Among the wildflowers

 

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), photographed on Bodega Head on 16 April 2016

 

Below the anchor

Remember this float from last night?

 

Here's a close-up of the characters below the anchor:

 

Although some of the characters are a bit worn and faint, maybe Evelyne will be able to help with a translation again?

And, some people inquired about whether there was any marine life growing on the floats.  The submerged portions of these floats were covered with pelagic gooseneck barnacles (Lepas sp.)

 

For more pictures and information about these barnacles, review posts from 11 August 2014 and 28 February 2012.

ADDENDUM (5 May 2016): For a translation of the characters on this float, read Evelyne's comment below.

 

The fish and the anchor

While I was in Massachusetts last week, during a period of very strong northwest winds, Eric found some interesting fishing floats washed up on Salmon Creek Beach (on 26 April 2016).

Here's a close-up of one of them:

 

Eric had a hunch that the characters were Chinese.  And luckily, Evelyne was able to provide a translation. (Thanks, Evelyne!)

The four large characters above the fish are:

海 丰 渔 塑 

Evelyne says the first two characters (from left to right) are the name of a coastal county — "Haifeng" — in southern China.

The third character means "fishery."

And the fourth character means "plastic."

Here's the second float.  Both floats were ~13 cm long.

 

We need to take a better picture of the characters below the anchor.  Then, if possible, I'll provide an update about the translation on this float.

There were also lots of other floats, buoys, and glass bottles.  Could this have been debris from an offshore fishing boat?

 

The mouth of the river

 

The mouth of the North River, with Fourth Cliff (in Humarock, MA) out of view to the right.  Photographed 29 April 2016.

Bubblemania

 

I first introduced Violet Sea Snails (Janthina janthina) on 16 March 2016.  So far, this is the rarer of the two Janthina species to appear in this area in 2016.  We've seen more than a thousand Purple Sea Snails (Janthina umbilicata) this year, but only three Violet Sea Snails.  

These pictures show a Violet Sea Snail that I found on 22 April 2016.  The first picture is a view from the side.  Next, a view from above, highlighting the amazing bubble raft of this snail.  Both pictures were taken in a small aquarium.  The shell is ~12 mm across.

 

 

We don't know how many more sea snails will appear this year, but if there are southerly winds, keep your eyes open for these pelagic beauties!  (I'd love to hear about any sightings.)

As far as you could see

View looking south along Salmon Creek Beach on 22 April 2016:

 

And here's a view looking north (below).  The entire beach looked like this.  Do you have any guesses about what's creating those white strand lines?

 

The next picture will give away the answer:

 

 

There were uncountable numbers of By-the-wind Sailors (Velella velella) washed ashore today...most were no longer alive, hence the white color.

This followed at least a day and half of southerly winds.  Seawater temperatures rose to ~14.5°C (58°F).

Hope you had a nice Earth Day!

Purple rain

 

 

Purple Sea Snail and rain clouds (20 April 2016)

With a recent change in weather, a few more Purple Sea Snails (Janthina umbilicata) washed ashore during the past two days.  South winds seem to be important for their appearance on beaches in this area. 

(If you were wondering, in the first picture there's also a By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella) float/sail to the left of the sea snail.)