Crescent Harbor

Crescent Harbor monitoring team photo 2010 Crescent Harbor monitoring team photo 2010

Young bald eagle at Crescent Harbor Young bald eagle at Crescent Harbor

Jim records data Jim records data

..Evasterias troschelii.. Mottled sea star Evasterias troschelii Evasterias troschelii

..Onchidoris bilamellata.. Barnacle eating nudibranch Onchidoris with eggs Onchidoris with eggs

..Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis.. Green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

The tide level fell to -2 feet on May 1st as a small but dedicated veteran team checked out Crescent Harbor. Three Beach Watchers took part and one high school student was recruited to help as he hiked along the beach near the start point. More than 50 species were identified including opalescent, barnacle eating (Onchidoris bilamellata), and shaggy mouse nudibranchs, mottled sea stars (Evasterias troschelli), and green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis). The high school student quickly caught on to the profiling procedure and appeared surprised by the diversity of the beach. A bald eagle kept a stern eye on the proceedings while perched in a tree on a nearby bluff while two Canada geese and a great blue heron did flybys.

Crescent Harbor - April 27, 2009

Tonicella sp

Crescent Harbor monitoring team photo 2009

Evasterias troschelii

The Crescent Harbor team enjoyed warm temperatures, sunny skies, and a -3 foot tide on April 27th. The team was made up of just four members but they worked at a steady pace and made it to the waters edge at just the right moment, as the tide dropped to its lowest point. Jean Allen enjoyed being back on the beach and made some great finds. She was the first to spot barnacle eating nudibranchs with their egg masses. Mottled sea stars (Evasterias troschelii), lined chitons (Tonicella lineata),and gunnel eels made the day’s highlight list as did a pair of river otters that hauled out nearby on a partially submerged erratic.

Crescent Harbor 2008

Lined chiton

Crescent Harbor critter check

Paranemertes with polychaete

Crescent Harbor monitoring team photo 2008

Crescent Harbor's crackerjack team kicked off the 2008 monitoring season on April 8th, braving chilly temperatures and intermittent April showers to collect data from that beach. Eight veteran BWs turned out and set right to work. Charlie Eddy took care of data sheets as Monem Mahmoud Abdel, Oz Allen, and Melissa Merickel laid out the profile line. A lined chiton (Tonicella sp.) proved to be a popular find as was a polychaete that demonstrated its remarkable eversible pharynx with tiny jaws that popped into view as the pharynx shot out. Mike Eddy tagged another species of polychaete as a "fangworm" or "sabertooth worm" because of two protruding structures emanating from its mouth. A mottled seastar (Evasterias troschelii) was found, its rays encircling a black mussel-sized rock that it was apparently trying to feed on, setting up a situation that was possibly the invertebrate version of the Hardrock Cafe. All concurred that the outstanding find of the day was a predatory purple ribbon worm (Paranemertes peregrina) with its proboscis lassoed around a larger polychaete, the doomed polychaete destined to be its dinner.