Syzygy

At some point every summer, there is a "lowest tide".  Low tides (and high tides) aren't created equal; some are lower than others.  This occurs when the earth, moon, and sun are all in alignment -- in syzygy.  Ain't that a grand word?  Three y's, no need for ordinary vowels, rhymes with "misery".  I encourage it's use at your next dinner party.

Every month, there are particularly low tides during new and full moons (spring tides).  And sometimes, these spring tides are really, really low (due to all the astronomical stuff going on around us -- how close our neighbors are; where the planets are, etc).

This week we had a particularly low tide, and at Kent Island that means an expedition to the intertidal.  You never know what you're going to find out there, and that's part of the fun -- it's like an Easter egg hunt -- one that's a bit cold and slimy.  But we all bundled right up and got out there, thankful for good weather on this special day.

First we had to hike down to the south end of the island, wading through the tall grass.  That pole is a sensor that picks up signals from tagged herring gulls.

Headed past the driftwood down to the rocks! 

Our first find -- hermit crabs!

And gigantic Littorina snails -- we have the biggest periwinkles anywhere!

Claire seems unimpressed by this urchin.  But who can resist it?

I'm a huge fan of kelp holdfasts.

And sponges!  This species turns green due to a symbiotic algae living in it.

A giant waved whelk.  Predatory bad ass.

Snail fish.  A favorite!

Aho!  What's this?  The first baby lobster we've found.  You know it's a low tide to find these guys.

Scale worm.  These bioluminesce when preyed on.

Two seastars -- an Asterias and a brittle star -- probably Ophiopholis aculeata.

Lots of Cancer crabs down low.

We took turns flipping over cobbles and catching rock gunnels.

Like this one!

Who knew there could be a waterfall in the ocean?

Interested in tidepools?  Check out these guides:  How to tidepool and Where to tidepool in Maine.

Pond Cove, some big things, and a blogging hiatus

Headed to Kent Island on our caretaker's boat, Island Bound

So I've been a little busy lately.  And it shows in the number of blog posts I've been making.  But as can happen, life has gotten a little crazy.

Damon and  I are embroiled in the midst of our normal annual craziness -- getting ourselves, a dozen undergraduates, all our gear, and most of our food out to Kent Island in New Brunswick.  This involves finding a dog-sitter, stopping the mail (although I am realizing just as I write this that I forgot to do that!), packing two giant bins of ratty field clothes, cleaning the house as spotless as possible, reassuring parents, getting our office work done, and then herding cats all the way across the border, onto boats, and over to the island.

Since this regular brand of craziness hasn't pushed us over the top (yet), we decided to add a little more into our lives:  we are selling our house in order to downsize to a smaller home (and life).  I'll write a bit more about it when the ink is dry, but in essence, we had too much house, not enough warm weather to work on it, and a hankering for "less".  In the meantime, it's meant lots of home repairs and staging, paperwork to be signed, and extra stress added to our spring.

That hasn't stopped me from getting out and exploring, but has dug into my writing time by quite a lot.  So I'm going to take a little blogging break, in order to get through the next month.  We (hopefully, if all goes as planned) pass papers to sell our wonderful house AND buy a little condo on June 19, and after that I feel like I'll be able to breathe again.

Before I go, I wanted to share a terrific visit I had to Pond Cove in Cape Elizabeth with a Meetup group called "Southern Maine Tide Poolers."  This awesome group is the brainchild of Megan McCuller, a young biologist from Portland. It's just a bunch of people who like to look at cool stuff in the ocean, who meet up at dig around in tidepools.  Brilliant.  

Tiny barnacles that have just settled out of the plankton and onto rocks.  They love rough surfaces best, so you tend to find them all lined up in the cracks of rocks.  Note you can see this pattern in the big ones too.

