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Ocean Wild Things

Archives for October 2009

California Brown Pelican: resident artist, yoga bird and exhibitionist

October 19, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 2 Comments

Taking a walk along the Redondo pier is a great way to enjoy the fresh ocean air mixed with fishy aromas while checking out the natural art gallery just across the way or painted rocks as we like to joke during whale watch season. And in this case the featured artist is the California Brown… [read more]

Filed Under: Birds, Easy Reader columns Tagged With: bird, nest, sex

Sheephead fish: sex change without surgery

October 9, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 5 Comments

It’s Friday night at the local saloon and not one person of the opposite sex in sight. Dating can be such a drag. But instead of moping, why not head to the restroom and perform a quick sex change and become the hottest commodity at the bar? Welcome to the potential benefits of being a… [read more]

Filed Under: Easy Reader columns, Fishes Tagged With: hormones, sex, sex change

California Spiny Lobster: fully-armored all-terrain vehicle

October 8, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 4 Comments

There he was, the California Spiny Lobster, and I swear he was staring at me. No matter which way I walked those black beady eyes followed me, he was the Crustacean Mona Lisa, only better. His long antennae wavered about feeling the water acting as sensors. But the most impressive characteristic of this particular lobster… [read more]

Filed Under: Easy Reader columns, Lobster, shrimp, crab(s) Tagged With: crustacean, lobster, molting, sex

Bushtit: long-tailed tits are birds, seriously

October 7, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 3 Comments

It’s a promising start when you flip open a book and the words at the top of the page are Long-Tailed Tits. Reading further it becomes clear that this is actually the common name for the family of birds Aegithalidae, sharing small bodies, short wings and long tails. What a relief, I am reading National… [read more]

Filed Under: Birds, Easy Reader columns Tagged With: bird, courtship, nest

Hummingbird is Superbird

October 6, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

The last thing I expected to see while walking into my yoga class was a hummingbird. Even though hummingbirds are so tiny, she stuck out like a sore thumb perched on a bright-yellow pipe running along an equally bright yellow-brick wall. It was thrilling to see a hummingbird so close, but terrible as soon as… [read more]

Filed Under: Birds, Easy Reader columns Tagged With: bird, rescue, sex, tongue

Blue Whale: the largest animal to ever live on Earth

October 5, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

And now ladies and gentlemen…drum roll please…introducing the largest animal to ever live on earth, bigger than the largest dinosaur, as long as two school buses stacked end to end a whopping 80 feet, weighing on average 85 tons with a heart the size of a Volkswagen Beetle…I now present to you—the blue whale. Yes,… [read more]

Filed Under: Easy Reader columns, Marine mammals, Whales Tagged With: baleen, cetacean, dorsal fin, krill, whale, whaling

Bottlenose Dolphin: the fin you want to see

October 4, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft Leave a Comment

Finally, you left the security of your beach towel to take a dip in the ocean and now you’re swimming and wondering why you wasted so much time on the sand. But wait, is that a fin? Trying to remain calm, you pray you didn’t see anything. There it is again, the fin is closer,… [read more]

Filed Under: Dolphins, Easy Reader columns, Marine mammals Tagged With: cetacean, dolphin, dorsal fin, rescue

Scrub Jay: that’s not a blue jay

October 3, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 5 Comments

“Oh look, a Blue Jay!” If you made that exclamation in the South Bay, then it’s not a Blue Jay…it’s a Scrub Jay, more specifically the Western Scrub Jay or Aphelocoma californica. Blue Jays and Scrub Jays are members of the family Corvidae, the scientific name for the closely related group of birds that includes… [read more]

Filed Under: Birds, Easy Reader columns Tagged With: bird, corvidae, hoarding, steal

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