The north end of Miracle Beach, where it joins the outlet of Black Creek, is mostly flat, fine sand and small, rounded stones, held down by seashore salt-grass, suited to the changeable water, now fresh as the creek washes the area, now salt as the tide covers it all. At low tide, there are the tufts of salt-grass to walk on, with shallow puddles between them, and, near the high tide line, a layer of shredded seaweeds, fresh and bright, deposited by the recent storms.
A large kelp crab. Dead, not a molt, but still very fresh. |
Sieve kelp, Agarum clathratum. |
This is a subtidal brown alga that grows to over a metre tall, blade and stipe. By the time it ends up on the upper beach, it comes in bits and pieces. This large section included a bit of the central rib.
Turkish towel, Chondracanthus exasperatus. Very faded already. |
Another large, subtidal seaweed that turns up on the beach in shreds. Feels like a towel, they say, but it is not a fabric-softened towel fresh out of your dryer; more like the dish scrubber I use on pots and pans. Those little pointed projections are tough.
Gull and salt-grass, Distichlis spicata. |
And these weren't strictly on the beach, but just offshore, diving for food in the shallow water.
Buffleheads, Bucephala albeola, three males and one more subdued female. |
Buffleheads eat aquatic invertebrates that they find in the intertidal zone, such as crabs and snails, so they swim close to shore, taking short dives; where you saw them go down, they'll come up again. (Not like the loon, offshore, going down here, coming up a long time later, and far away.)
- Cangrejo de algas del norte, Pugettia producta. Muerto pero recientemente, totalmente entero.
- Quelpo coladera, Agarum clathratum. Este es un alga que crece en la zona submareal. Llega a alcanzar más de un metro, contando el estipe y las frondas. Ya cuando llega a la playa, está desbaratada. Este pedazo grande llevaba algo de la espina central.
- Toalla turca, Chondracanthus exasperatus, ya perdiendo su color rojo fuerte. Esta es otra alga submareal que llega a la playa hecha pedazos. Se siente como una toalla, dicen, pero no es una toalla suave, recién salida de tu secadora de ropa; más bien es como el estropajo con que limpio los sartenes. Esos puntitos son fuertes.
- Una gaviota y la grama salada.
- Y estos últimos no estaban exactamente en la playa, pero cerca. Los patos porrones coronados (aquí tres machos, y una hembra) comen animales invertebrados que viven en la zona intermareal, como por ejemplo, los cangrejos y los caracoles marinos. Nadan cerca de la playa, haciendo buceos cortos; donde los viste desaparecer, allí subirán a la superficie y muy pronto. (No como lo hacen los colimbos, que se sumergen lejos de la playa, y luego aparecen mucho más tarde y bien lejos, donde menos los esperas.)
Awesome documentation- as a fellow Vancouver Islander and nature/photography enthusiast, your blog is very inspiring! Greetings from Victoria!
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