The Sheephead is a wrasse considered a threatened (vulnerable) species and is being considered for the endangered species list. It is one of the top predators of mollusks, sea urchins, and various crustaceans. One dive I witnessed a Sheephead knock a Abalone off its rock and begin consuming it. These wrasse inhabit the kelp forests [...]
Brown Pelican - Pelicans occidentalis On Scuba San Diego’s “Snorkel Adventure” ( www.snorkeladventure.com) the Brown Pelican is often doing a low-at-the- surface flyby of us on our way to the La Jolla Sea Caves. Was Listed as an endangered species June 2, 1970 and it was delisted on November 17, 2009. Interestingly the symbol of the [...]
Purple Sea Urchins – Stongylocentrotus purpuratu Red Sea Urchins – Strongylocentrotus franciscanus From British Columbia to Central Baja California Snorkelers or Divers often encounter Sea Urchins. Reds range from Alaska to Cedros Island Baja Sur. They are capable of creating a depression in the rocky bottom which the form by using the spine and [...]
Hopkins’ Rosy Nudibranch – Hopkinsia rosacea (dorid) Whether on Scuba San Diego’s Snorkel Adventure Tour or one of its guided SCUBA activities it is almost impossible not to see this beautiful nudibranch. Its shaggy appearance and beautiful pink/reddish coloration make it hard to miss. It is going to be about an inch long when mature. They [...]
Of course knowing how to swim is an absolute requirement for anyone swimming in the ocean and San Diego’s La Jolla Cove Ecological reserve is no exception. But, I am a weak swimmer, can I use a life vest or other swim aide? No! San Diego City Lifeguards prohibit the use of any life vests [...]
Diving and snorkeling San Diego’s La Jolla Cove Ecological Reserve we often see the Brandt’s Cormorant both on the cliffs, in the air and underwater. The “Cove” often has flocks of several hundred of these diving shore birds as more or less permanent residents. There are several reasons for this. As a ecological reserve there [...]
Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) This common seal often accompanies our snorkelers on the swim from the beach at the Cove to the La Jolla Sea Caverns or appears unexpectedly while we are snorkeling with our guests. There are five subspecies in other geographic areas of this common seal found on the west coast of North [...]
The State fish of California is the Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus) and he gets his common name from an unlikely source. Giuseppe Garibaldi of Italy. The fish Garibaldi is the namesake of General Giuseppe Garibaldi of Italy (1807 -1882). He is often referred to as "Hero of two Worlds" with his successful Military campaigns in Europe, [...]
