Haystack Rock Awareness Program Nature Blog

A few weeks ago, the HRAP staff was alerted that a mermaid’s purse had been found on the beach. A mermaid’s purse is an egg capsule produced by the Big Skate, ( Raja binoculata ). The capsule, which is oblong in shape, usually measures 9-12 in long and 4-7 in wide. It has horns protruding from the corners.   Egg Capsule (mermaid's purse) Photo courtesy of Frances Holtman This species is oviparis , which means that the egg capsules often contain more than one embryo. This particular egg capsule held three juvenile skates. Unfortunately, the capsule was damaged, and the skates fell to the sand when a visitor picked up the capsule.  Visitors viewing the juvenile Big Skates Photo courtesy of Frances Holtman The Big Skate is the largest species of the skate family. They are found on the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja California. They feed on worms, crustaceans, molluscs, and small fish. While the capsule contained three juvenile Big Skates, their pre...

If you are from the Oregon Coast, you know that bald eagles are seen in great abundance along the shore. But this hasn’t always been the case. In the past, bald eagles had such low population numbers that they were put on the endangered species list. Before 1972, DDT was a popular pesticide that was used all over the country. In coastal areas, the chemicals in this pesticide would end up in the ocean, building up in fish populations that eagles and other large raptors would then prey upon. The chemicals used in DDT would soften eggshells, making bald eagle reproduction success rate very low. Once the use of these chemicals was banned in the United States, eagle numbers began to rise and they were eventually switched from the endangered species to threatened species. It wasn’t until 2007 that eagle numbers were high enough to remove the bird from both endangered species and threatened species lists.   Nowadays, with such a large abundance of seabirds, like those seen at Ha...

Many of us are intrigued by the large animals seen at Haystack Rock, which unfortunately leaves most people to step over, or even on, hundreds of very delicate creatures that cover almost every visible rock, barnacles! Barnacles are crustaceans, related to crabs and shrimp. Although we mostly only see them motionless and stuck to rocks, they expend lots of energy to stay alive and live in a variety of places!  The first stage of a barnacle’s life is a free swimming, one-eyed larva. It hatches from a fertilized egg as a result of sexual reproduction. The barnacles mission at this stage is to find a surface to live on for the rest of its life. This could be attached to a rock, a ship, a whale, a crab, or any other hard surface which will allow the animal to settle. The method barnacles use to attach themselves to surfaces in a wet environment is rather intriguing. Researchers have recently (2014) discovered that this is a two-step process. The first substance that is s...

The intertidal zone is the area between the high and low tide lines.  It is an area rich in nutrients and is the home to a variety of inhabitants, but it is a harsh habitat where the inhabitants have to survive in both the sea and on the land.  The Intertidal has four distinct zones. The spray zone is submerged only during very high tides or during storms, but will be 'sprayed' by sea water by splashing waves and wind-blown spray. The high intertidal zone is submerged during the peak of the high tide and is out of the water for long periods between the high tides. The middle intertidal zone is typically exposed during the hours surrounding the low tide and low intertidal zone is exposed only during the lowest tides. Most human visits to Haystack Rock are during low tide when much of the intertidal zone is exposed and the inhabitants are exposed to the air. While the human visitors leave as the water submerges the landscape with the incoming tide, the inhabitants remain and h...

It’s that time again! The full moon is approaching, bringing some of the lowest tides of the year and the tide pools are waiting for explorers! Exposure at the Needle during a negative low tide Photo Courtesy of Alanna Kieffer Tides for the approaching week: Friday, July 31 st –   low tide: -1.4’ @ 7:18 AM                         High tide: 6.7’ @ 1:56 PM                         Low tide: 1.6’ @ 7:20 PM Saturday, August 1 st – low tide: -1.5’ @8:00 AM                                     High tide: 7.1’ @ 2:36 PM        ...