August 8, 2015

It was a delightful experience to encounter so many people enjoying shoreline creatures, without trying to take them home, nor to damage them by invasive physical contact.

Report Details

It was a delightful experience to encounter so many people enjoying shoreline creatures, without trying to take them home, nor to damage them by invasive physical contact. We observed four healthy stars on the southernmost rock. On the center rock, we found one 8 inch purple, this in excellent condition.

Conditions

Temperature: 68 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 1.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 78. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 7. Playing in surf: 5. Playing in sand: 8. Photography: 3. Tidepooling: 11. Surfing: 1. A large group, who appeared to be an extended family, were observing, picking up and commenting on life forms and shells. They replaced all live specimens. A young student of ornithology, Victoria from Portland University joined me in my study of "my" rocky outcroppings (directly west of N.W. 39th Street).

Notable Wildlife

Several young gulls, practicing flight skills; green and red algae (a few sprigs).We observed four healthy stars on the southernmost rock - one 5.5 inch, one 6 inch and one 13 inch orange; one 6.5 inch purple. The 6 inch orange appeared to be feeding on the aenemones; about a fourth of its body was in the sand,covering two of its rays. The rest of the body seemed healthy (firm, color vivid, no lesions), but I noticed that the usual white nodes were absent from the lower half of its body. Is this normal? On the center rock, we found one 8 inch purple, this in excellent condition.

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Several moon jellies in driftline and wet zone

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Shells, Small rocks, Wood pieces.

Natural Changes

A higher drift of sand in the wet zone allows us to see the top of the tall rock, and covers several aenomone

Actions & Comments

Having attended this year's Depoe Bay Shoreline Science Workshop provided enough new information and review, to discover new things about the neighborhoods on "my" rocks, as well as what we found in the wet, moist and dry zones. Once pointed out, creatures that had been overlooked seemed to appear like magic. We found an orange sponge on the east face of the tall rock and several brown sponges on the west face. I enjoyed the workshop (always do) and I enjoyed sharing discoveries with Victoria, a budding scientist.