The Natural History of Bodega Head

    Quick photo of a sculpin in the rocky intertidal zone after field work tonight (5 December 2025).  Amazing how much it looks like the su...

    Those sculpin eyes, they get me every time.  (And that green and white patterning is magical!) Photographed in the rocky intertidal zone...

    Eric noticed this amazing sculpin recently -- the colors behind the eyes are a perfect match for orange sponge and pink coralline algae ...

    We've been doing intertidal surveys this week, but last night we had a few minutes to look around a bit more.  It was exciting to fi...

    Eric photographed some nice sculpins a few days ago.  These two (above and below) were intriguing.  Although at first glance these fish ...

    Juvenile Cabezon ( Scorpaenichthys marmoratus ) from the intertidal zone along the Sonoma Coast on 30 November 2024.  This individual wa...

    After field work a couple of days ago, Eric caught up with a beautiful sculpin in the low intertidal zone.  I love the patterning on the...

    Sculpin resting among blades of surfgrass ( Phyllospadix sp.).   Thanks for the great photo, Eric!

    Many of you know that I love when sculpins look just like their surroundings.  Parts of this fish look like sand, coralline algae, bits ...

    When your eyes match your background...   A small sculpin in a low zone tidepool, resting on a sponge with an anemone in the background....

    Looks a bit like a marine iguana, doesn't it?   Eric snapped a few photos of this interesting sculpin in the low intertidal zone las...

    One of the most impressive features of many animals in the intertidal zone is the way their color patterns match their surroundings.  It...

    While tidepooling last week I looked down to see a rippling movement below me and soon realized it was the undulating fin of a fish.  Th...

    I love how the colors of this sculpin match so many different things in the tidepool — rock gray, shell white, mussel blue, anemone gr...

    Recently we were noticing some beautiful green sculpins hanging out near some green algae in a high intertidal zone pool.   After lookin...

      Whew, we had a long week of field work during the good low tides this past week.  On the side, Eric managed to photograph this beautif...

    An amazing sculpin resting on a pale purple sponge.  Photographed in the low intertidal zone on 17 June 2022.

    Happy World Oceans Day! Above, view looking south along the Sonoma Coast. Below, a sculpin photographed recently in a tidepool near Poin...

    Another amazing intertidal sculpin, photographed on 19 May 2022.    

    I was helping Jacquie look for sea anemones this morning, when we encountered this gorgeous juvenile fish.  It was only ~1.5 inches (~3....