Bird Rock, Catalina Island, March 11

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jlyle

Contributor
Messages
2,245
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Location
Palos Verdes Peninsula, California
# of dives
2500 - 4999
I've been dry for almost a month and was eager to get back in the water. Breathe in, breathe out, repeat...

Scott and Margaret suggested we take the boat to Catalina Island for the day in search of good visibility. The ocean was flat, flat, flat - calm seas and no wind. We made the quick run to the Isthmus and anchored off Bird Rock.

The two dives were very nice, with no current, good visibility, and the usual suspects. Both Margaret and I were armed with our Olympus E-330s fitted with Zuiko 14-54mm lenses. Scott had his new D-200 to play with. Margaret was on a hunt to find the elusive Janolus barbarensis nudibranch - they spotted one, I saw zip.

Here are a few of my "keepers" from yesterday.

Tube-dwelling anemone (Pachycerianthus fimbriatus)
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Warty sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus)
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Garibaldi - the California State Marine Fish (Hysypops rubicundus)
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Bluebanded goby (Lythrypnus dalli) ready to dart into the urchin should I make a wrong move.
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Norris's top snail (Lithopoma undosum). Hang ten! It looks like the snail is surfing the kelp frond. "Cool, Dude!"
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Octopus & friend (Octopus bimaculatus?)
octopus640.jpg


Master of all he surveys. Blackeye goby (Coryphopterus nicholsi)
goby640.jpg


Leafy hornmouth snail (Ceratostoma foliatum) laying eggs. I wondered who was laying the orange "capacitors" on the rocks.
"
hornmouth640.jpg


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Giant spined star (Pisaster giganteus).
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A little wide angle action. This gives you an idea of what diving in CA looks like.
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All the Janolus barbarensis were in the dive park according to Claudette and Ken! Glad you had a good trip to Bird Rock. Did you bring your snow skis?
 
Hey, Bill! Maybe we should have gone to the Marine Park and gotten some pictures of the new wetsuit! Lots of "snow" on Bird these days and downwind isn't pleasant.
 
I was at bird rock recently, too. My first time there. We had a bit of current and the viz was down a bit. What I really noticed were alot of flies on the surface.
 
jefe:
I was at bird rock recently, too. My first time there. We had a bit of current and the viz was down a bit. What I really noticed were alot of flies on the surface.

Ah, the dreaded Kelp Fly! They live and breed on the kelp and on a windless, hot day can really be annoying.
 

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