Tidal Pools and Seals at Strawberryhill, Oregon

There were many extraordinary places along the Oregon coast.
Every one of them offered something special and different from the other.
To do each justice would take a lifetime of exploration.


This just a few pictures of such a place, the Strawberry Hill Tidal Pools.





It is a steep climb down the cliff to the pools, and the surface around the pools is very rough but if you take a walking stick to prop yurself up and wear non-slip shoes or boots you should be OK.

One of the rewards you will receive when you do, is the harbor seals lounging on the outer rocks.


With a good telephoto you can be right there with them. It is however illegal to actually go where they are.



But on occasion they will come to visit you.




This pool is one of the few places I saw full grown active star fish.



There are five adult star fish in this photograph. Clink on it and see if you can find them all in the enlarged version.



Now these two guys look a little bloated. They should be, they each seem to have a meal in their "stomachs" digesting it. Take a look at this site to understand how a star fish eats its prey. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish


There were several varieties of the Sea Anemone in the pools as well. This guy was out of the water. Note the barnacles and razor clams on the rocks as well.



These next two guys were under the surface and swaying in the waves.



And yes, I did fall in , and I did get splashed on by the waves, and yes I did get wet.
Yes, I was exhausted, and my knees hurt like hell by the time I climbed back up and I would do it again in a second.



Away from the tidal pools, near the high tide splash zone, we found a rock pool about 18 inches wide that was teaming with life. if you enlarge this and look carefully you can see hundreds of animals.




After several dozen tries to get a close up of theses critters I finally got this one shot of some unidentified dude who in real life is about a 1/16th of an inch long or smaller. Anyone know who he is?