After months of patiently waiting to break out of my shelter in place existence, I packed my lonely camera bag and drove to Point Reyes National Seashore. Predawn fatigue was not an issue. First sight of Inverness Ridge brought tears to my eyes. If I didn’t see an animal all day the trip would have still been a success.

In fact, I was well-rewarded, and made an unexpected discovery. Thousands of California Beach Hoppers were scurrying across the sand. I didn’t have a clue what they were at the time. Unless startled by brisk walking, causing them to jump a foot in the air to escape, they didn’t care about my presence. So I took some time to observe their behavior and made a short video of their burrow battles.

California Beach Hoppers (Megalorchestia californiana) are amphipod crustaceans native to the West Coast of North America. They range in size from 1-2 inches, and forage for dead seaweed at night. Yum! By morning they hide in the sand or piles of organic debris, and beach goers are blissfully unaware of their presence.

The colony on Drake’s beach were apparently a little slow to settle in for the day. Male California Beach Hoppers were still battling each other over the perfect sand burrow. Why dig your own when you can simply crawl into someones else’s hard work?

This short video is just the beginning of what I hope will be a new body of work, in addition to my photography. Capturing animal behavior and the surrounding habitat in still frames can be powerful, but live action can provide so many more layers of beauty and interest.