Small Waves but Still Some Fun to be Had

The shore was covered with tuna crabs, washed in by the tide.  It was enough to attract a modest crowd.  Some of us busied ourselves, perhaps futilely  returning the live tuna crabs to the surf.  Out in the water, the waves were big enough to push the surfers along for a few moments but not too much more, often cresting from multiple points in the wave at the same time.  Besides, there were probably more surfers than waves to go around.  However, a few of the faithful managed to make some good sport out of the waves, this surfer managing to launch up into the air and, somewhat to my surprise, land back on the board.

Tuna Crabs Invade Ocean Beach

Heerman's Gulls, Larus heermannii, fighting over a Tuna crab stranded on the beach.

This pelagic red crab (Pleuroncodes planipes), also known as the tuna crab, is one of many tuna crabs washed ashore during the June 2015 El Nino event. Tuna crabs are one of the more numerous pelagic creatures populating the California current. As such, they they are a favored food of tuna, yellowtail, billfish, sea otters, whales, and sea birds. It is speculated that they wash ashore as part of a spawning event, with the larvae riding the current out into the central Pacific. As they grow larger, they descent into a deeper current with then returns them towards the coast of North and South America.

I searched for the tuna crabs that were still living, despite having been stranded on the beach, and set this little tuna crab and some of his tuna crab brothers & sisters back into the tide.  Futile?  Perhaps...

Sunset at Ocean Beach, California

Sunset at Ocean Beach, California.

Sea Lavender

Sea Lavender, probably Limonium californicum, Ocean Beach, California. The genus Limonium is found worldwide. However, Limonium californicum is found largely in California coastal marsh areas. This is also sometimes called Marsh Rosemary although it is in the family plumbaginaceae

Drooping Prickly Pear

Drooping Prickly Pear, Opuntia monocantha, blooming along the path at Dog Beach - Ocean Beach, California. This robust and beautiful cacti is native to South America where its range extends from Brazil to Argentina. It has been naturalized in the Southeastern U.S., Australia and Southern and Eastern Africa where it prefers savanna and coastal sage scrub habitats.

Beach Primrose: Spring starts early in Southern California

Beach Primrose, Oenothera drummondii, blooming at Ocean Beach, California. Spring along the coast of Southern California starts a little earlier. At Ocean Beach, the Beach Primroses were in full bloom.

Squid Eggs

Squid Eggs at low tide at Ocean Beach. Surprisingly, the birds were not out there eating all of the squid eggs interspersed among the seaweed. My suspicions that these were squid eggs were confirmed when I zoomed in on the digital image. You could see the baby squid, their tiny black eyes, their white little tentacles and bulbous body sac. I wondered if they would survive the low tide to hatch and what kind of squid left them. Fascinating stuff!

Metallic Green Fig Beetle, Cotinus texana

Metallic Green Fig Beetle, Cotinus texana, in the sand dunes among some Beach Primrose. I attempted to get a closer shot and ended up with a foot full of burrs. Sadly, by the time I got the burrs off of my foot, it had flown away... Perhaps, if I check the fig tree out back...

Beach Evening Primrose

Beach Evening Primrose, Camissonia cheiranthifolia, Ocean Beach, California. One of the loveliest wildflowers in the area. It's roots achor the sand dunes and create a stable environment for birds and other animals. It blooms from April through August.