An unexpected surprise this morning (11 July 2025), a beautiful octopus in the low intertidal zone. I only had a minute or two before it continued on, but it was a magical minute!
I managed a short video clip (see below, or click on the title of the post above to go to the NHBH web page to see the video player). The octopus is drawing water into its mantle cavity (where it will then pass over the gills) and expelling water through its siphon.
Many thanks to Eric for editing the video clip!
A Bushtit for you! This one was searching for prey among the moss, bark, and leaves on a tree in the Oliver's parking lot in Cotati.
This isn't a recent photo, but it's been foggy at the coast lately, and I came across this older photo of offshore fog while doing some photo organization, so here you go! Photographed from Bodega Head on 29 March 2013.
P.S. Bodega Bay can be pretty foggy, leading to some nicknames for the foggiest months, e.g., June Gloom, No Sky July, Faugust. It isn't foggy all of the time, but I'm intrigued by all of the different forms of fog. What's your favorite form of fog?
Last week I came across an Ochre Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceus) that was noticeably blue. It's a little hard to tell from the photo above, but hopefully you can see the blueish background coloration among the clusters of white spines.
We've been monitoring Pisaster for over a decade and have observed thousands of individuals during that time, but I can't recall seeing a blue adult sea star until now. The most common colors are orange, brown, and purple, but this blue individual seemed unusual, so I took a quick photo for the record.
That said, we often see juveniles with blueish coloration — see photos below from this past winter:
I've often wondered if the blue juveniles gradually turn purple, and perhaps some do, but the blue adult in the first photo shows that sometimes the adults can be blue, too!
Eric photographed this beautiful featherduster worm (Eudistylia vancouveri) in Bodega Harbor earlier this week.
A nice little chiton for you — a juvenile Lepidozona radians.
Photographed in the low intertidal zone on 29 June 2025.
New oystercatcher chick with mom, 27 June 2025
[You can click on the photo for a larger version. Note that the chick has a short, brownish bill and mostly gray feathers.]
Summer classes started at the Bodega Marine Laboratory this week, and with all of those keen eyes around, special things are bound to be found!
Above, a small Red Octopus (Octopus rubescens) discovered this morning.
Thanks to James for spotting the octopus, which was observed for a short time in the field and then released.
A commenter on last night's post mentioned Cazadero, and that made me reminisce about visits to The Cedars. Sadly, I haven't been there since 2019, but I posted about several visits back in 2015, 2016, and 2019. So if you're interested in learning more or reviewing those photos, check out these posts:
Among the rocks (25 April 2015)
Warming up (26 April 2015)
Slippers and streams (28 April 2015)
Checkers and streaks (29 April 2015)
A hardy Sargent (30 April 2015)
Songs of The Cedars (1 May 2015)
Greenish sheen (8 April 2016)
Jewels, streaks, petals, and rocks (11 May 2019)
Wavy margins (12 May 2019)
Land of contrasts (14 May 2019)
In the sun and the shade (15 May 2019)
Stellate (17 May 2019)
Western beauty (19 May 2019)
I was working on some photo organization tonight. Here's a photo from early March -- a view from the Chimney Rock area.
Stopping to pick up sandwiches in northern Sonoma County today and noticed a handful of Vaux's Swifts (Chaetura vauxi) flying overhead. Photo for the record on 15 June 2025.
I've realized I don't share scat photos very often, but here's an interesting one — an example of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) scat.
Black Oystercatcher nest, 12 June 2025
(Photo taken with a zoom lens from a distance and then cropped.)
Nice to see a Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) over our backyard this afternoon (8 June 2025).
Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) with Sea Palms (Postelsia palmaeformis) in the background, 31 May 2025.
We were focused on other species while doing surveys along the coast in Mendocino County last weekend, but along the way Eric spotted several nice chitons. Above, meet Tripoplax regularis. (Also refer to the post called "The original sequins" on 26 February 2017.)
Below, this looks like a species of Mopalia, but we're not sure which one. We wondered about Mopalia imporcata, a species we're not familiar with. If anyone has thoughts about the identity of this chiton, we'd be interested!
