Recently, a number of boisterous sea lions have moved into King Harbor in Redondo Beach. Some seem to have made the move permanant.

Pelicans have also begun to take back the beach.

Our neighbor Larry made sure this halibut was only a temporary resident.

We wanted to seek out smaller animals today. We began our quest in the shallow rocky reefs near Palos Verdes. We gave up after only five minutes due to the surge and poor visibility. We tucked our tails between our legs and headed for the Redondo Barge. This rusting hulk near shore always seems to offer up a couple of surprises. Today we had two sea lions in our faces for the last ten minutes of the dive. It's a bit unnerving trying to hold the camera still near a nudibranch with a two hundred pound puppy charging you.
I found the tiny Metridium senile for the third time. Each time, it has been in a different location. I'd love to be there to see it swim.

Two Pyrosomas floated by in the slow current. The only other thig we saw in mid water was a lot of small brown particles falling from the surface. Hmm...it was right after the sea lions surfaced for air above us. We rinsed our gear right away today.

As for the tiny critters, we had plenty. Barnacles, nudibranchs and bryozoans were the main focus today.

We've been finding this bryozoan growing on gorgonian for the past few weeks. It seems to be a favorite food of the Spanish Shawl.

Merry found a rock with two Pleurobranchaea californica sidegill slugs, a tiny Aegires albopunctatus and an octopus the size of a half dollar. There was also a small orange shrimp that I missed. Hopefully Merry got a shot of it.

I'm hoping to shoot more wide angle soon. Scott and Margaret Webb are in Cozumel. Maybe they will bring us back some clear water.

• Re: It's a zoo out there. Kathy K. 13:41:16 08/08/11 (0)
• New nudi, Hallaxa chani Merry 17:54:02 08/07/11 (1)
  • Re: New nudi, Hallaxa chani Chris 22:13:11 08/07/11 (0)