May 20, 2012 Beach Walk

Today was a cloudy day but still surprisingly warm. I took a walk along the mile long stretch of relatively untouched beach backing right up to a thick forest. Along the way I saw many different species of seaweed and some I had never seen before, like the Sea Cauliflower and Gracilariiopsis sjoestedtii. I also saw some Bull Kelp and a Dungeness crab in the sand. Perhaps the most spectacular part of the walk was when I spotted a bald eagle being chased by some crows. It flew out of the trees over the beach then found a new tree to perch in. As I got closer I noticed it was sitting very close to another bald eagle high up in a tree. I continued walking for another thirty minutes and when I turned around and passed them again they were still sitting in the exact same position and exact same branch. As I passed they looked down at me. I also saw a strange sea worm of some sort attached to a barnacle covered rock. It was a caramel color and had an almost sea anenome like top. I also saw a beautiful black and red tube worm extended from its tube. In the marshy area near the beach there was a large patch of silverweed and some of them were flowering with beautiful star shaped yellow flowers. Also that day I saw river otter prints leading away from the woods toward the bay.

Northern River Otter, Lontra canadensis
Cleavers, Galium aparine
Thimbleberry, Rubus parviflorus
Pacific Silverweed, Potentilla anserina pacifica
Leathesia difformis
Bull Kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana
Dungeness Crab, Metacarcinus magister
Gracilariopsis sjoestedtii
Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Comon ivy, Hedera helix

Posted on June 1, 2012 03:01 AM by andymj