On a pre-storm 55° day, we grabbed coffees and scones and headed to the seashore.
Portuguese Beach is a long wide beach between Bodega Bay and the Russian River in Sonoma County. It’s one of the largest sandy beaches in the area.We delighted in seeing more Brown Pelicans, all in one spot, than we have ever seen before.When we were kids, this sight was not possible. The brown pelican was first declared endangered in 1970 under the Endangered Species Preservation Act, a precursor to the current Endangered Species Act. Since then, thanks to a ban on DDT and efforts by states, conservation organizations, private citizens and many other partners, the bird has recovered. There are now more than 650,000 brown pelicans found across Florida and the Gulf and Pacific Coasts, as well as in the Caribbean and Latin America.Did you know? A group of pelicans has many collective nouns, including a brief, pod, pouch, scoop, and squadron of pelicans.The beachcombing revealed a new creature to us: Sea Pork (center). The term can refer to several species of tunicates—invertebrates that have been siphoning, filtering, and squirting water for hundreds of millions of years. Many of these creatures are composed of colonies of organisms called zooids, nestled together in a gloopy “tunic.”
Sea pork has been confusing beachgoers for generations, and scientists and others have spent well over a century trying to correct misconceptions about it. It’s not surprising that the creatures spark dark imaginings: In death, they look like bloated cutlets or waterlogged livers, so it’s easy to wonder whether unfortunate body parts are bobbing in the waves. It was definitely one of the weirdest beach finds, to date.
“Life takes you down many paths
but my favorite ones lead to the beach.”
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