Evening Low Tide at Sandy Beach

matt goff

3 years ago

This red anemone (Urticina sp) seemed unfamiliar to me, though I do not know what species it might be.

Mostly cloudy and scattered rain into the afternoon. Partial clearing later in the afternoon. The stars were shining brightly to the south and west when I was at the beach this evening.

This Tortricid showed up at the porch light. Presumably it's a species that overwinters as an adult.

I found the first moth at my porch light this year when I stepped outside this morning. There were actually two. I think one of them was the moth Rowan found inside late last week and I released.

I had a four hour observing shift starting at 10:30am.

I was already on my way (with little time to spare) when I realized I had left my second raincoat at home. It probably would have helped a little. Rain fell for much of the first half of my time. However, the bigger issue for my comfort was a chilly north wind.

This gull did not mind the activity of the drill machinery it was perched on, but took off moments after I pointed my camera lens at it.

I did not see any mammals during my watch, nor any unexpected birds. A couple different gulls checked us out. One Herring Gull (or on that side of the Cook Inlet Gull spectrum) spent a bit of time near the boat. Later, a Glaucous-winged Gull perched on top of the drill rig. It seemed unperturbed by the clanging of the machinery. When I pulled my camera out and started taking pictures, it took off.

The remainder of the afternoon I spent chatting with my brother.

Connor found this Greenmark Hermit (Pagurus caurinus), a new species for me

This evening I joined Connor down at Sandy Beach. He found at least a couple of new species for me. I may have picked up a couple of others as well, though ones I’m not likely to get species names on any time soon.

Deep Blad Shrimp (Spirontocaris prionota) in a tidepool near Sandy Beach

We poked around in the rocks north of the sandy area. Our efforts were assisted by atmospheric pressure making the tide drop to -2.5 ft, more than a foot below predicted.