Sunday, July 27, 2025

Swimming north rapidly

  

This was a little unexpected, but as I was watching the Humpback Whales yesterday (26 July 2025), I caught a glimpse of a fin much closer to shore and realized it was a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

I wasn't quite ready and didn't get a great photo, but I thought one photo was possibly good enough to identify the individual.  So I sent it off to Bill Keener at The Marine Mammal Center.  Sure enough, Bill was able to match this to a known female in their catalog.  "Cepat" has been seen in Sonoma County before, and as far north as Sea Ranch. 

Here's a few of her heading north:

 
By the way, Bill mentioned that Cepat doesn't usually travel alone, so it's a good time to keep an eye out for other Bottlenose Dolphins in the Bodega Bay area.  Let us know if you see any!  

P.S.  I was curious about the name "Cepat," so I looked it up.  Sounds like it's an Indonesian word meaning rapid, quick, or swift.

P.P.S.  Many thanks to Bill for providing the background information about Cepat and for monitoring local marine mammals!

Saturday, July 26, 2025

Splash dance

  

Whale activity continued off of Bodega Head today (26 July 2025).  This afternoon I tried to get a few photos of breaching.  The whales were pretty far off (perhaps 1.5-2 miles), so these photos aren't the sharpest, but I'm sharing several for the record.

 
 
Lobtailing (slapping the flukes against the surface of the water), too :
 
 
 
And a view of splashes out near the horizon:
 
  
 

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Casualty of the fog?

 
Today (24 July 2025) I noticed a somewhat unusual roadkill along the side of Highway 1 in Bodega Bay.  It's a bird you don't get to see up close very often, so I circled back to take a few photos.

This is a Sora (Porzana carolina), a type of rail.  Soras are somewhat secretive marsh birds, spending most of their time among wetland vegetation. You're more likely to hear one calling at night than to see one.

Here's a view showing the entire bird:


It's always a learning experience to see animals up close, so here are a few images.
 
Close-ups of the feathers, including the barred flanks (second photo below):
 
 

Short yellow bill: 
 

 
Yellowish legs and long toes:
 


And one more of the feather details: 
 
 
I don't know what happened, but perhaps the Sora was dispersing and dense fog overnight led to confusion, or to the Sora being in a place where you wouldn't normally expect it. 

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

What a day!

  

Every where I went today (23 July 2025) I heard people saying, "What a day!"  The weather was beautiful at the coast, and it appeared that the whales were enjoying it, too!  Every time I scanned the horizon from Bodega Head today there were at least 8 or more Humpback Whales in view.

I took a few photos here and there, and several seemed to show the whales feeding at the surface, with mouths open:

 
Must be some baitfish around! 

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Sunset wave

  

Sunset from Cotati on 21 July 2025.

Monday, July 21, 2025

View from above and below

  

As part of my job, I sometimes receive requests from researchers to check on the status of local species, e.g., whether a plant is flowering now or going to seed.  Recently there was an inquiry about an interesting parasitic plant, California Orobanche (Aphyllon californicum).

I couldn't find any at first, but I didn't give up, and in the end I found a few orobanche in flower.  

From above (first photo) the plant is intriguing, but it gets even more interesting if you lie down for a side view:

 
And when you look even closer, there are lots (lots!) of glandular hairs  all over the petals.  Look for the tiny hairs with golden tips:
 
 
I read that the glandular hairs might be protective against herbivores or pathogens, but it sounds like there are other possible functions, too. 

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

White on gray

  

We were on a field trip to the Fort Ross/Salt Point area today (16 July 2025).  I didn't have a chance for many photos, but there was lots of whale activity visible offshore (mostly humpbacks), so here's a photo for the record. 

Friday, July 11, 2025

Breathe in, breathe out

  

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!

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

End-of-the-day treat

  

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. 

Monday, July 7, 2025

Offshore fog

  

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?

Saturday, July 5, 2025

Blue background

  

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! 

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Featherduster fireworks

  

Eric photographed this beautiful featherduster worm (Eudistylia vancouveri) in Bodega Harbor earlier this week.

Happy Fourth of July! 

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Flecktones?

  

A nice little chiton for you  a juvenile Lepidozona radians.

Photographed in the low intertidal zone on 29 June 2025.
 

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Wee one

  

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.] 

Friday, June 27, 2025

Golden palms

  

Close-up of Sea Palm (Postelsia palmaeformis) blades, 25 June 2025 

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Special find

  

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. 

Monday, June 23, 2025

Reminiscing

  

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)

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Cloud shadows

  

I was working on some photo organization tonight.  Here's a photo from early March -- a view from the Chimney Rock area.

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Happy Solstice!

  

Moonglow Anemone (Anthopleura artemisia

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Overhead

  

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.

Friday, June 13, 2025

Left behind

  

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.

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Nestled among the granite

  

Black Oystercatcher nest, 12 June 2025

(Photo taken with a zoom lens from a distance and then cropped.) 

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Dreaming of fish

  

Juvenile Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina), 1 June 2025
 

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Overhead

  

Nice to see a Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) over our backyard this afternoon (8 June 2025). 

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Coastal view

  

Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) with Sea Palms (Postelsia palmaeformis) in the background, 31 May 2025. 

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

A hat trick?

  

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!

 
 
And, one that was fun for us   a juvenile Katharina tunicata.  This individual was only ~1.5-2 cm long.  Katharina has become less common in the Bodega Bay area, so it's encouraging to see a young one starting out:
 
 
A wonderful trio, Eric!

Monday, June 2, 2025

Little one

  

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! 

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Siblings

 
A couple of young Brush Rabbits (Sylvilagus bachmani) resting at the end of the day today (1 June 2025).  (There was a bit of a breeze ruffling the fur of the rabbit in the foreground.)
 

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Intertidal volcano

  

Pink Volcano Barnacle (Tetraclita rubescens) on 31 May 2025.

 Thanks to Eric for another great barnacle photo! 

Friday, May 30, 2025

Thatched

  

Thatched Barnacle (Semibalanus cariosus) on 29 May 2025.

Thanks for the great photo, Eric!
 

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Catch of the day

  

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!

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Downy white

  

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!