On November 6, Erick spotted a great opportunity to visit the tide pools at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve on Half Moon Bay (nearest town, Moss Beach). The weather was pleasant and the tide tables indicated a -.8 ft. low tide at 4:00 PM PST. So, we jumped in the car and made the drive, arriving at ~3:30 PM. That gave us an hour and a half to explore the tide pools before the park closed at 5.
To start with the "big picture," here are some long shot photos of the Fitzgerald Reserve:
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| Looking down the beach |
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| Tide pools |
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| Sunset approaches |
Now for the tide pools - starfish, anemones, seaweed, and sea urchin colonies:
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Starfish, small Anemones, Seaweed
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Starfish walking
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Pink seaweed & Anemone
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Anemone with Sea Urchin Shell
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Partially closed Anemone
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| Open Anemone |
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| Rock with young Anemones |
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| Close up of young Anemones- closed |
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| Sea Urchins |
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| A closer look at a colony |
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| Erick's photo of Sea Urchins in the holes they dig in the sandstone |
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| Sea Urchin holes in the sandstone |
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Can you find Erick's fingers (no, that's not a scallop shell)
as he was taking this photo with his smartphone? |
After the tide pools, we walked back along the cliff and through the grove:
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| Erick reflects on the tide coming in |
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| Waning light in the grove |
After exploring the tide pools we were ready for dinner.
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| Barbara's Fish Trap - great clam chowder in Half Moon Bay |
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| The ceiling at Barbara's Fish Trap |
So when we come visit, you're taking us there, right?
ReplyDeleteEmily