The Western gull, Larus occidentalis, is a large white-headed gull common along the western coast of North America. The Western gull ranges from British Columbia to Baja California. It is exclusively marine, and nests on offshore rocks and islands. While offshore it feeds on fishes and invertebrates that it can take at the surface (it cannot dive), and will scavenge carcasses and shellfish while foraging along the shore. It is known to predate upon other smaller birds. Western gulls have a lifespan up to about 25 years, although 15-20 years is more common.
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Western gull, adult breeding plumage, note yellow orbital ring around eye. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15112
Species: Larus occidentalis
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Western gull, open mouth. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15553
Species: Larus occidentalis
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Western gull, courtship display. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15556
Species: Larus occidentalis
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Keywords: Western gull, Larus occidentalis.
The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific recently arranged to use one of our photographs of the tiny Corynactis californica anemone for a huge wall mural, to be hung in the coming month. It reminded me of how cool these small creatures are, and how many times I have hunkered down on the reef to spend a dive photographing them.
The club-tipped anemone, or corynactis anemone (Corynactis californica), is common in the nearshore environment in Southern California and Baja California. Its range extends north to at least Washington. Corynactis californica is not a true anemone, but rather a Corallimorph cnidarian. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these corallimorphs is that their tentacles, which are not fully retractable, end in knobs resembling clubs (hence the name club-tipped anemone). Corallimorphs have a number of physiological similarities to hard corals but lack the hard coral skeletons of corals. The corynactis anemone is often found in large groups covering rocks, wrecks, piers and other hard substrate to which it can cling. These groups take on beautiful colors: pink, red, orange, blue, purple. Corynactis californica can reproduce asexually by longitudinal fission in which case all clones will take on the same color.
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Polyp of a strawberry anemone (club-tipped anemone, more correctly a corallimorph). San Miguel Island, California, USA.
Image: 01039
Species: Corynactis californica
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Strawberry anemones (club-tipped anemones, more correctly corallimorphs). Scripps Canyon, La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 02487
Species: Corynactis californica
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A cluster of vibrantly-colored strawberry anemones (club-tipped anemone, more correctly a corallimorph) polyps clings to the rocky reef. Santa Barbara Island, California, USA.
Image: 10165
Species: Corynactis californica
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Keywords: club-tipped anemone, corynactis anemone, Corynactis californica, corallimorph.
Some years ago I had the good fortune to swim with and photograph a group of Northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) at San Miguel Island, the northernmost of the Channel Islands offshore of central California. I was there on a multi day tank diving trip. Blessed with fantastic weather, we were able to anchor the boat amidst thick kelp beds offshore of San Miguel’s Point Bennett pinniped rookery. Most divers immediately put on tanks, dropped straight down without even looking around the boat, and scoured the bottom looking for bottom stuff until their air ran out. While suiting up, however, I noticed a small group of strange looking pinnipeds rafted up about a hundred yards away, a type I had not seen before. I could not identify them through binoculars but could see that they somewhat resembled Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus townsendi), a species I had dived with many times at Guadalupe Island, except that these seals were smaller and had a distinctly different head profile. The only thing I was certain of was that they were not California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). Curious, I left the tank on the boat, swam over to the seals with just fins, mask and camera, and spent about two hours freediving alone with them. At one point an enormous submarine passed by me, clearly much larger and different than the seals I was with. The thing was huge. It took me several moments to realize that what was blotting out the sun was a passing male Northern fur seal, and that the smaller ones I had been photographing all this time were females. The water was not great, but clear enough that was able to get four keepers out of the three rolls that I shot. Once I returned home and reviewed the photos I could confirm that my seals were female Northern fur seals. Indeed, the description of the distinct sexual dimorphism in the species was consistent with the sizes of the seals I saw in the water, particularly the huge male.
