at the surface.

Although the older illustration below shows the worm on the surface, you can see the relationship between the worm and its tube.  (For those of you who spend time along freshwater streams, this is somewhat similar to a caddisfly.)

Modified from Sowerby, J.  1806.  The British Miscellany: or, Coloured figures of new, rare, or little known animal subjects; many not before ascertained to be inhabitants of the British Isles. London.

I appreciated how the grains of sand were painted in the plate shown above.  The tube with its cemented sand grains is quite a work of art -- with the light behind it, it looks a bit like stained glass:

 

 

 That's the scoop on the ice cream cone worm!

Grainy

 

 

I'm running out of time tonight, but here's a mystery close-up for you.  We found this washed up on a Point Reyes beach this afternoon.  Can you tell what it is?

 

Winter hills

  

Morning light on the hills, 21 December 2023

Happy Solstice!

  

Close-up of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) to wish you a Happy Winter Solstice!

 Photographed in Cotati on 20 December 2023.