April 9, 2011: The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department offers periodic low tide walks. I had been to a nighttime one before; this was my first daytime guided low tide walk.
The first whelk shell we came across had been taken over by a hermit crab, whose tiny claw can be seen here.
We later found a proper whelk: a whelk shell that contained an actual whelk critter. Apparently some whelk are edible. Wikipedia notes "When used for cooking in the United States, busycon whelks are sometimes called scungilli, an Italian-American adaptation of the Neapolitan sconciglio which means the meat of a (usually edible) sea snail." I just can't see me being motivated to ever try this. But never say never I suppose. Also from Wikipedia: "whelks are scavengers and carnivores, equipped with a proboscis tipped with a file-like radula used to bore holes through the shells of barnacles, clams, crabs and lobsters. They have a large, muscular foot with which they hold their victims." Low tide walks are not for the squeamish.
We didn't see any live ones on this trip, but I have made no secrets about my feelings for these creatures in my comments from my prior trip. That all being said, I will concede that their shells are beautiful.
Here's the hole drilled by a snail in a clam shell...before the snail DRANK ITS WHOLE BODY.
We weren't quite sure if this was a molt (discarded shell) or actual dead crab. The absence of strong odor seemed to point to molt.
What is a tube worm? Well, once again, the description of the life forms and biological processes of underwater creatures can be...vivid. Per Wikipedia: "A tube worms is worm-like sessile invertebrate that anchors its tail to an underwater surface and secretes around its body a mineral tube, into which it can withdraw its entire body."
Next to the asterisk, see a small dark fan-shaped structure that looks like a makeup brush. A loose powder brush to be precise. This is the tube worm body out and about. We didn't see any others that day, so we called the group around to see...
...but by the time they gathered 'round to take a look, the tube worm had sucked its makeup brush in.
Anemone
Barnacles can be very Lord of the Ringsy close up.
Barnacle castle
I didn't realize that people eat barnacles, but after I tweeted out a few pictures, Bill Whitbeck (of Taylor Shellfish) noted that they are "good eatin'!" He also tweeted "I've gathered some big ones in northern San Juans a few times. They can be steamed with wine, garlic and herbs, like clams...There's a skin that you peel off, and then just eat the flesh inside. Easy! Gooseneck barnacles are very popular in Spain."
More education from the Twitterverse. Bill of Taylor Shellfish and Barnaby Dorfman of Foodista helped me by identifying the structures in the center as baby gooseneck barnacles.
We didn't see many sea stars that day, just this little fellow hanging out between two rocks.
Some type of worm.
These tiny egg-like structures were all over the place. I wondered if they were eggs. One of the docents took a look and rubbed it between her fingers. As you have probably guessed by now based on the title, she did not think they were eggs. I felt badly for putting her in the position to be, you know, rubbing sea poo, but the Seattle Parks docents are good sports.
During the summer, you can often find naturalists out to help identify sealife on local beaches. http://www.seattleaquarium.org/beach-naturalist