Farm Creek Update:

‘Tis the season for jellyfish, and both Moon and Red Lion Mane Jellyfish have been washing ashore on beaches of Rowayton for several weeks now. A few have been sighted in Farm Creek, as well. These jelly fish concentrations or “blooms” travel on wind and currents. They do not use their tentacles or tiny muscles to swim distances. Jellyfish have no bones and are made up of only a stomach. The “jelly” is almost entirely sea water. Scientists believe they appeared long before the dinosaurs.
The transparent moon jelly fish found here are small and harmless. You can scoop one up and hold it. Their umbrella bodies can grow up to 10 inches across, and they have tiny tentacles around the edges of their disk shaped bodies. You can see the outline of a four leaf clover in their centers if you look carefully.
The Red Lion Mane or Sun Jellyfish are beautiful to watch floating in the currents, but can be a significant nuisance to swimmers and may sting. Red Lion Mane Jellyfish get to be enormous. Out in the North Atlantic, they can to grow up to 8 feet across and their tentacles can reach a length of 200 feet. Fortunately, those sighted in Farm Creek are not more than 12 inches across. They do have predators and one is turtles who like to eat them. A terrapin was sighted digging a hole and laying eggs by Farm Creek neighbors, so when these hatch, there will be fewer jellyfish in Farm Creek. (Sightings by Susan Edwards)