Trip Report
Naturalist Trip - Fauntleroy Cove
Sea slug/nudibranch hotspot. There are also sea stars, anemones, crabs and more.
Roseanne Lorenzana
June 24, 2025
- Tue, Jun 24, 2025
- Naturalist Trip - Fauntleroy Cove
- Lincoln Park
- Naturalist
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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- Tide needs to be minus 2.5 or greater in order to view the intertidal animals at this location.
- Easy access. If it's before 2pm, street parking is available. After that, parking at Lincoln Park and in adjacent neighborhoods.
- It's a good idea to have a jacket - it's always chilly next to the water and, especially, under the ferry dock.
- Besides stepping over beach logs & debris to reach the inter-tidal area, the beach is mostly sandy and safe for water shoes. Waterproof boots will work, but water shoes or neoprene booties and willingness to wade into knee-deep water will allow you to see more animals.
- The water is cold. If you have neoprene pants, wetsuit bottom or something to keep your legs warmer & protected, that is preferable. In the water, there is slight potential to encounter jellyfish (which can sting).
- Small, clear, waterproof plastic container. Not required, but helpful to view small animals in the water (like nudibranchs).
- Magnifying loupe and/or camera for observing small details in marine life.
- A small light may be useful to spot marine creatures (e.g. headlamp). The current weather forecast is for sunshine which means the bright light can make it difficult to see creatures in the shade without a light.
- A phone and/or camera. You should feel comfortable using your phone in this wet, sandy environment.
Nudibranch nirvana! So much to see here. Mona Ching, intertidal expert, helped us find & identify sea slugs, nudibranchs, sea stars, anemone, fish, sea squirt, crabs and a few birds. The main action was at our feet and in shallow water. The clear containers were a definite plus for seeing the elaborate & colorful cerata, extended rhinophores and figuring out which is the head vs rear of these animals. Here's just a few animals that we observed.
