Stingrays and Shovelnose Guitarfish

As we were walking on the beach at Del Mar yesterday, the Professor spotted several stingrays and shovelnose guitarfish.  One time yesterday we were standing side by side in the shallow water of the ocean looking for fish as the tide came in and out.  Both of us were surprised when we discovered that we had disturbed a buried stingray between us.  In a swirl of sand it raised from its hiding place and swam away.












Saturday, August 10, 2013

 Saturday on the beach we saw lots and lots of shovelnose guitarfish.  Today we saw none.  But there were corbina fish everywhere.  Tide must have something to do with it.  I am glad you got to see the shovelnose, Kimberly. If you look at him, he does look kind of like what we would call a spade.  

On Saturday, Dad and I saw three all in one spot close to each other.  A man came out to the water and excitedly called his family to come see the stingrays.  One woman panicked and grabbed her child and pulled him out of the water.  

I am not a person qualified to say anything so I kept my mouth shut.  This little guitar has some of the characteristics of stingrays but he is harmless.  He likes to bury himself in the sand and wait for prey to swim past.  

I should have told the people to go look at the pictures on the wall of the restrooms.  They would have seen immediately that the stingray is round.  Not a triangle with a tail like the shovelnose guitarfish.  Wish you were all here to walk on the beach with us.  Even if some of you, who shall not be named, thought it was no big deal to see fish swimming next to the beach.  :o)