Snorkeling in January

This week the weather rose above °80 so we made a fast diversion to the beach to explore tide pools. It was such a beautiful clear day for January and we decided on Little Corona Beach. The video below was filmed and edited by Ben (13) in which he and his brother identified garibaldi fish and other ocean creatures. Wind and swell conditions were ideal for snorkeling and the even though the water was cold, it was worth it! (external Link to Video)

On finding the Wavy Turban (or megastraea undosa, in the mollusc family) we could see the operculum (trap door) was closed. Operculum is a white calcareous flap that secures the creature inside it's shell. This snail shell was surprisingly heavy out of the water and we were curious to see the animal inside. We placed him in a container of salt water and immediately he came out to have a look around!  After our observations he quickly closed the operculum and we safely returned him to the water.