Life at Bird Rock: The Photographs

Whether you go to Bird Rock to see the view and notice some birds, to kneel for hours next to a tide pool, or to peer at the turf algae through a magnifying glass hoping to glimpse a sheltered worm, hopefully you can find a photograph here to help you identify the life you saw.  By no means does every species at Bird Rock appear here, but extensive efforts have been made to represent as many species as possible.

Browse the following galleries: 

• Marine Animals:
  
• found on rocks, in the pools or on the algal turf
  
• found hidden in the algal turf
  
• Algae and Plants
• Birds

• Search all photographs
  

About the habitats at Bird Rock

Bird Rock offers several different types of habitat for intertidal animals to occupy.

	The large boulders at the shore and taller exposed rocks around the general area provide height to animals that desire only a spray of salt water, but would rather avoid being submerged at all.
	Pools scattered throughout the intertidal zone contain most of the animals easily seen by visitors to Bird Rock. Though the pools do vary and you won’t find everything in each one, you could find almost anything in any one pool.
	Closer to the actual Bird Rock, careful inspection will reveal that when you are at the edge of a larger pool, you are actually standing on a ledge providing a small cave-like setting for shier (often nocturnal) animals, such as the California Spiny Lobster or the Green Abalone.  Bring a small mirror along and you will be surprised at the diversity of animals hovering just out of sight.
	The rock slabs covered with algal turf house a large assortment of very small animals (of which I’ve captured just a handful in photographs with the help of a microscope). This turf provides structural protection to the inhabitants and enables them to remain moist throughout the day as the algae retain water like a sponge.