Curiosity

  

Eye of an octopus 

Are you interested in the diversity of local marine invertebrates?  

If so, Eric is going to be giving a talk in the Science Uncorked series on Wednesday, October 1.

Come hear about "Spineless wonders: Exploring the tidepool animals of Bodega Bay" at Gourmet Au Bay in Bodega Bay at 6 p.m.

More info is available here.

The White Wolf

  

Another beautiful denizen of the dunes on Cape Cod...a Shoreline Wolf Spider (Arctosa littoralis).  

Such amazing camouflage!

This individual seemed very pale, so we started calling it the "White Wolf."  

Here's a closer, head-on view:

 

 

P.S.  Thanks to Eric for his patience and these great photos!  

Starting the journey

  

Sharing another terrapin photo and a short video clip (below).

In the photo above you can see this hatchling's egg tooth.  If you look closely at the very tip of the snout, you can see a pale sharp point.  The egg tooth helps the hatchling break out of the shell.  Later the egg tooth will fall off.

We also have a short video clip of the turtle as it starts on its journey from the nesting area to the salt marsh.  You'll see the turtle blinking, breathing, looking around, and pushing through the sand.  [If you can't see a video player in the e-mail message, click on the title of the post to go to the NHBH website.]

Good luck, little one!

P.S.  With thanks to Eric for editing the video clip! 

Along the edge of the pond

  

I can't take any credit for this post.  Melissa spotted these wonderful hatchling Eastern Musk Turtles (Sternotherus odoratus) and Eric took some great photos.  I just get to share them with you!

Above, a hatchling swimming over the sandy bottom of a coastal plain pond on Cape Cod.

Next, a closer view under water:

 

 

 

And a close-up where you can observe some important features.  I hadn't seen a musk turtle hatchling before, so I didn't know their facial stripes were more prominent than in adults.  Also note the short pointed snout, the webbed feet, and the yellowish spots along the edges of the marginal scutes.  

 

 

 

Eastern Musk Turtles are small turtles.  The hatchlings we observed today had shell lengths of only about 2.5 cm (1 inch). 

 

It's been years since I've seen this species.  Thanks again to Melissa (and Squashy and Smokey) for sharp eyes and local knowledge and to Eric for the camera skills! 

 

P.S.  For more info about musk turtles, click here.

  

Terrapin station

  

Had some luck on a late afternoon walk on Cape Cod today (22 September 2025).  We crossed paths with a couple of beautiful Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) hatchlings.

I'm running out of time tonight, but I couldn't resist sharing a couple of photos.  These are small turtles, with shell lengths of only ~3 cm long.

 

 

Curious?  You can learn more about these salt marsh turtles here.

 

September star

  

Nice view of a Forbes' Sea Star (Asterias forbesi) in a shallow tidepool in Scituate, Massachusetts, on 20 September 2025.

Eric was able to zoom in for an amazing closeup, too:

 

 

Visible above are short white calcareous spines, the orange madreporite (sometimes called a sieve plate, which is an opening to the water vascular system), and the transparent papulae (finger-like projections involved in gas exchange).  

Thanks for the great photos, Eric!
 

Successs

  

Leaving work tonight (17 September 2025), we noticed a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) perched on top of a telephone pole.  I turned around and pulled off the road nearby.

We watched for a few minutes and then the owl crouched and took off, gliding down towards the ground:

 

 

 

It landed among the grass, but at first I couldn't tell if it had caught anything:

 

 

  

But then the owl looked up and I could see something in its bill.  This happened quickly, and looking through the camera I couldn't tell what it was, but zooming in later, the prey was visible:

 

 

 

A garter snake!  

It didn't take long for the owl to swallow the snake.  

The next views showed off those large yellow eyes:

 

 

 

 

 

And then the owl flew up to a nearby cypress tree.  The light was just right for a great view of its talons:

 

 

An unexpected encounter!  You never know what you'll see on the way home from work.

Exclamation

  

Designed by sand, water, and air (!)

Layers

   

Close-up of a Red Abalone (Haliotus rufescens) shell, 9 September 2025

ADDENDUM (12 September 2025): There were a couple of requests to show more of the abalone shell.  In this case, the original photo was just a section of the rim of a shell, but here's the photo without any cropping:

 

  

P.S.  Note that I've found that the lighting matters a lot when photographing abalone iridescence.  Overcast days bring out the colors the most. 

At it again

  

There were lots of Humpback Whales visible off Bodega Head tonight (7 September 2025) — mostly spouts, fins, and flukes, but a few breaches, too. 

Marine invertebrate diversity

  

Hi, everyone!  Sorry for the short notice, but if you're interested in learning more about local marine invertebrates, Eric will be giving an online talk for Bay Nature magazine on Wednesday, September 3, from 12-1 p.m. Pacific Time (3-4 p.m. Eastern Time).  

Here's a brief description from the organizers and a link to register:

"Join Bay Nature Magazine and Bodega Marine Lab's Eric Sanford for a virtual talk about tidepool invertebrates of the California coast on September 3, from 12 - 1 pm. Although the vast majority of ocean animals lack a backbone, the diversity of marine invertebrates living in our local waters is often underappreciated. This talk will focus on some of the amazing, beautiful, and mysterious marine invertebrates of the northern California coast. Even popular coastlines are brimming with these intriguing creatures, including species that are new to science. So, tune in to learn more!"

Free for Bay Nature members, $5 for nonmembers.

Click here to register.

 

A slow roll...

  

...into September!