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| Huge Ochre Sea Stars & Anemone, Mile Rock Beach, San Francisco |
It could be, at least a little bit, that I haven't seen sea stars in so long that I forgot how big they are, but almost all of the ones I saw at Mile Rock Beach today were huge. The mussel beds clinging to the shore rocks were in great shape and no doubt help the sea stars (which eat them) get so big.
I biked out there, taking a dirt trail from Land's End, and arrived at just about the peak of low tide around 11 a.m. And I was glad it was a minus tide because some good-sized swells were constantly looming up and thundering against the shore.
Peering in to the few tidepools I could reach, I didn't see much going on, and it was probably too much to expect to see any dainty little nudibranchs in such a powerful surf zone. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised to find so much shore life right here in San Francisco. In addition to the main creatures in the photo above, you can also find aggregating anemones, barnacles, a couple of chitons, crusty-looking sponges, and some kelp.
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| A host of limpets of various sizes waits for the incoming tide, surrounded by barnacle cases. |
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| A pink sponge (at least, I think that's what it is) holds on against a tide of aggregating anemones. |
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| The 7.5-foot swell (according to these guys) made low tide seem a little less low. |
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| The swells plowing into the big rock blocking the view of the Golden Gate Bridge were the most thunderous of all. Just the sound of it kind of gave me the willies as I got as close to the edge as I dared. |
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| Healthy Mussel Bed |
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| Two-tone ochre sea star casually lounging in the tidal zone. |
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| The lined shore crab was putting something in its mouth, but I don't think it was pieces of sea star. However, like many animals that are mostly plant eaters (plants being easier to catch), these crabs are omnivorous. |
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| Gooseneck barnacles among the mussels. |
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| Another lined shore crab, just before it ducked under a rock, stage left. |
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| This western gull landed on the mussel bed and got busy plucking food right away. I couldn't see what it was eating and thought, because it was so busy, that it must be easy-to-catch algae... |
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| ...until I zoomed in on the picture when I got home. In this crop of the previous photo, you can just make out a tiny claw on the creature in the gull's beak. |
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| This was a very handsome gull, and definitely provided a contrast against a bunch of young gulls and ravens that I saw fighting over some trash on the Great Highway as I rode home. |
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| Okay, time to get out of here.... |
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| I locked up to the post with the same cable and U-lock combo I use when I lock my bike to a tree on Mt. Tam. I also took the battery with me. Not that I think bike theives frequent this area, but I figure a heavy e-bike with no battery isn't going to be anyone's idea of a joy ride. |
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