Low Tide at the 10 Spot

Wow! The 10 Spot was Alive last night! We lucked out and hit the beach just as low tide was peaking.

It was the lowest tide I have ever observed at the 10 Spot and what a treat! There were lots of live lightning whelks and even a few pear whelks out and about. Usually at a low tide, I can find the lightning whelks by looking for the tip of the shell sticking up out of the sand like this...

But last night they were all on the prowl, roaming around in the shallows waiting for their photo ops!

And there were lots of them~

Live pear whelks are not as common as the live lightning whelks, so finding a couple of these guys was a real treat!

I also found my first ever live king's crown! What a beauty she is~look at her pretty spots!

Then I spotted a surf clam trying to make his way across the sea floor~

But the highlight of the evening by far was getting to see and hold a huge live shark's eye! I noticed him as I was filming the clam, just a couple feet away and he was gigantic! I had never seen one as big as this and never a live one either. As you can see, the live animal is probably twice as big as its shell. That's because its inflated with water. When the water is expelled the entire animal can retract into its shell.

 

I have said it before and I will say it again "I LOVE low tide shelling!" It is so much fun to see all these creatures alive and well and living on our wonderful sea shore!