Also known as by-the-wind sailors, the free-floating Velella velella are coating California beaches once again.

Odd-Looking Blue Creatures Are Washing Up in Large Groups on California’s Beaches Once Again

Strandings of these jellyfish-like animals, sometimes called “by-the-wind sailors,” usually mean spring is coming

Volunteers with the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute in Santa Barbara, California, rescue a sick sea lion that's likely suffering from domoic acid poisoning.

Sea Lion Bites Surfer Amid One of the Worst Outbreaks of Domoic Acid Poisoning That California Wildlife Rescuers Can Remember

Sea lions, dolphins and birds are sick and dying because of a toxic algae bloom in Southern California—and animal care organizations are overwhelmed by the scale

A hatchling Kemp's ridley sea turtle

Inside the Herculean Effort to Study and Save the World’s Smallest Sea Turtle

After years of steady gains, a decades-long conservation program dedicated to the Kemp’s ridley hits rough seas

Shepherd Chine beach on the Isle of Wight, near where the footprint was discovered.

Cool Finds

Fossil Tour Guide Discovers Giant, Purple Dinosaur Footprint While Walking Along a U.K. Beach

The roughly three-foot-long, clay print speaks to the Isle of Wight’s rich paleontological history, but it will probably disappear within a couple of months due to exposure

A pod of 157 false killer whales washed up on a beach in Tasmania.

Pod of 157 False Killer Whales Stranded on a Tasmania Beach Could Not Be Rescued, Wildlife Officials Say

In the area’s largest stranding event for the species since the 1970s, experts decided euthanasia was the most humane course of action

At dawn, a woman and her dog walk along a serene shore in the Corona Del Mar area of Newport Beach as gentle waves greet them.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

See 15 Stunning Photos of California That Showcase the Golden State’s Majestic Beauty

California offers lovely beaches, forests, deserts, mountains and more!

The penguin was malnourished after swimming thousands of miles from Antarctica.

Surfer Spots an Emperor Penguin on a Beach in Australia, Thousands of Miles From Its Antarctic Home

It’s not clear how the juvenile male ended up so far north, but experts suggest he was motivated by his appetite

A great white shark known to researchers as "Koala" washed ashore on Cape Cod in Massachusetts earlier this week. Scientists are still trying to figure out why.

A Great White Shark Mysteriously Washed Ashore in Cape Cod, and Researchers Don’t Know Why

Authorities have not yet identified the cause of death for the 12.5-foot-long shark, which was named Koala

A biologist holds a Bethany Beach firefly, found on a survey in 2019. The dwindling species is now being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

This Green-Flashing Firefly Could Become the First Ever Listed as Endangered in the U.S.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will consider granting federal protections to the Bethany Beach firefly, which is rapidly losing its coastal habitat to development and climate change

Fossil teeth are quite abundant in Southwest Florida.

Four Places to Find Fossilized Shark Teeth in the United States

Sharks have been losing teeth for 400 million years. Here’s a guide to uncovering some of these plentiful fossils across the country

A bottlenose dolphin photographed in Honduras shows its teeth.

A Dolphin Keeps Biting People in Japan. Researchers Think It’s Just Lonely

A series of dolphin attacks in Wakasa Bay is believed to be the doing of a lone male bottlenose dolphin looking for friends or a mate—but finding only humans

Hundreds of sea lions have inundated a beach in central California.

See Hundreds of Sea Lions Take Over a Popular California Beach

The pinnipeds are resting on San Carlos Beach as part of their annual northward journey from the Channel Islands, prompting officials to close it down

The ocean sunfish (Mola mola) is one of several unusual-looking sea creatures to wash ashore in Oregon so far this summer.

Five-Foot-Long Ocean Sunfish Washes Ashore in Oregon, a ‘Relatively Small’ Size for Its Species

It’s the second sunfish to be found dead on the beach in a small region of northwestern Oregon this summer, following the discovery of an even rarer hoodwinker sunfish

Shade-protecting overhangs known as awnings line a street in New York City in the 1850s.

History of Now

Six Innovative Ways Humans Have Kept Cool Throughout History

From sleeping porches to coastal escapes, these tips and tricks helped people deal with extreme heat before the advent of air-conditioning

American oystercatchers use their orange bills to pry open shellfish.

Nesting Shorebirds Are Mobbing Drones on New York City Beaches

The drones, equipped with inflatable life rafts, were intended to help improve public safety for humans this summer—but they’re also upsetting orange-beaked birds called American oystercatchers

Archaeologists continue to excavate Herculaneum, a seaside resort town devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.

An Ancient Beach Buried by Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption Is Now Open to the Public

In the seaside resort town of Herculaneum, the beach is the final resting place of more than 330 residents who tried to flee

The behemoth carcass has attracted lots of curious onlookers to Gearhart Beach.

See the Rare, 2,000-Pound Hoodwinker Sunfish That Washed Ashore in Oregon

The species was only described in 2017 after “hiding in plain sight” for nearly three centuries

Components of Seahenge, or Holme I, were displayed at the British Museum in 2022.

New Research

England’s Mysterious ‘Seahenge’ Monument May Have Been Built to Prolong Summer

One researcher thinks the structure was used for ancient rituals during a period of bitter cold

Beachcombers stumbled upon the fish south of Cannon Beach, a small coastal town in northwest Oregon.

Beachcombers Discover Rare, Deep-Sea Anglerfish Washed Up on Oregon Coast

Most humans will never see a Pacific footballfish, as the creatures live at depths of 2,000 to 3,300 feet below the ocean’s surface

A male western snowy plover stands guard over his nest. During breeding season, males tend to the chicks while females seek a new mate. 

How Scientists Are Protecting Plovers’ Beachfront Lifestyle

Camouflaged by the sand, these threatened shorebirds aim to hide from predators. Now conservationists are trying to give their breeding efforts a boost

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