We met this month at Pond Cove in Cape Elizabeth.  I'd never been there, so it was really exciting to find a new spot to tidepool.  This is a great place -- parking at the land trust lot, good rocky tidepools full of cool stuff, and a terrific shallow cobble pool perfect for kids to get into.  If you'll forgive me, I'm going to just post some pics and get onto the work I have to do on the island today.  But if you like tidepooling, check out the Meetup group -- it was really fun!

A tidepool out in the breaking waves

This green crab was carrying eggs -- but was dead.  Interestingly, we found TONS of Asian shore crabs and no green crabs.  This is a trend I've heard others mention this spring too.  What's up with that?

Horse mussels and coralline algae

Poking around in a tidepool

The cobbles are a great place for kids to turn over rocks and find cool stuff

TO GET THERE:  From US1 in Portland, take Rt 77 south; cross the bridge over Portland Harbor. In South Portland, Rt 77 turns right and becomes Ocean St -- do not turn with it but go straight on Broadway to Cottage Rd and turn right. This road becomes Shore Road.  After Fort Williams State Park, go another Mile and look for the parking lot for Robinson Woods (thanks Cape Elizabeth Land Trust).  Look just across the road; you'll see a path with a little "Pond Cove" sign.  Follow this and you're there!

Geeking out at Owls Head

Getting into it with Kerry and Sarah!

It was a rumor that had to be investigated.

Somewhere, sometime, I had heard that there were tidepools at the Owls Head Light.  Good tidepools.  Tidepools worth tromping through.  I might have read it in Shumway.  Or I might have heard it on the street.  Either way, I'd been itching to get out there and investigate for awhile.

I tried to get there just a couple of weeks ago.  This is what it looked like in town:

Very striking image, but not encouraging for a tide pool day!

I hightailed it out of there!

But the weather was clearing, and there was a very low spring tide approaching.  And so I assembled my team of intrepid scientists.  Kerry Whittaker, a young biological oceanographer, and Sarah Kingston, an amazing molecular ecologist and all around cool gal, were on the crack squad of tidepoolers this time out.  We dug out our boots, bundled up in several layers, and rendezvoused for a spring tide expedition to Penobscot Bay.

Our arrival was greeted with cold, strong winds.  We thought this might make our trip unpleasant, but it turned out the wind was from the northeast, so we were in the lee of the headland once we made it past the lighthouse.

Typical light house wonderfulness.

A beautiful site!

We scrabbled down the steep trail . . . 

And what did we find?  How were the tidepools?

Awesome!

The headland protects this spot from wind and waves.

First off, this was the slickest place I've ever tromped through -- slick as in slippery, not as in cool.  I looked like a little old lady clamoring around on all fours.  There was a lot of Irish moss very high on the rocks -- surprising because this seaweed doesn't do well exposed to air.  I thought it might be Mastocarpus at first (which looks similar, but can withstand emersion for longer than Irish moss.  But it wasn't; a curious finding!  We found a ton of dog whelks -- not surprising given the fact that waves would have trouble getting to the tide pools here.  That meant we also found an ecological community typical of a place with lots of hungry predators -- very few barnacles or mussels.  We also found a lot of sea urchins in the low tidepools -- super cool.  These hungry herbivores gobble up seaweed at an astonishing pace, so the tidepools looked like the salad bar had been picked clean.

Dog whelks:  voracious predators.

Exposed Irish moss:  unusual.

Smooth periwinkles (and slippery seaweed).

A tidepool dominated by coralline algae.

Loads and loads of sea urchins!

Like this one!

And then there was the rock gunnel incident:

So yes -- there are amazing tidepools at Owls Head.  Investigating them was hard work, but someone had to do it.  We rewarded ourselves with a trip to King Eiders Pub in Damariscotta on the way home.

Spring sun on the lighthouse.

Other Tidepools and How to Tidepool.  Check 'em out; summer is coming!

GETTING THERE:  From US1 in Rockland, turn right onto Rt 73.  Go 1 3/4 miles and turn left onto North Shore Road; go 2.5 miles and turn left onto Main Street (at the General Store and Post Office). At the waterfront, turn left until you see the state park signs.

