Some cool all about animals images:
HELP CONFIRM THIS ANIMAL (Presumably a ~10' long sub-adult male Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris) or Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus, Morro Bay, CA Sandspit
Image by mikebaird
HELP CONFIRM THIS ANIMAL (HELP CONFIRM THIS ANIMAL (Presumably a ~10' long sub-adult male Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris) or Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus, Morro Bay, CA Sandspit, Coastal Cleanup Day (CCD), Saturday, September 17, 2011
Turkey Vultures were feasting on this dead marine mammal - I’m not sure what this species this, as it is very large for a sea lion, and the head lacks a pronounced bump. Any help in making this identification is appreciated... just leave a comment below Morro Bay CA Sandspit Coastal Cleanup Day 17Sept2011
***** Some ID notes:
MOST COMMENTARY IS ON THE OTHER IMAGE....
Getting close to final resolution 9/17/2011...
Rouvaishyana said:
[This is] larger than a CA sea lion. Males of that [CA sea lion] species get to 7-8 ft., females to 5-6 ft. It is next to a post that’s probably 6 or more inches in diameter, so this gives a sense of scale. The skin, exposed ribs, teeth, and size all say it’s a marine mammal. Decomposition is pretty advanced, so it’s hard to say for sure what it is.
It could be an elephant seal. It could also be a Steller sea lion. Those [Steller sea lion] are significantly larger than CA sea lions. Males grow to 10 ft. +, females to 7-8 ft. They are not very common here, more so in northern CA, Oregon, and northward, but they are seen here occasionally. Like most living things, some can wander.
If you can measure the length of the skull as best you can determine, and of the canine teeth and send me the measurements, those should be diagnostic.
Addendum—also note whether the flippers are short (about 1/8 of body length or less) and rounded, or long (about 1/5 to 1/4 of body length) and tapered. Note presence or absence of claws/nails on flippers if visible.
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2011-09-17-Coastal-Cleanup-Morro-Bay-Sandspit-NEP
33 Photos documenting this event. Here is the call to volunteer: Coastal Cleanup Day (CCD), Saturday, September 17, 2011. Following are the details for the sandspit crews. Please meet at the north t-pier, by the Harbor Dept..and Coast Guard offices (approximately 1275 Embarcadero) at 8:30. Annie and Anna (from Morro Bay National Estuary Program, NEP), site captains, will go over a few details about the site, handle waivers and everyone will board boats by 9 a.m.
As you hopefully know by now, there are no facilities on the sand spit. We'll be walking a loop of approximately one mile, in soft sand. You'll want to bring water, sunscreen and/or hat, and wear shoes that are comfortable in soft sand (that can get wet - you may get a bit wet getting on and off the boats), as well as gloves if you have them. Please be prepared to carry anything you bring as we will not necessarily be departing from the drop-off location. Additionally, please remember that we do our best to get volunteers back to their vehicles by noon, but we are subject to Harbor Dept. schedule. Should there be an emergency, we could be delayed.
Again, this year CCD is making efforts not to create additional waste while cleaning beaches and creeks. We have some buckets for transporting debris. If you'd wish to bring your own reusable container as well, you are welcome to do so. As I already mentioned, please bring gloves if you have them. We will have disposable gloves if you need them.
Should you find you cannot make it or need to contact someone on Saturday, please call Annie at (805)540-0861. Please be sure to notify Annie if you cannot make it so the crews aren't waiting for you. Thank you all for your participation! Shari Sullivan, Education & Outreach Coordinator, 601 Embarcadero, Ste 11, Morro Bay, CA 93442, 805.772.3834 x13
Go to www.ecoslo.org for more information and sites.
www.mbnep.org Snapshot © 2011 “Mike” Michael L. Baird, mike {at] mikebaird d o t com, flickr.bairdphotos.com, Panasonic DMC-ZS10 jpg 16X point-and-shoot smart jpg camera, handheld. 17 September 2011. Morro Bay, CA.
To use this photo, see access, attribution, and commenting recommendations at www.flickr.com/people/mikebaird/#credit - Please add comments/notes/tags to add to or correct information, identification, etc. Please, no comments or invites with badges, unrelated images, flashing icons, links to your photos, multiple invites, or invites with award levels and/or award/post rules. Critique is always welcomed.
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Final report stats:
Some brief totals on what we picked up:
76 plastic bags
15 balloons
54 plastic beverage bottles
70 caps/lids
30 items of clothing
87 food wrappers and containers
47 pieces of rope
30 pieces of shotgun wadding
(among many other interesting things!!)
We’ve put up a photo album on our organization’s Facebook page- the link is below (should not require you to have a Fb account).
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150388262235579.40688...
Mike Baird’s photos can be seen from this link:
www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/sets/72157627570045053/
Thanks again for all your help,
Annie Gillespie
Monitoring Projects Manager
www.mbnep.org/get-involved/index.php
Morro Bay National Estuary Program
(805)772-3834 ext. 15 desk
(805)540-0861 cell
(805)772-4162 fax
annieg [at} mbnep d o t org
The Hollow Tree People Had Never Heard of Santa Claus, but. . .
Image by garlandcannon
"The Hollow Tree people had never heard of Santa Claus. They knew about Christmas, of course, because everybody, even the cows and sheep, knew about that; but they had never heard of Santa Claus. . .
They talked about it a great deal together, and Mr. 'Possum looked over all his stockings to pick out the biggest one he had, and Mr. Crow he made himself a new pair on purpose. Mr. 'Coon said he never knew Mr. Crow to make himself such big stockings before, but Mr. Crow said he was getting old and needed things bigger, and when he loaned one of his new stockings to Mr. 'Coon, Mr. 'Coon said, 'That's so,' and that he guessed they were about right after all.
. . . [B]y and by they told Mr. Dog heard what they were going to do, and when Mr. Dog heard it, he wanted to laugh right out. You see, he knew Santa Claus never went anywhere except to Mr. Man's house, and he thought it would be a great joke on the Hollow Tree people when they hung up their stockings and didn't get anything.
But . . . Mr. Dog liked them all now, and when he had thought about that a minute he made up his mind to do something.
And this is what it was--he made up his mind to play Santa Claus!"
--Albert Bigelow Paine, "Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn"
yoga bear
Image by ucumari
Willy was doing his morning yoga!
I've been backing up ALL my photos these past three days, and ended up clearing about 45-50gig off my computer! I am VERY tired of computers right now! Hope everyone is well!
