Photo Journal May and June 2010
Jo O'Keefe Copyright 2010. Photos may be used for educational purposes only. Contact me with inquiries.
May and June are whelk time. Triangles indicating that they are surfacing can be seen every few feet on the beach. Scores of people who had never seen a live mollusk are delighting in seeing the whelks and other mollusks such as clams, moon snails, Lettered Olives, Coquina and augers that are surfacing. This also is when visitors arrive in droves, ensuring pleasant encounters with both children and adults on nearly every walk and plenty of help when I need it. Another feature of May and June
are migrating stingrays. The ones I see each year are Cownose Rays,
Rhinoptera bonasus. One person mentioned seeing red rays. Several
persons told me that a small "stingray" was stranded in
a tide pool. I suspect that it was a Smooth Butterfly Ray, Gymnura
micrura. I was unable to find it. |
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The portion
of the new Sunset Beach Bridge crossing the waterway. Final girders
were placed three days ago. Sunset Beach, NC, 06/07/10
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Atlantic Giant
Cockle, Dinocardium robustrum, Sunset Beach, NC, 06/07/10 --
This active mollusk put on quite a show.
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Roughtail Stingray,
Dasyatis centroura -- distinguished by spines and bumps down
the back and onto the tail, Sunset Beach, NC, 05/19/10
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This species
has a single barb a third of the way down its tail. Although venomous,
rays seldom strike unless threatened. Because they are bottom feeders,
injuries to feet and legs often occur when people step on them. Rays
flap their fins, disturbing the sand to expose small invertebrates to
eat such as sea stars and sea urchins.
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Behind each
eye stingrays have a spiracle to breathe in oxygen. This is important
because they rest on the bottom of the ocean, often beneath sand. Water
is expelled through gills on the lower side of the ray.
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Jellyfish --
many of this species are washing up along with Cannonball jellyfish
and some Comb Jellies. Sunset Beach, NC, 05/15/10
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Knobbed Whelk
egg chain with eggs visible in end capsule on left. Sunset Beach, NC,
05/15/10
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Scores of live Knobbed Whelks, along with some Channeled Whelks, are surfacing. This occurs each May. A triangle indicates that a whelk is surfacing. Sunset Beach, NC, 05/15/10 |
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Prickly Pear
cactus with new pads in left photo, and buds, probably Opuntia engelmannii,
Sunset Beach, NC, 05/16/10
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Sand Dollar
found in sea grit, Sunset Beach, NC, 05/03/10 -- this is the actual
size of the sand dollar, under 1/2 inch wide
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Sea Drift composed
primarily of worm tubes, probably Mesochaetopterus, a member
of the family Chaetopteridae. Sea drift is light and contains fragile
shells such as tellins and Green Jackknife Clams. Sunset Beach, NC,
05/16/10
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Sea Grit, composed
of minute shells and shards of shells, contains many newborn and unusual
fragile shells.
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Nothing in
my yard has been trimmed this year, including the frost-bitten leaves
of this Sago Palm, Cycas revoluta. It's a jungle out there. While inspecting
my yard this morning with a landscaper, we noted this pollination cone
on -- of course -- a male Sago Palm. Sago Palms are not true palms.
Above is a close-up photo of the pollin on the 20-inch-tall and 5-inch-wide
cone.
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