A tiny Six-armed Sea Star (Leptasterias sp.) photographed in Mendocino County on 31 May 2025. This juvenile sea star was only ~3-4 mm across from arm tip to arm tip.
If you look carefully, you can see some of its tube feet extending away from its arms. And the small red eye spots at the tips of the three arms in the foreground are also visible.
Rather than releasing eggs into the water column, Leptasterias broods its embryos and the young sea stars crawl away from the adult. Back in 2012, I shared photos of an adult Leptasterias with its brood of embryos and an image of an adult with many juveniles in the surrounding area (it's likely the juveniles recently crawled away from the adult). To review those photos, check out the post called "Four brooders in one" on 29 February 2012.
P.S. Thanks for the great photo, Eric!
Pink Volcano Barnacle (Tetraclita rubescens) on 31 May 2025.
Thanks to Eric for another great barnacle photo!
While out early working during the low tide this morning (27 May 2025), we were in the middle of a survey when Eric heard a splash and turned to see a River Otter (Lontra canadensis) swimming not too far away from us. (We were somewhat hidden by a rock.) Eventually the otter caught a large fish and it climbed up onto a rock and starting eating.
Although we only had a point-and-shoot camera, Eric was able to take a short video. I think this is a Striped Surfperch (Embiotoca lateralis), but if you have a different opinion, please let me know! [If you can't see the video player in the e-mail, click on the title of this post above to find the video on the NHBH web page.]
With gratitude for sharing coastal habitats with otter and fish!
I ran into Laura outside of the grocery story today. She told me a story about discovering a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) nest in an old tree stump on her property recently. It reminded both of us of the time a vulture nest was found in the Bodega Dunes. I didn't have a great camera setup at that time, so this is Haruka Wada's photo (I think).
If I remember right, the vulture in the photo was ~20 days old. Back then, I hadn't seen a downy juvenile vulture before, so I was surprised to see how white it was. I think it takes ~60 days or so before all of their black feathers come in.
Photographed in the Bodega Dunes on 24 May 2006. (Hard to believe this was 19 years ago!)
P.S. Thanks to Laura for the memory and to Haruka for the photo!
Last week, Eric snapped a great photo of Ligia occidentalis. You can find this interesting isopod scurrying across rocks in the high intertidal zone.
Blue Coast Gilia (Gilia capitata subsp. chamissonis), with some open flowers and others just starting to emerge (look for the tiny purple petal tips below the open flowers). Photographed on 21 May 2025.
We've been working lots of very early morning low tides recently, so here's a sunrise/moonset photo from last week.
Quick shot of a large By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella) washed ashore this morning (13 May 2025). Strong west winds have pushed thousands of Velella onto local beaches recently. Most have been smaller than this one, but I'm always keeping my eyes on the range of sizes.
Didn't have a chance to take photos this week, so here's one from January 2025 — seascape at sunset along the Sonoma Coast.
Satyr Anglewing (Polygonia satyrus)
Eric spotted this beautiful Striped Dogwhelk (Nucella ostrina) yesterday (2 May 2025). This is a common snail in the rocky intertidal zone in northern California, but we can't recall seeing purple variants of Nucella ostrina, so here's a photo for the record.
More often, Striped Dogwhelks are versions of black, brown, gray, or white. Here are some individuals feeding on barnacles:
Wow! When Claire started to ask me if I could help with a moth i.d. today (1 May 2025), I had no idea she would be taking me to see this beautiful Ceonothus Silkmoth (Hyalophora euryalus)!
Claire and Emma spotted this amazing moth while they were eating lunch. It was cool at the coast today and the moth was very still, so we were able to get some nice photos.
Here's a close-up of her very fuzzy body, including the wonderful striped pattern on her abdomen:
I felt very lucky today (25 April 2025) when I noticed a Long-tailed Weasel (Neogale frenata) crossing the road and then spent a few minutes observing it along the Bodega Harbor shoreline.
The weasel was weaving in and out of the rocks, so views were fleeting, but occasionally the weasel would pop up and pause to look around:
I liked the way the color of the weasel's ventral fur (on its throat and belly) matched the color of the lichens on the rocks.
