Barnacles die; orange sponges capture my attention

After believing we'd saved the lives of hundreds of stalked barnacles, today we found we'd not been successful. A group of eight sooty oyster catchers were gathered around the plank which had washed up onto the sand. Not one barnacle was left.

Although I felt sorry for the barnacles, I had to admit that, for a sooty oyster catcher (one of my favourite sea birds), barnacles are a great delicacy. So that is the end of the barnacle story!

Often I nudge a sea sponge with my foot -- while walking -- to see it better, but the bright orange of these sponges needed no such treatment.

People often think of sponges as plants, but they're not -- sponges are animals.
By looking closely you can see small holes (pores) that the sponge passes sea water through, to filter out microscopic food particles.

Squeezing the sponge gently I felt a softness that yielded to pressure, that was 'spongy' to the touch.

Saving stalked barnacles fixed to a plank

While researching a book about Charles Darwin, I learned of his fascination with barnacles -- in fact, Darwin went on to write two books about this subject alone.

After heavy seas, a few days ago, a plank washed ashore on 'our' beach. It was covered with a colony of stalked barnacles. While photographing them, I noticed movement and realised they were still alive; so Doug carried the plank down to the water's edge and tossed it back into the waves.

These crustaceans attach themselves to hard surfaces such as planks, jetty pylons or rocks. They feed using feathery legs that filter the plankton and other fine food particles from the ocean. Stalked barnacles protect their bodies with a number of hard plates.

Seeing the plank floating out into Western Port Bay -- on a strong current -- gave me a thrill. We'd saved colony of stalked barnacles.

PS
A Pacific gull took advantage of easy food as the plank floated in shallow water.