Tidepooling at Duxbury Reef, Bolinas, CA

Kayaking on Tomales Bay allows us to see some critters often found in tidepools, however, walking out on Duxbury Reef and checking out nooks and crannies allows for some awesome discoveries. A group of sixth graders from Marin joined us at the reef for some exploration and we saw some neat creatures.

We found rose anemones, sea urchins, giant anemones, aggregate anemones, starfish including purple and orange ochre stars, chitons, limpets, crabs, and the coolest find, an octopus.

A quick moment on tides. The water in the ocean is constantly moving, caused by the forces of gravity from the moon and the sun. High tide is when the sun and the moon are lined up with the earth, causing the water to pull away from the earth. Low tide is when your area is not lined up with the moon. Low tides not around the full moon or new moon are usually best for exploring. Consult your local tide logs to determine when you should go. Most places are best when the tide is between 1 and negative 1. If the tide is less than negative 1, get out there for a rare preview into the world of creatures rarely visible to humans without a snorkel. Remember to respect the creatures living there, moving them or trying to free them from rocks can be quite detrimental to them.

We went out on a day with a -0.6ft tide at 9:30am. Ideally you want to be out exploring before the lowest point of the tide. Be careful when in tidepools, never put your back to the ocean, waves can sneak up and potentially knock you over and they tend to be very slippery areas. Also be aware that channels will fill with water that may block your way back, be sure not to get stuck out on a reef with no way back to dry land. You will find different creatures dependent on which tidal zone you are looking in and hte height of the tide.