Clik here to view.
Scribbles in the Sand
Olivella biplicata, the purple olive, ploughs a crazy quilt of trails on intertidal sands. A good low tide will reveal Olivella’s handiwork on most any exposed Pacific beach between southern Alaska and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Comparative Photos Show Rocky Intertidal Changes Between 2013 and 2016
With the last bout of sea star wasting syndrome eastern Pacific starfish took a big hit. After three years, numbers of big keystone predators like Pisaster ochraceus are still down. Removal experiments...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kelp Curves
Exposed at low tide, the weight of the blade puts a smooth bend in the thallus of split kelp, Laminaria setchellii. Curves
View ArticleClik here to view.
Calling Up Connections
It’s been a good year for barnacles and bay mussels. Billows of goose barnacles, Lepas anatifera, proliferated freely. Blue mussels, Mytilus trossulus, a delicacy for predators, settled abundantly out...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Barnacle Detail
The images in this post appeared in Calling Up Connections, my submission to last week’s photo challenge Look Up. They fit nicely here in the Details challenge too, showing that frame of reference is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Epiphytic Reds, a Cherry On Top
In tide pools or the drift line, epiphytic reds keep things interesting. These are delicate red algae that attach to plants or other algae. Their variety is high and field identification is a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An Attractive Red Alga Meets Morning Sunshine
A splendid red in the morning sunlight | June, 2016 It takes an uncommon combination of low tide and cloudless skies for these two to meet. Here, morning sunlight illuminates and shines right though...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thinopinus pictus, a Predatory Intertidal Staphylinid
If you walk the drift line you’ll want to get to know Thinopinus pictus, the pictured rove beetle. Pictured roves roam the damp sand between the swash and dry sand ambushing beach hoppers. They’re most...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Peek at the Wrack Line
High winter tides and swells combined to push big wood up onto the backshore of this northern Oregon beach. Logs like these are usually the biggest material in the wrack line. They won’t last long....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Fleeting Mirror: a Shimmering Surface Between Swash and Sand
In language of the beachcomber the mirror is the reflective sheen left on beach sand by the receding swash. It’s where the sanderlings forage. Always on the move, the mirror tracks the pulse of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Tide Pools Below
Hikes down to the tide pools have their rewards. When I get a peek at my destination, I’m grateful. In the back of my mind I’m thinking… the hike back up is gonna be a doozie. Peering over the edge to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beach Hoppers Rejoice Over Drift Macrophytes
From a foredune vantage the beach, drift line, and breakers are hidden by fog A foggy morning with low visibility and muted colors and sounds. Under these conditions you’ll find more action down at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Watery Southwest View
From a headland with a view to the southwest. A tentative early afternoon sun peeked through clouds onto moody seas enhancing the watery effect. Cape Perpetua | November 23, 2015 1:58 pm H2O
View ArticleClik here to view.
Browns Put on a Shine in the Drift Line
The crows and gulls weren’t complaining. They didn’t ask what subtidal force mobilized such a large quantity of fresh material. High tide left a drift line littered with macroalgal debris. Drizzle and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Count on Chaos at a Surfperch Photo Shoot
I used to carry a Pentax Optio W60 whenever I explored the surf zone. I loved that camera, and I shared plenty of favorite photos in my early TOS posts. Here’s one I like from January 20, 2012. A break...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s Not This Time of Year Without High Tides and Crashing Surf
The highest spring tides are a sign of the season. On my home beaches winter also means high surf. When the two combine they’re a force of nature. Wave crashes an old growth stump landmark I’ve visited...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Counting Connections
It’s a good time of year to think about new horizons. This is one of my familiar horizons; it’s from November 14, 2016. Morning horizons are great for thinking about a new day, a new year, or any new...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Pyrosome Beach Cast
So many sea creatures we don’t know about until a beach cast drops them at our feet. It happened again on December 13th, 2016. When I topped the foredune just ahead of high tide I didn’t know a mystery...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stability and Change on the Foredune
A popular path traverses a foredune and winds down to the beach through a monoculture of Ammophila, a dune-stabilizing beachgrass. How well does Ammophila do its job? This foredune path is a sight of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
King Tide 2016
King Tide 2016 has come and gone. If you missed it, the winter season offers one more opportunity. Another round of high spring tides will test the capacity of coastal shorelines everywhere in...
View Article