Not much happening here

 Not much has been happening at the beach.  The tide is in really far and we can no longer reach the big rocks where the tide pools are.  However, we have enjoyed a few discoveries along the way.  We have been watching hermit crabs for the last few days.  It is amazing how quickly they can scurry across the rocks and sand.

Is this animal or mineral?  We decided that it was some kind of life that had attached itself to the rock.  The other day Earl spotted an unusual looking glob with tiny barnacles attached.  It looked like a glob of mud.  When I touched it though, I realized it was a small flat rock. About the size and shape of sand dollars, we find on the beach.  Unfortunately we did not think to get a picture of this very strange sight.  

It was amazing to see how tiny some of the crabs were.  If they were hitch hiking and picked up an empty shell, where did the minuscule shells come from?  These hermits are just average size. 

Hermit crab

These crustaceans use social networking to score the best new home on the beach

By Helene Ragovin (This familiar looking hermit crab was actually in Belize far away from California.) 

Looking for a new home at La Jolla Shores

When we first started renting the house in Clairemont, we frequently saw a large group of mothers with strollers walking along the park on the sidewalk pushing strollers.  Then one summer they vanished.  For two days now we have seen women pushing strollers and walking or running together. Nice to see them back.  They did some stretching exercises before going back to the circle of strollers to claim their own.  We were too late to get a picture of them skipping around the circle of "wagons."

The seagulls seem to gather on the roof of one of the hotels on the beach.  This morning we very definitely could hear the little cheep cheep of young gulls. We were a bit surprised when we saw two of them further down the beach. 

There were two of these little guys on the beach today.  They were definitely worried when we walked by.  I am glad we got some good pictures on this one.  Reflection in the water. Neck tucked into its feathers. No sign of the mother seagull but these two did not look like expert fishers.  One of these days, these two will turn into a bird that looks like this.  This site has some incredible pictures of La Jolla beach and cove.  Fun to look at.  I could use a wall full of them. Maybe almost as good as capturing summer in a bottle for those cold winter days. 

We have not seen godwits this summer.  Usually, they are fishing the tide's edge along with the snowy egrets.  Today we saw a fairly large group of them pecking at the sand. We did not get very close to them before they flew away.  They landed again when we were at a safe distance.  Sorry, no pictures from us of this interesting little bird. 

Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa) 

and Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana), 

San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park

The wandering tattler is a medium-sized wading bird. In summer, they are found in far-eastern Russia, Alaska and northwestern Canada. They nest in rocky areas along mountain streams. At other times, they are found on rocky islands in the southwest Pacific and on rocky Pacific coasts from California to South America and as far as Australia. 

Year: 2015

From album: Californian Marine Reserves

Photographer: Peter Prokosch