plant/animal reference) to get a bigger picture
Lacuna egg |
Spartina |
Balanus crenatus |
Ala Spit group |
Ala Spit team photo |
A pair of bald eagles performed a low level flyover to get the Ala Spit team off to a great start on May 9th. The team of nine, led by Sammye Kempbell, was delighted by the sunshine and warm spring temperatures as they peered under rocks and combed the eelgrass in search of biota. Charlie Seablom found an eelgrass limpet and also a single sprig of invasive
Spartina. Other standout finds of the day were those of the tiny nonnative lined anemone (Haliplanella), green and purple ribbon worms(Emplectonema gracile & Paranemertes paregrina), tiny Lacuna snail eggs, smooth white barnacles (Balanus crenatus), and everybody's favorite little red arachnid, Neomolgus. As the monitoring procedures progressed, the beach also played host to Bonapart's gulls, eight great blue herons, and a Columbian blacktail deer.