The bulk of Northern fur seals reside in the Pribilof and Commander islands far to the north in the Bering Sea, ranging around the Pacific to the Kuril Islands north of Japan. At the opposite, extreme southeast extent of their range is a small rookery at San Miguel Island, the home of the seals I observed. Mine was a particularly special encounter since few people ever swim with Northern fur seals, much less have conditions favorable enough to photograph them. However, none of the other divers on the trip showed interest in joining me even though I implored them to when I returned to the boat twice to change film, insisting this was a rare opportunity. I do not dive San Miguel Island anymore these days, and have not seen another Northern fur seal since then.
Keywords: Northern fur seal, Callorhinus ursinus, San Miguel Island, Point Bennett
Crested Pool, in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, lies just steps away from Castle Geyser. Crested Pool extends 42 feet deep and is constantly superheated, achieving temperatures to at least 237°F. Crested Pool is always at least boiling and occasionally domes to heights of 10 feet. In 1970 a young visitor, not realizing how hot the water in Crested Pool was, ran into the stream and pool and was killed. A railing now keeps visitors back.
Keywords: Crested Pool, Yellowstone National Park
Morning Glory Pool, one of the most popular and beautiful pools in Yellowstone National Park, earned its name in the 1880’s due to its deep blue coloration and likeness to the Morning Glory flower. Morning Glory Pool was once reached by car, bringing it fame as one of the first features visitors would see entering the Upper Geyser Basin. Over the years visitors tossed coins, trash, sticks and rocks into the pool, causing its vent to clog and the flow of water to decrease. This prompted the temperature in the pool to lessen, causing the pool’s deep blue color to fade and allowing the red and yellow algae that formerly only survived at the fringe of the pool to grow toward the center. The road has since been removed and now Morning Glory Pool is reached by a flat 1.5 mile flat walk from the Old Faithful Inn area. According to the folks at GOSA, Morning Glory Pool has on rare occasions been known to erupt as a geyser, leading to some failed efforts in the past to deliberately induce eruptions in an effort to clear the pool’s vent. Morning Glory Pool is part of the Morning Glory / Riverside group of geothermal features. A visit to Riverside Geyser, which is one of the most predictable geysers in Yellowstone National Park, can be easily combined with a viewing of Morning Glory Pool.
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Morning Glory Pool has long been considered a must-see site in Yellowstone. At one time a road brought visitors to its brink. Over the years they threw coins, bottles and trash in the pool, reducing its flow and causing the red and orange bacteria to creep in from its edge, replacing the blue bacteria that thrive in the hotter water at the center of the pool. The pool is now accessed only by a foot path. Upper Geyser Basin. Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA.
Image: 13352
Location: Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
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Keywords: Morning Glory Pool, Yellowstone National Park
Roca del Skip (Skip’s Rock) is a dramatic spire at the southern end of Isla Guadalupe (Guadalupe Island) named in honor of the man who has videotaped and explored the submarine haunts of Guadalupe Island more than anyone else.
Harrison “Skip” Stubbs, Ph. D. has logged hundreds of hours diving at Guadalupe Island annually since 1992 during expeditions that he has organized to explore the island and appreciate its marine inhabitants and spectacular geologic features. Guadalupe Island is surrounded with dozens of underwater spires, offshore rocks, islets and islands. The southern end of Guadalupe Island hosts four noteworthy and diveable rocks, all of which we have dived repeatedly. Most significant are Isla Adentro and Isla Afuera, both of which are large, dramatic islands with spectacular vertical underwater terrain for divers to explore. Next to Adentro is the much smaller Church Rock which, like its larger brethren, is sheer on all sides and exposed to open ocean swells and currents, making for some exciting submarine conditions. And finally there is Roca del Skip (Skip’s Rock), a granite spire that rises out of 150′ of water to break the surface. It is too difficult to anchor at Roca del Skip, indeed it is tricky enough to anchor near Church Rock. So we take a skiff from the big boat over to Roca del Skip and splash in, then quick! race down into the lee of the rock before the current grabs hold. Roca del Skip is vertical on three sides, clean granite that glows in the sunlight and is spotted with Scythe butterflyfish and Guadalupe cardinalfish. The