The tide pools at Cabrillo National Monument are open limited hours, so today was a great day to visit. Low tide was at an accessible time and ridiculously low at -1.74 feet! Lilly and I went out to do some exploring. We both marvelled at the fact that every visit brings the discovery of something brand new and amazing to us, and today was no exception!
We clambered down to the shoreline and headed out to where the water was out the furthest. The anemones and hermit crabs were innumerable as usual, and we played with many of them on our way out to what was to us a whole new tidal zone. Accustomed to all of the aggregating and green anemones, though in love with them nonetheless, we were amazed to see a whole different color variation, if not a different species. There were a few anemones that were neutral colors instead of the usual green-yellow-purpley mix. Not only were they a variety of browns, creams, and even charcoal, but their tentacles were banded with a mix of those colors. Cool! We continued on to a little cove that never disappoints; there seems to always be something terrific to see there. Lined shore crabs crouched in many of the rock crevices, and goose-necked barnacles hung over the pools. We later learned that these barnacles got their name from people long ago who believed that sea geese hatched from them.
Lilly spotted an interesting shell tucked to the side in one of the pools. We noticed it had an area of black surrounding it- it was a new creature! Locating a wide stiff kelp stem, we gently lifted it for a better view, our first of the giant keyhole limpet. We weren't prepared for the amazing creature underneath. These limpets are like primitive snails but more closely related to the abalone. Under and extending out from it's shell is a large soft mantle that can be black, grey, or mottled. When threatened, it rolls up the mantle, completely covering its shell, leaving only the center hole exposed. We were fascinated that it covered the hard shell with the soft body instead of the other way around. Underneath the mantle is a second "layer"- the large foot and the limpet's head. It has large extendable eye stalks like a snail. The underside of the mantle was a creamy pearl color, and he looked like a big mushroom when he curled it upwards. The underside of the foot was vivid orange!
Dragging ourselves away from the limpet, we ventured out farther than we've ever been able to walk before. We saw absolutely huge California mussels attached to a large rock and found a grey version of the giant keyhole limpet. As the wind kicked up and the sun descended, we watched a great blue heron fishing in the pools. I spotted something below me that was so vividly pink I was certain it was man-made, something washed in. Peering closer, I saw that the inch-wide thing had white tipped tentacle-like projections that reacted to my light touch. It looked almost like a coral or tube worm type of thing, but it was the only one around. We learned shortly afterwards that it was a rosy nudibranch! I've seen nudibranches on nature specials but had no idea that any were in California waters. It's a type of sea slug, though the word "slug" does much injustice to these beautiful, magical little things.
As the tide began to return, we started slowly back to shore. We encountered a marine biologist and his two volunteers conducting some observations, and they told us a bit about the new creatures we had seen. A part of the tide pools is off limits, and a few times a year they photograph predetermined locations to see the effect the foot traffic has on the different species living there. We were shown the underside of an empty owl limpet shell, discovering the origin of its name. The coloration in the center looks like the full body of a front-facing owl! Much different from the giant keyhole limpets, they have no mantle, and they stick to one spot permanently. In fact, if they are somehow unstuck, they may never be able to reattach. The giant keyhole limpets travel around, and they even have a "home" spot that they return to at low tide. One of the volunteers showed us where a third keyhole limpet was, the mottled stripey variety, and the other volunteer showed us a a Kellet's whelk on the way out. (It was closing time.) That was the third entirely new creature of the day! It was the best tide pool day ever!
Still high from the excitement of our visit, I returned briefly to the tide pools the following day to get some more pictures, now that I'd remembered my memory card. It's a good thing Lilly had hers the day before! Thank you Lilly! I was thrilled to find the black giant keyhole limpet again, and I spent the entire forty minutes before closing with him. Feeling more "experienced" this time, I carefully picked him up so we could get a better look at each other.
After a while, two young girls came over to see what I had, and they asked many great questions. Freshly armed with my new limpet knowledge, I was able to tell them lots of neat stuff and answer all of their questions. Passing them on the way out later, I heard them tell their mom that they were quite sure I was a marine biologist, which was very cool and made me smile. The sun began to set as I left, soaked, cold, and happy, the close of yet another great tide pool experience.
