Thursday, July 23, 2009

Then There Was a Sunny Beach Day

July 18. V.'s last day. We took the dog and went to Rialto Beach. Mostly dogs can't be in the Park, but they are allowed (on leash) south of Ellen Creek at Rialto. So we recruited him to help do my July beached bird surveys for COASST. On the Rialto Jetty beach survey segment he energetically snuffled all the wrack lines and heaps of seaweed, and if there had been any interesting dead bird parts at all, he'd certainly have found them. (Training him to pick up trash on the return leg only very little successful.)

Instead of beached birds, the theme of the day's citizen science was lots more seaweed than in the previous couple of months, and oh my word vast numbers of people.

Seaweed. Rialto Jetty survey segment (Click for larger image.)

No beached birds on the segment of the survey which ends at Ellen Creek, either. The creek was running. The tide just turned. Incoming waves starting to wash up over the small outgoing flow. Very pleasing.

Ellen Creek, Rialto Beach. (Click for larger image.)

Then we continued on to the end of the beach (poor dog had to stay in the car for this part of the day). Tide was coming in, and (truth) anyway I never intended us to get through the Hole-in-the-Wall. I just wanted us to arrive there among the glorious array of rocks and waves. So she could see it. So I could be there.

North end of Rialto Beach (Click for larger image.)

We even got to tidepool a little, V. found an anemone and a bunch of limpets resting happily in a little pool. Later we saw the only beached critter of the day, a starfish. We threw him back, next to some rocks the waves were beginning to cover; but it was not likely to help... We continued on down the beach in beautiful light with increasing waves now coming in. Yes.

Beached star, Rialto Beach. (Click for larger image.)
Rialto Beach, looking south after crossing Ellen Creek. (Click for larger image.)

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