Blog 2

    Wednesday, May 14, we went tide pooling near Cholla bay during low tide. At this beach, there weren't much rocks compared to the beaches we visited previously. We still found many octopuses and eggs that were inside of the shells or stuck to the rocks that were spotted. Although we weren't able to see any stingrays, Dr. C informed us that it is usually an area that they are spotted. We also found many snails and crabs along the shoreline. There were a few isopods and sponges spotted stuck to the rocks and seashells. This photo shows three of the octopuses that were caught by Isabella, Cameron, and I. 


    On Thursday, May 15th, we rode a boat to Isla de San Jorge, or better known as "Bird Island". After putting on our wetsuits, we snorkeled with the sea lions, which would swim up extremely close to us. They were also swimming up to the boat and doing tricks out of the water, which made me believe that they were purposefully showing off for us. While snorkeling, we also identified other organisms along the ocean floor that were recognizable, such as sun stars and sea urchins. After snorkeling and eating our burritos, we filled out a survey as we rode the boat along the island. The survey asked us to record the number of entangled sea lions and birds that we could see with our binoculars around the island. Our group ended up finding 13 female sea lions, 1 male sea lion, and a couple species of birds that had nets visible around them. CEDO's plan is to use the surveys to go back and catch the organisms with a net to free them from their entanglement. We also spotted different types of birds during the boat rides and fish that were jumping out of the water near the bay. The pictures attached include the beach next to CEDO on Thursday morning and the sea lions at Bird Island. 


-Kyli

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