7 Nov 2025
Today, low tide won’t happen until about 440pm, which means I have a lot of time to kill, so I’m heading north to check out Birch Aquarium. It’s conveniently located along my bus line:
and a short half hour ride later, I arrived on the UCSD campus:
Scripps pier:
One thing I didn’t realize was just how hilly this area is! It’s gonna be a long trek down to Dike Rock, the area where Birch Aquarium holds their tidepool exploration classes. There aren’t any excursions this week, but I figure if it’s good enough for the aquarium, I should probably check it out. Plus, maybe I’ll get lucky and there’ll be some marine biology students who can help me find more nudibranchs!
But first, the aquarium!
It was a steep hike uphill, but fortunately, it’s been pretty mild here- early mornings have been in the high 50s/low 60s which is quite pleasant for walking around.
I started on the left side:
There were several tanks of seahorses:
This outdoor tank had a guitarfish!
and a little leopard shark and some big groupers:
Moving onto the other side of the aquarium, there were a variety of jellyfish:
some sort of gastropod on the wall:
an anemone on the wall:
A pair of little rockfish:
Lumpsucker:
I love the underside of these guys!
Garibaldi:
Leaf scorpionfish:
Frogfish:
It was fun to see all the weird critters I see when I dive, but I prefer to see them in a more natural environment, not a painted blue background.
Epaulette shark:
I had every intention of staying up here until low tide, but it only took me about an hour to go through the aquarium… there’s a lot of time to until then. Plus, if I end up not liking Dike Rock, it’s a long trek back up to the bus to get back to my La Jolla tidepools… Also, I discovered that while the bus costs $2.50 to ride, you get free transfers within 2 hours, and I’m just under that right now, so I think it’s time to head back.
After lunch, I checked out my tidepools, but it still too early:
You really have to be within 2 hours of low tide before it’s low enough to actually explore:
But I found a nudibranch within 15 minutes of looking!!! My new close-up lens is a bit too long to use the light mounted on my camera, so I’ve been either hand holding or propping up my spare light to illuminate the critters I find; this time I propped my light up on a rock, set up my shot, and got drenched by a rogue wave.
Washed away my nudibranch and my light.
Shoot.
So I waited for the next big wave, watched the way it flowed and followed it, and fortunately, found my light! I thought for sure it was a gonner; I only spotted it because it was on.
I never did find that first nudibranch again, but I did spot this Opalescent / Hermissenda opalescens:
He was bigger than most I’ve seen on this trip- a solid inch long!
Another California aglaja / Navanax inermis:
He was super active and super shallow, which made him super tricky to shoot- that line through the picture is the waterline:
but it made for a cool reflection!
Another opalescens:
and another:
A wee Rostanga pulchra:
An opalescens:
I think this might be a young Apata pricei:
Ugh, this guy was on the move and not interested in pictures- this was the best I could do before he crawled off the leaf, drifted away and I lost him:
I did find this creepy crab in my search for that nudi:
As the sun sets, fun critters come out, like this octopus:
Brittle star:
I should have brought a headlamp, or a light I can use out of the water (I brought my dive lights which work great for underwater but can overheat when out of the water), so it’s time to bid farewell to the tidepools:
and head back and start getting my gear dry.
I made one last trip to my Taco Stand, but the line was insane- out the door and down the sidewalk:
So I ordered online and got my food around the same time the people that were in front of me made it to the counter. Oof, did not anticipate this place being so popular, but my fish burrito was even better than the fish tacos and way more filling. A great way to end my trip!