June 2 and 3, 2022
06:30
While staying at the Bodega Marine Laboratory for a workshop, and knowing that low tide would happen around 8 in the morning, a group of us decided to wake up early enough to do some tidepooling before breakfast. Well worth the effort. Campbell Cove was just a couple minutes’ drive from the dorms, and we arrived just after 6:30 to find a large expanse of beach exposed, along with the rocks that form the jetty.
The first thing I noticed as I walked down to the beach was a perfect line of footprints from the water to the vegetation near the parking lot. I’ve decided that they are Northern Raccoon prints, because of the distinctive gait (with one front paw and one rear paw “paired” as they walk along). The footprints were a bit bigger than expected, though, and have some characteristics of otter prints. But a few of the front paw prints do show the characteristic “hand” shape, so I’m confident that it was a raccoon that passed this way.
There was also a small flock of birds of various ages on the beach, mostly Western Gull, but at least one California Gull, identified by a prominent red gape. One of the exciting moments of the walk happened as we were heading toward the jetty, when I felt a spray of water on the back of my legs, even though I wasn’t all that close to the waterline. Looking around, I realized that I’d been “attacked” by a Gaper Clam who had spit at me from its burrow. Hilarious, and they squirted water at us all the way down and back up the beach. I also was able to spot one of them with the siphon visible at the top of the burrow.
Another thing we noticed were many domed tunnels in the sand, that looked like small volcanos, with openings about the size of a dime. At first, I thought they might be lugworms, but I didn’t see the fecal trails that would be expected. So, I’m thinking that they might be Bay Ghost Shrimp burrows. Later, I did spot one of these shrimp near the jetty. It was stranded, but appeared to still be alive, as its feet were waving slightly.
Once we arrived at the exposed rocks, we began to see a wider variety of organisms. The first thing I noticed were large numbers of anemones, all growing right up next to one another, the aptly-named Aggregating Anemone. Large and beautifully colored Giant Green Anemones were also abundant. A few Ochre Seastars were clinging to the rocks along the jetty, and we found a number of Black Tegula as well.
One of my colleagues found my favorite friend of the day in the rocks alongside the beach: an adorable Striped Shore Crab, also know as the Green-lined Crab. We were all able to get a great look at it before we released it to scurry back into the safety of the rocks. We also found a Pacific Rock Crab, sadly, no longer alive.
After we climbed over the jetty, we found the tidepools, along with some new animals, plants, and algaes. Lots and lots of California Mussels covered the rocks, along with a wide variety of barnacles and limpets, including Fingered Limpet, Rough Limpet, Thatched Barnacle, Gooseneck Barnacles and Pacific Acorn Barnacles. I also found some Ostrich Plume Hydroid, which I was excited to learn is actually a Cnidarian – related to jellies and anemones – rather than an alga or plant.
Needing to get back in time for breakfast, we turned around to head back to the cars, but not before a few more organisms were spotted on the rocks that formed the jetty, including a Polychaete Clam Worm climbing up one of the exposed rock, and some shy Pacific Rock Crabs hiding in a crevice beneath the rocks. When we’d almost made it back to the cars, we spotted a Greater Moon Jelly stranded pretty high up on the beach, close to shore.
Even though we’d only been able to spend about an hour exploring the tidepools and beach, it was an exhilarating way to start the day, and well worth missing out on that extra hour of sleep. We had such a good time that most of us agreed that we’d get up early the following day as well, for another pre-breakfast tidepool excursion.
On our second visit, the tide wasn’t quite as far out (we arrived about two hours before the minimum), so we had to scramble over rocks a bit more (since the waves were coming higher on the beach). At some point, I gave up trying to stay out of the water entirely, and my shoes ended up soaking wet, but it was fine (I’d mostly expected this would happen when I left in the morning).
When most of us arrived at the cove, another of my colleagues was already there, taking photos in a shallow pool in the sand left behind by the receding tide. This turned out to be something really special: some Phoronid worms. They were curled up like ribbons, and nearly impossible to see with the naked eye, but I was able to get some photos where they are much more visible. Very pretty, and super cool to see these, especially since they seem to be relatively uncommon, judging by the fact that there are only a handful of sightings on iNaturalist.
Again, I was pleased to see the Aggregating Anemones, along with some new species I hadn’t noticed the previous day: very pretty Moonglow Anemones, mostly very small, with red-tipped tentacles; and a few larger and more subtly colored Sunburst Anemones. I also found a few Nuttall’s Cockles, some of them just empty shells, but I did spot one that was still alive, wedged between some rocks. A Purple Clam was also exposed on the beach.
