Haystack Rock Awareness Program Nature Blog

Spring has sprung at Haystack Rock and with it volunteer and staff Environmental Interpreters are finding loads of eggs and tiny juvenile recruits of different types. There have also been very interesting sightings of more precarious types that come with warmer weather; read our HRAP "nature notes" to learn more.... Tidepool Sculpin, Oligocottus maculosus , eggs  Bright yellow Tidepool Sculpin, Oligocottus maculosus , eggs can be found among the barnacles and mussels, often above the tide pools during low tide. Sculpin can vary in color from red-brown to green  and can grow up to 9cm long. Acorn Barnacle, Balanus glandula , recruits  Tiny, juvenile Acorn Barnacle recruits dot the intertidal like adorable polka dots. These animals have small, white volcano-like shells and are very common in the tide pools at Haystack Rock and elsewhere along the Oregon coast. Barnacle Nudibranchs, Onchidoris bilamellata , and eggs ...

What's new at the Rock these past few weeks? Glad you asked! Not only has the weather been completely and utterly unpredictable, but unique animals and marine debris have been making appearances. On March 1st, Environmental Interpreters, Gina and Kari, spotted opalescent and barnacle nudibranchs which can be seen in the pictures below. A Barnacle Nudibranch, Onchidoris Bilamellata , hiding in the center/left of the picture above, is among barnacles and anemones and has most likely just laid the egg mass seen in the upper left portion of the image. The beautiful Opalescent Nudibranch, Hermissenda Crassicornis , pictured above, was seen on March 8th as it relaxed in a tide pool, soaking in the calm morning low tide. Interpreters, throughout the past two weeks, saw HIGHLY variable weather patterns, causing high wind, surf, and surge warnings. In the image below, check out the hail covering the beach at Haystack Rock (and awesome staff a...