A cooper's hawk sat on a chainlink fence fluffing raindrops off its feathers.
I am remembering the feeling of that February walk as I bike over. But now it's July. The trail is all hard dry grasses and the spiny husks of thistles. There are no birds. I don't even see any butterflies or bumblebees. It feels like the city and the freeway are looming close. I give up and wander over to the shore of the bay. I sit on the big black rocks, carted in in the 1930's when the marina was built. I sit watching the water, thinking about how summer is my least favorite season here.
A few minutes later something large splashes a few feet from shore. What was that? A few minutes later, another splash. This time I catch a glimpse of something dark and fleshy in the splash. It looks like a part of something larger. Could it be a bat ray? A leopard shark? The next glimpse I catch shows a dorsal fin. I think it was a leopard shark!
Leopard sharks are the most common shark in the bay. They are usually about a meter to a meter and a half long. They have tiny teeth, and cruise in shallow water, sucking worms, crabs, clams, shrimp and small fish out of the muddy bottom. Summer and late spring may be be the best times to spot leopard sharks in the bay. They prefer warm water and at least some migrate out of the bay during the colder months. Also, they give live birth in shallow areas (especially eel grass beds) in late spring and mate, also in shallows, in early summer.
Almost none of the seasonal events I look forward to—chanterelles bursting forth after winter storms; mixed flocks of warblers and other song birds migrating through in spring and fall; bugling elk at Tomales Bay in September; carpets of checkermallow, poppies, and vetch in Tilden in April—happen in summer. The glimpse I caught of the leopard shark was a reminder that even this dry time has its treasures.
LINKS:
Leopard Shark information from the Monterey Bay Aquarium
McLaughlin Eastshore State Seashore