Some lovely plants were growing on the cliffface above the rocky intertidal, including the amusingly-named Magnificent Seep Monkeyflower, and one of our local succulents, Bluff Lettuce.
A couple of my colleagues are very familiar with the intertidal organisms in our area, and more importantly, how to find them, so I had the opportunity to see some new species. Little segmented worms (Neosabellaria cementarium) were living in tubes embedded in a mussel bed, and a Purple Ribbon Worm was found in a coralline algae. Another favorite were more Ostrich Plume Hydroids, with tiny, almost transparent white worms living amongst the plumes.
The stars of the shows today were a couple of Northern Kelp Crabs we were able to capture to have a closer look. This is a smallish crab, and the ones we found were dark, the same color as some of the brown or red algaes that are common in these pools.
One of the interesting animals I found on my own was a California Seahare, tucked away under an anemone. I also spotted several Striped Dogwinkles – my favorites are a gorgeous orangey-red color. Again, there were several Black Tegula, and loads of California Mussels and Gooseneck Barnacles, along with a variety of limpets.
All too soon, we needed to turn back in order to make it back to breakfast on time. Of course, I do live within an easy drive of this location, so it’s possible that I’ll be making another trip to do some tidepooling in the not-too-distant future.
Species List
Note: I’ve done my best to correctly identify all the organisms we saw in the tidepool, but I’m no expert, so if you notice something that I’ve misidentified, please let me know.
Wildlife, plants, and algae seen: Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor), Western Gull (Larus occidentalis), California Gull (Larus californicus), Gaper Clam (Tresus sp), Bay Ghost Shrimp (Neotryaea californiensis), Aggregating Anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima), Mossy Chiton (Mopalia muscosa), Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba), Giant Green Anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima), Black Tegula (Tegula funebralis), Ochre Seastar (Pisaster ochraceus), Feather Boa Kelp (Egregia menziesii), Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), Pacific Acorn Barnacle (Balanus glandula), Striped Shore Crab (Pachygrapsus crassipes), Pacific Rock Crab (Romaleon antennarium), Ostrich Plume Hydroid (Aglaophenia latirostris), California Mussel (Mytilus californianus), Fingered Limpet (Lottia digitalis), Shield Limpet (Lottia pelta), Rough Limpet (Lottia scabra), Polychaete Clam Worm (Alitta succinea), Thatched Barnacle (Semibalanus cariosus), Pelagic Cormorant (Urile pelagicus), Greater Moon Jelly (Aurelia labiata), Great Horsetail (Equisetum telmateia), Wild Radish (Raphanus sativus), California Blackberry (Rubus ursinus), Phoronid Worm (Phoronopsis harmeri), Great Egret (Ardea alba), Purple clam (Nuttallia nuttallii), Moonglow anemone (Anthopleura artemisia), Sunburst anemone (Anthopleura sola), Pacific Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina), Nuttall’s Cockle (Clinocardium nuttallii), Magnificent Seep Monkeyflower (Erythranthe grandis), Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), Bluff Lettuce (Dudleya farinosa), California Seahare (Aplysia californica), Segmented worms (Neosabellaria cementarium), Striped Dogwinkle (Nucella ostrina), Purple Ribbon Worm (Paranemertes peregrina), Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister), Little rockweed (Pelvetiopsis limitata), Gooseneck barnacle (Pollicipes polymerus), Northern Kelp Crab (Pugettia producta)
As yet unconfirmed plants and algae: Broadleaf sea lettuce? Turkish towel? Turkish washcloth? Black pine seaweed? Mazzella flaccida? Grape tongue? Eelgrass? Hedgenettle? Scotch broom? Lilies? Salmon colored flower? Common coralline? Winged kelp? Bleached brunette? Scouler’s surf grass? Sea comb? Lawn alga? Calliarthron tuberculosum? Surfgrass encrusting alga? Stalked kelp? Petrospongium rugosum? Red algae? Banded weeds?
As yet unconfirmed animals: Mask limpet? Eroded periwinkle? Checkered periwinkle? Little brown barnacle? File limpet? Owl limpet? Plate limpet? Green false jingle? Terebellinae worm? Decorator worm? Worms on Hydroids? Whitecap limpet? Keyhole limpet?
Let me know what you think!