The tide pools at Cabrillo National Monument are open limited hours, so today was a great day to visit. Low tide was at an accessible time and ridiculously low at -1.74 feet! Lilly and I went out to do some exploring. We both marvelled at the fact that every visit brings the discovery of something brand new and amazing to us, and today was no exception!
We clambered down to the shoreline and headed out to where the water was out the furthest. The anemones and hermit crabs were innumerable as usual, and we played with many of them on our way out to what was to us a whole new tidal zone. Accustomed to all of the aggregating and green anemones, though in love with them nonetheless, we were amazed to see a whole different color variation, if not a different species. There were a few anemones that were neutral colors instead of the usual green-yellow-purpley mix. Not only were they a variety of browns, creams, and even charcoal, but their tentacles were banded with a mix of those colors. Cool! We continued on to a little cove that never disappoints; there seems to always be something terrific to see there. Lined shore crabs crouched in many of the rock crevices, and goose-necked barnacles hung over the pools. We later learned that these barnacles got their name from people long ago who believed that sea geese hatched from them.
Lilly spotted an interesting shell tucked to the side in one of the pools. We noticed it had an area of black surrounding it- it was a new creature! Locating a wide stiff kelp stem, we gently lifted it for a better view, our first of the giant keyhole limpet. We weren't prepared for the amazing creature underneath. These limpets are like primitive snails but more closely related to the abalone. Under and extending out from it's shell is a large soft mantle that can be black, grey, or mottled. When threatened, it rolls up the mantle, completely covering its shell, leaving only the center hole exposed. We were fascinated that it covered the hard shell with the soft body instead of the other way around. Underneath the mantle is a second "layer"- the large foot and the limpet's head. It has large extendable eye stalks like a snail. The underside of the mantle was a creamy pearl color, and he looked like a big mushroom when he curled it upwards. The underside of the foot was vivid orange!
Dragging ourselves away from the limpet, we ventured out farther than we've ever been able to walk before. We saw absolutely huge California mussels attached to a large rock and found a grey version of the giant keyhole limpet. As the wind kicked up and the sun descended, we watched a great blue heron fishing in the pools. I spotted something below me that was so vividly pink I was certain it was man-made, something washed in. Peering closer, I saw that the inch-wide thing had white tipped tentacle-like projections that reacted to my light touch. It looked almost like a coral or tube worm type of thing, but it was the only one around. We learned shortly afterwards that it was a rosy nudibranch! I've seen nudibranches on nature specials but had no idea that any were in California waters. It's a type of sea slug, though the word "slug" does much injustice to these beautiful, magical little things.
As the tide began to return, we started slowly back to shore. We encountered a marine biologist and his two volunteers conducting some observations, and they told us a bit about the new creatures we had seen. A part of the tide pools is off limits, and a few times a year they photograph predetermined locations to see the effect the foot traffic has on the different species living there. We were shown the underside of an empty owl limpet shell, discovering the origin of its name. The coloration in the center looks like the full body of a front-facing owl! Much different from the giant keyhole limpets, they have no mantle, and they stick to one spot permanently. In fact, if they are somehow unstuck, they may never be able to reattach. The giant keyhole limpets travel around, and they even have a "home" spot that they return to at low tide. One of the volunteers showed us where a third keyhole limpet was, the mottled stripey variety, and the other volunteer showed us a a Kellet's whelk on the way out. (It was closing time.) That was the third entirely new creature of the day! It was the best tide pool day ever!
Still high from the excitement of our visit, I returned briefly to the tide pools the following day to get some more pictures, now that I'd remembered my memory card. It's a good thing Lilly had hers the day before! Thank you Lilly! I was thrilled to find the black giant keyhole limpet again, and I spent the entire forty minutes before closing with him. Feeling more "experienced" this time, I carefully picked him up so we could get a better look at each other.
After a while, two young girls came over to see what I had, and they asked many great questions. Freshly armed with my new limpet knowledge, I was able to tell them lots of neat stuff and answer all of their questions. Passing them on the way out later, I heard them tell their mom that they were quite sure I was a marine biologist, which was very cool and made me smile. The sun began to set as I left, soaked, cold, and happy, the close of yet another great tide pool experience.