walls drop to 150′ and a ridge of granite extends out toward open sea from the base, as far as one can see which is usually 150′ or more in the clear waters there. On its other side Roca del Skip has a broad shoulder covered with low-lying algae that sways in passing swells and is home to schools of Azurina, blacksmith and chubb. Roca del Skip is close enough to Church Rock that one can make the swim underwater. We shoot the gap from Roca del Skip to Church at least once each trip if we can. Shoot the gap (n.): “swim at depth from one rock to the other without any bottom structure in sight”. I like to do it without a compass. (Compass navigation is for people who log their dives and check their air pressure; I don’t know any people like that.) This holistic approach is referred to in diving magazines as “navigation using natural features” except in this case there are no natural features to reference. Its fun and stupid this way, relying on the angle of the sun and the seat of one’s pants to guess which direction to head. It should be noted that, given certain known biohazards at Guadalupe, shooting the gap yields a sense of comfort akin to what a bait must feel like when it has become separated from its school and hears tuna approaching. As an added bonus, if a wrong heading from Roca del Skip causes one to miss Church Rock entirely and the currents grab hold, the next stop is Tahiti. There have been a few times after leaving Skip’s Rock behind that we’ve been swimming the gap for what seemed like too long, 70′ deep and without “natural features” upon which to base our “navigation”, before the hazy glow of Church Rock begins to show in the distance ahead. We burn what remains of our air along the walls and shoulders of Church Rock before the skiff arrives to pick us up.
Lots more Guadalupe Island photos.
Keywords: Isla Guadalupe (Guadalupe Island)
Roca del Skip appears in the Guadalupe Island entry on Wikipedia so it must be official, right.?
Our photograph of an ocean sunfish alongside drift kelp appeared on the June 2003 cover of Sport Diver magazine:
Keywords: Mola mola, ocean sunfish photos.
Our photograph of expert freediver, spearfisherman, long range boat captain and all-around-good-guy Chris Thompson was taken at Guadalupe Island in July 2001 shortly after he speared his ginormous yellowfin tuna (not his first mind you). It then appeared on the Summer 2002 cover of the International Freediving and Spearfishing News:
These double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) were photographed on the La Jolla cliffs.
The double-crested cormorant ranges from Alaska to Nova Scotia south into Mexico — most of North America — wintering on both coasts. It swims underwater quite well, diving for fish and invertebrates up to 100′ deep (personal observation). However, since it does not have well-developed oil glands and is not waterproofed, it will often hold its wings aloft to dry them following a session of diving.
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Double-crested cormorants in flight at sunrise, long exposure produces a blurred motion. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15280
Species: Phalacrocorax auritus
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Double-crested cormorant drys its wings in the sun following a morning of foraging in the ocean, La Jolla cliffs, near San Diego. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15071
Species: Phalacrocorax auritus
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Double-crested cormorant, La Jolla cliffs, near San Diego. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 15090
Species: Phalacrocorax auritus
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See all of our double-crested cormorant photos.
Keywords: double-crested cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus.
Still another academic journal cover — too bad these guys don’t pay the big bucks.
Our photograph of a scalloped hammerhead shark appeared on the June 2005 cover of the Journal of Morphology, to accompany Olfactory Morphology of Carcharhinid and Sphyrnid Sharks: Does the Cephalofoil Confer a Sensory Advantage? (Kajiura, Forni and Summers):
Here’s another “scientific journal” cover, we’ve had a few of these in the last three years. Our photograph of schooling jacks in the Sea of Cortez appeared on the cover of the January 2006 issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences to accompany The principles of collective animal behavior (Sumpter):
Using an .htaccess file we found that we can produce a virtual distinct page for every species (e.g., http://www.oceanlight.com/sp/genus_species.html) as well as a distinct page for every common name (e.g., http://www.oceanlight.com/co/brown_pelican.html) in our database. So we’ll see if the Google spiders eventually pick these up, prefer them to the existing pages and run with them, or not. Here they are: Species and Common Names.