The tidepools are most easily accessed by taking the left fork in the dirt road once you park your car. Unless you want to scrabble down the cliff.

Tidepool Explorations: Where To

Maine offers hundreds of terrific spots to get your feet wet and explore tidepools.  Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorites: 

Giant Steps, Harpswell

Giant Steps is one of my very favorite places to explore the intertidal ecosystem.  Looking out over the surf crashing on the ledges and islands of eastern Casco Bay, the site has it all -- a lovely walkway along the cliff, the spectacular "Giant Steps" themselves (a geologic wonder), and wave protected as well as wave exposed sites.  The wave protected site is particularly useful if you're working with students or children, and has some truly spectacular tidepools to explore at low tide.  The wave-exposed parts of Giant Steps should only be explored using great caution, on a very calm day.  These are excellent sites to observe intertidal zonation, however, which can be seen from the Giant Steps themselves. 

The one drawback to Giant Steps is the parking situation (you will notice a theme running through this post).  There is very limited parking, located at the tiny church on Washington Road (and none on Sunday mornings).  Visit in the off-season, or early in the morning or late evening.  Alternatively, park at Mackerel Cove and walk up to Giant Steps (~3/4 mile).  Do not attempt to park on the street.

BEST PLACE TO EAT AFTER EXPLORING:  Morse's Cribstone Grill, after a stop at Mackerel Cove for a photo shoot.  Make sure you check out the Cribstone Bridge too!

Park here -- at the church.

A very low tidepool.

What a spectacular ecosystem!

These are the Giant Steps.  Too bad I'm a not able to capture them with my inferior photographic skills.

The Steps, with distinct zonation below.

A little friend to find.

Potts Point, Harpswell

There's just so much to love about Potts Point.  At high tide, Potts Point is merely an island rising a few feet above the surface of Casco Bay.  At low tide, it offers tidepools, protected sand beaches, pocket marshes, wildflowers galore, and spectacular views of boats making their way through the cut between Merriconeag Sound and Potts Harbor.  One very interesting feature of this site is a shallow pool just to the east of the island with a very dense substrate, which is home to clams that can't burrow very deep.  You can easily observe their siphons, but you can't dig them out -- that's how hard the substrate is.  (I believe it's compacted detritus from an old salt marsh.  Very interesting.)  This is an outstanding place to explore with children, with minimal wave action but lots to see.

One of the charms of Potts Point is the walk from the parking area (near Dick's Crab and Lobster Company) to the preserve.  You'll pass traditional summer cottages, owned by generations of the same family.  In summer, kids will be racing around on land and sea, and "rusticators" will be enjoying their summer homes.  Again, there is limited parking.

BEST PLACE TO EAT AFTER EXPLORING:  I'm an absolute sucker for Dolphin Marina.  This family-run operation offers the best fish chowder in the state (aided by the huge blueberry muffin that comes with every serving). 

What a spot!  Wow.

An unusual chance to see clam siphons.

Sunset, anyone?

Amazing pocket marshes!

There are lots, and lots, of dog whelks.

Wow.

Ocean Point, Boothbay

Last year, my students and I were doing some research at Ocean Point, when a woman from Germany started to chat with me.  She was on a month's holiday, and she'd been all over Maine, but she said after all that exploration, she wished she'd just stayed here the entire time.  I know exactly what she means.  This is a great place to walk along the shore, bring a lawn chair and sit for an afternoon, or enjoy the views of Monhegan and the other surrounding islands.  There is a public walk, maintained by the Ocean Point Association, and plentiful parking (miracle!).  This is another great spot to compare wave-protected sites to wave-exposed sites.  (In fact, that's exactly what my students do there every fall.)  At very low tide, there are some spectacular tidepools, full of seastars and crabs.  Use caution, of course, but enjoy the crashing surf on this peninsula. 

