13012020 - Debut of my trip for year 2020! An unplanned trip for the record.  Managed to reach home before sunset and decided to grab my booties and go!  Tide was low today and sadly there were many others who were before me.  They were busy overturning rocks to see what marine creatures was available for them to catch. One of my find during this trip was a rather huge Jellyfish which I almost trample upon.
Besides the huge jellyfish, there were a few smaller jelly looking blob like the Thread-Tentacled Jellyfish which appeared along the way as well.
As I moved on, the Onch slugs, which were so well blend into its surroundings, were grazing among the rocks for food. One might just think they are part of the rock formation without taking a second look.
Another animal not be missed are the colourful Sponges that come in a wide variety of shapes and colours - very common on our shores.  They are firmly rooted onto rocks or any hard surfaces. Some might come in the shape of a lump while others are branching. They act as a filter for our seas.
Glassy branching bryozoan that looks like vermicelli or glass noodle can also be found on this beach.
For a moment, I thought these were some kind of worms living in a tube but upon taking a closer look,  I realised they are actually Worm snails. Many can be seen attached to rocks.
When tide was at its lowest, more creatures were seen coming out of their hideouts. One such creature is the Bristleworms. There were many of them seen at different areas - guess they might be searching for food to filled up their tummy.
Drills mass in an egg-laying orgy on an oyster shell which was pried open. Many people do come to this beach to harvest oysters. On one of my trips people collected as many as few pails loaded with oysters leaving only the white shell that are stuck on to the rocks.
An underside of a snail. When a snail dies it will be home to another animal. Such is the circle of life. Therefore please refrain from picking up empty shells that will deprive hermit crabs of their homes.
A interesting sighting were the Cowries which are often being overlooked. In other countries, they are collected as food and their shells used for shell craft.
The Banded Bead Anemone also make its appearence today.

Good to be able to spot a few Burgundy anemone still hanging around. I was quite sceptical initially as there were many people busy hunting down for all sorts of marine creatures.  Many people around were busy catching other marine creatures and housing them in small tanks.
Throughout the trip, I managed to see only one Haddon's carpet anemone. It is a rather small in size as compared to those that I used to find on Coney island - which can be describe as a landmine filled with them. They are usually host to shrimps.
Sand sea stars and Brittle stars are quite commonly found on this shore. One of the main difference between them is that sea stars have a thicker triangular-shaped arms as opposed to brittle stars: having a much thinner arms that appear more whip-like than those of sea stars.
As night fall, the weather was cool and with light wind blowing, this is the time when animals start crawling out from their hideouts. One such animal was the crab which was so fearful of coming out.
On the other hand, the brave soul that came all the way out of its hideout was the Snapping shrimp. It was searching for food and tried to shy away from my torch.
I am not sure if this grouchy looking Toadfish is alive or not. What do you think?
Before I called it a day, by this time tides have changed and is slowly incoming,  there were many Gobies seen outside of their hideouts. Guess they are awaiting for the next round of tides to be in.

An impromptu trips that yields many returns! Always great to reconnect with nature. Will definitely be back again soon.