Our photograph of a schooling jacks in the Sea of Cortez appeared on the cover of Baja California to the Bering Sea, a report on marine priority conservation areas issued by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America and the Marine Conservation Biology Institute (Morgan, Maxwell, Tsao, Wilkinson and Etnoyer):
Our photograph of a neonate gray whale calf underwater near the Monterey Peninsula appeared on the Summer 2002 cover of the All Animals magazine, the official publication of the Humane Society of the United States:
In addition to the cover of Nature a few years ago, we’ve had interest from other scientific and peer-reviewed journals recently. Our photograph of a scalloped hammerhead shark appeared on the October 2005 cover of Ecology Letters, to accompany Direct and indirect fishery effects on small coastal elasmobranchs in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Shepherd and Myers):
Our photograph of a gray whale blowing as it surfaces along the Big Sur coast appeared on the cover of the Where magazine:
The wood duck (Aix sponsa) inhabits lakes, swamps and streams throughout much of North America. Curiously, it is one of just a few duck species in North America that nests in trees. The male wood duck has a bright plumage pattern including rich green, white, brown and red colors, while the female wood duck is a much less eyecatching dull brown. Wood ducks successfully use nest boxes, if they are available. Wood ducks nest in trees adjacent to or overhanging water. When the ducklings hatch the mother wood duck will call to them, encouraging them to jump from the nest to the ground — falls of nearly 300′ are described with no injury to the featherweight, fluffy ducklings. The wood duck is a game bird and second only to the mallard in the numbers that are shot each year.
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Wood duck, male. Santee Lakes, Santee, California, USA.
Image: 15691
Species: Aix sponsa
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Wood duck, male. Santee Lakes, Santee, California, USA.
Image: 15694
Species: Aix sponsa
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Wood duck, male. Santee Lakes, Santee, California, USA.
Image: 15693
Species: Aix sponsa
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Browse more wood duck photos.
Bridalveil Falls is a classic example of a “hanging valley”. Two million years ago it was a stream flowing through a canyon that intersected Yosemite Valley. Over time glaciers carved away the intersection, leaving Bridalveil’s canyon “hanging” above the valley and turning the stream into falls that plunge 620 feet (200m). Wind often blows the falls back and forth, producing a wide swath of mist that cools visitors who take the short hike to the base of the falls. Native indians referred to Bridalveil Falls as Pohono (”blowing wind”) and considered it to be a superstitious place. Bridalveil Fall, with a large absorbant watershed, flows year round. However, spring is the time to visit Yosemite National Park if you are interested in waterfalls. We make at least one visit to Yosemite Valley each spring, usually in May or early June, to see the park’s falls at their peak flow and to enjoy crisp cool mornings, verdant forests, blooming dogwood trees, a hike up the Mist Trail and Sunday brunch at the Ahwahnee. Bridalveil Falls is the first major water fall visitors see when entering Yosemite Valley, first seen we one emerges from the tunnel entrance to the west end of the valley, as it forms one side of the Gates of the Valley, then a short drive later it is observed from the floor of Yosemite Valley. Bridalveil Falls is a short, level walk from the parking lot to the base of the falls, through shady trees. When the falls are pumping the forest around the base of the falls is dripping wet and side streams form to pull the overflow from the falls down to the Merced River a few hundred yards away. In late afternoon a rainbow often forms in the spray of Bridalveil Falls, rising as the sun sinks.
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Bridalveil Falls. Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite National Park, California, USA.
Image: 12646
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Bridalveil Falls with a rainbow forming in its spray, dropping 620 into Yosemite Valley, displaying peak water flow in spring months from deep snowpack and warm weather melt. Yosemite Valley. Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite National Park, California, USA.
Image: 16160
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Bridalveil Falls plummets 620 feet (200m). Yosemite Valley. Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite National Park, California, USA.
Image: 16077
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Bridalveil Falls plummets 620 feet (200m). Yosemite Valley. Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite National Park, California, USA.
Image: 16080
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See some other waterfalls in Yosemite Valley: Yosemite Falls, Vernal Falls and Horsetail Falls.
Keywords: Bridalveil Falls, waterfall, Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Valley, California, photo, picture, image, photograph.