BEST PLACE TO EAT AFTER EXPLORING:  This is a tough one, as I've never eaten when visiting.  Any suggestions?

Ocean Point is an old summer colony.  The one percent "rusticate" here.

From the parking lot, walk to the east of the little cove.  Look for this sign.

Look at the distinct zonation apparent here.

A low tidepool.

Pemaquid Point, Pemaquid

This is one of the most spectacular, most photographed sites in the state.  The granite outcrops descending from the lighthouse are worthy of the cover of National Geographic.  But the tidepools are also a world-class resource.  Here you'll find tons of Littorina saxatilis, which thrive in the huge splash zone; tidepools full of pink coralline algae; and a variety of sea creatures.  In summer, there is a fee to park, but the lighthouse and museum are open, making it worth the price.  Bring a picnic and it'll be a fun-filled day.  This is a site where you should use extreme caution, as surf can be huge and impacts dangerous on this exposed peninsula.  If there are waves, come back another day.

BEST PLACE TO EAT AFTER EXPLORING:  Well, how could I resist the King Eider?  Their lentil burger is out of this world.

No wonder it's on our state quarter.

Barnacles and mussels dominate this pool.

Again, lots of zonation.  See the wide band of barnacles?

Rachel Carson Preserve, Edgecomb

Sometimes, there are heroes amongst us.  Rachel Carson was one of the great environmental heroes of the twentieth century, and like so many of us, she was inspired by Maine's spectacular coast.  Carson spent many a summer in nearby Boothbay Harbor, inspired by Maine's fog, waves, and sea creatures.  Her three books, Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us, and The Edge of the Sea are classics, and well worth a visit to your local library for a check out.  The Rachel Carson Salt Pond Preserve, perched on the edge of Muscongus Bay, is the site where the great naturalist gathered material for the Edge of the Sea, and is today preserved in perpetuity by the Nature Conservancy of Maine (which, by the way, Carson helped found in the 1950's). 

The small tidepool at this site, merely a quarter acre, is the perfect place to introduce children to the wonders of the ocean.  At low tide, this is a site with virtually no waves, so is particularly safe.

BEST PLACE TO EAT AFTER EXPLORING:  If you've never explored New Harbor, just down the road, then a stop at Shaw's is a great idea.  New Harbor is working waterfront at its best, and lunch on the deck at Shaw's gives you a front row seat as lobstermen offload their day's catch. 

Park here.

The protected tide pool.

Schoodic Peninsula, Winter Harbor

Here's a little secret:  Acadia National Park is more than just Mt Desert Island.  So if you want to escape the crowds that flock to the island every summer, head on over to Winter Harbor, just east of Acadia.  There you'll find the Schoodic Peninsula -- still a part of the park, but much quieter.  From here you'll get a spectacular view of Mt Desert's summits across Frenchman Bay, and you can checkout some truly amazing tidepooling.  Three sites are worth a stop.  First, stop at West Pond, which is relatively protected from waves.  Here, you'll be able to find tons of crabs, seastars, urchins, and anything else your heart desires.  Schoodic Point is a spectacular stop -- but can be very dangerous.  As the National Park Service brochure tells us:  "The ocean views are spectacular, but the footing is dangerous -- people have died here.  Wet rocks are slippery, and waves can sweep you into the sea."  Let me reiterate:  PEOPLE HAVE DIED HERE.  So, don't be dumb.  Don't get too close to the edge and don't get near the shore if there are waves.  I don't want to read about you getting the next Darwin Award, got it?  A final stop for tidepooling is at Blueberry Hill.  Here, focus on the shallow sandy pool just west of the parking lot -- where you'll find sand dollars if you're lucky.  

At ALL these sites, watch the waves, and pay attention to the tides.  Go when the tide is going out, and skip the tidepools if the sea is angry.  Seriously.

A great place to find . . .

seaastars!

By the Blueberry Hill parking lot, you can find these guys in the big sandy pool.  Do NOT collect them, they are alive!