So, as if getting to go down to Mussel Flat yesterday chasing after Oystercatchers wasn’t enough of a treat, today we all took a field trip down to Jewel Cave, on the East end of the island, during low tide, to go tidepooling. All I can say is, the intertidal zone out here is absolutely another world, and the caves and coves down there were places I literally could have spent all day. There was so much to see that I’m going to make this post primarily pictures, rather than words, and hopefully convey a sense of what a dramatically different, colorful world those tidepools are.
Large mussel beds coat the rocks at the entrances to many of these caves (can be tough on the shoes!)
A colony of bright red anemones. These were common inside jewel cave, and they often came in large mats, giving huge swaths of color to the tidepools.
Snail with a cool striped shell.
Snail, small anemone, and iridescent plant. This iridescent plant was found in all the tidepools we explored, emitting a beautiful blue color and light.
Assorted intertidal creatures. Just check out the variety of color!
Anemone Close-Up. This is a different type of anemone than the bright ones from earlier. These purple-green ones were large, about the size of my open hand, and numerous.
Tiny, delicate tube worm of some sort. When disturbed, this whole gill complex would retreat back into its tube with startling speed.
This is part of a really long worm I found. When we would touch one end, the whole thing would creep along, but there was no way I could get its whole body in one shot.
Cleverly-hidden crab.
Well, there’s a brief overview of what I saw! Pretty neat. The field trip took up most of the morning, and the afternoon was taken up with my chick checks and elephant seal resights. Tonight we start our next round of rhino netting, so we’ll have nightwork again for the next four nights. That’s all for now!
Best,
Eleanor