Walking the beach at low tide is like going on a treasure hunt. I never know what I will see, and I'm fortunate enough to live near beaches where I can walk for miles in relative isolation.
Yesterday's treasure, on the Parksville Beach a couple of blocks from my house, was....Opalescent Squid Eggs!
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| A heaping dinner plate pile of Opalescent Squid eggs! |
Squids mate in shallow sandy bays and lay clusters of these finger-like eggs. When the squid mature, they will be almost a foot long, with eight short arms and two long tentacles. Over time, their colour changes from the translucent white of the eggs to a more mottled brown and gold. (Source:
Pacific Reef and Shore, by Rick Harbo).
Today's treasures, on a beach about ten minutes' drive away, were multiple - various jellyfish ranging in size from a loonie to a large dinner plate; crabs from the size of a quarter that run all over your barefeet, to ones twice the size of my hand; masses of shellfish - dogwinkles or whelps, I'm not sure which - clinging to the side of a small boulder in a tidal pool; the beautiful purple ochre seastars; and of course the usual assortment of heron and eagle, gull and oystercatcher.
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| Lion's mane jellyfish |
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| Moon jelly - deceased - but note the tiny crab in the centre! |
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Crab (I don't know the names of crabs) in a pool with many tiny fish
(I think that's what those little things swimming all around the crab are). |
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| Another type of crab - this one with barnacles on his carapice (upper shell) |
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| Purple Ochre Seastar |
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| Heron |
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| Bald Eagle |
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| Maggie staring at the empty beach! |
Have I mentioned that I love where I live?????
2 comments:
Good Morning, Jean, what an education in sea life you have given me this morning. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has learned about new creatures of the deep.
I'm so happy for you to have moved to such an interesting and beautiful area and I can see that Maggie is enjoying it as well. Thanks for the posting and pats for Maggie.
Hi Jean & Maggie. It is so nice to live by the beach, I lived by the beach in England before I came to Canada. Now I have forests to explore instead which is nice too. The picture of the Moon jelly reminds me of a visit to a second Cousin in Scotland, There were Jellyfish similar looking to that jelly but had long thin purple tentacles and lots of them. I was in the sea and 1 washed over my feet stinging me, worst type of sting I have ever had lasted for days.
Stay safe.
Mark, Del & the Royals
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