By Femke Oldham
A flurry of gray and white bodies eclipsed the shoreline tides. Like something out of a Hitchcock film, birds flapped, circled, dove, and feasted on an abundance of roe. Last month, at the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline, an excellent run of herring deposited billions of eggs on seaweed, rocks, eelgrass and pier pilings. Soon after, the bird feeding frenzy commenced.
The herring first came to Point Richmond at the beginning of February to spawn after commercial roe fishing boats reached their limits. These limits allowed successive herring runs throughout the month. Harbor seals and sea lions came to eat the herring, and gulls and diving ducks came to feast on the frosting of eggs that covered the shoreline. Local video production group Michael Bukay & Associates captured breathtaking footage of the event.
Click here to watch the 6.5 minute video of this extraordinary event.
This video is a nod to the intricate web of life pulsing throughout local watersheds. It reminds us to take a few minutes and appreciate the magical beauty of the Living Shoreline.
Photos by Michael Bukay, Michael Bukay Media & Associates.