Here’s what we saw from the paddleboards we were on. These are bat rays. [From Wikipedia] The bat ray (Myliobatis californica) is found in muddy or sandy sloughs, estuaries and bays, kelp beds and rocky-bottomed shoreline in the eastern Pacific Ocean, between the Oregon coast and the Gulf of California.Stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fish, related to sharks. There are eight families in total, but let’s keep it simple: sting rays are the small ones, bat rays are larger and then the manta rays are the really big ones.
There are sting rays and bat rays here in the California waters. My brother knows where to go look for them (in the San Elijo lagoon, using paddle boards) .. and indeed, we sighted some, scurrying on the sand below.
The asterisk marks the spot where we found bat rays in the shallow water, off Cardiff state beach, on the way to the San Elijo lagoon. I’m in the back (doing very well to just stay up on my paddleboard, and not splash spectacularly into the water!), with my nephew up front.
