plant/animal reference) to get a bigger pictureFreeland Town Park team photo 2009 | Pectinaria sp. | Freeland Town Park team at work |
The Freeland Park team turned out on May 10th. This beach is rocky with a preponderance of cobbles in the high and mid intertidal zones then transitions to a soft sand/mud substrate at about the -1 foot level. Bob Buck captains this team and it was his experienced eyes that spotted a
shaggy mouse nudibranch (Aeolidia papillosa) tucked up under a boulder. Sharon Dunn picked the shaggy mouse as the highlight for her day along with the numerous barnacle eating nudibranchs (Onchidoris bilamellata). Barbara James, from the BW class of 2009 was monitoring her first beach and reported that she enjoyed the total experience. A guest from the British Isles came along and said she was amazed by the variety of life on the beach and she was also just happy that her boots hadn’t fallen off! Other observations were of the tubeworm Pectinaria, a ring around the sun that heralded a change in weather, and a bald eagle that swooped down and plopped into the water, apparently in pursuit of a fish. The eagle bobbed in the water for a few minutes then took off and flew away, its dignity apparently unruffled in spite of the unsuccessful fishing venture.