This year, California beaches have been marked by both distressing wildlife deaths and the stunning arrival of Velella velella, or by-the-wind sailors. These small, sail-like marine creatures, resembling blue diamonds scattered across the sand, have delighted beachgoers from San Diego to Santa Barbara. Professional photographer Emily Scher documented this captivating sight during a bike ride, describing the vast spread of these sea rafts. Marine biology expert Matthew Bracken notes their appearance is part of a natural seasonal transition, emphasizing the unique beauty of jelly-like Velella as they float ashore.
"They looked like blue diamonds strewn across the beach. It was like these gems, and they're so brilliant blue," Emily Scher gushed over a phone interview with NPR.
"It was like a carpet. I've never seen so many. And so I thought, wouldn't it be cool to get a shot with Point Doom in the distance?"
"It almost looks like a fingerprint when you look at it up close," Scher said of the Velella's, plastic-like sail.
"It's part of the spring transition," Matthew Bracken, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Irvine, told NPR.
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