The same El Niño pounding Carlsbad's coastline into rock is pushing venomous sea snakes and tropical sea turtles into Southern California waters, and scientists are urging beachgoers across the region to stay away from unfamiliar wildlife.

Much of Tamarack State Beach has been stripped down to cobblestones by powerful El Niño-driven waves. The Tamarack Avenue parking lot has been closed to vehicles since Labor Day weekend after chunks of asphalt washed away, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. As we reported Oct. 18, the state plans to finish repairs by the end of December.

But the warm water driving that erosion is also reshuffling ocean life in ways California has rarely seen. Olive ridley sea turtles, whale sharks, hammerheads, manta rays and a venomous yellow-bellied sea snake have all been documented along the coast this year, GV Wire reported Oct. 17, in a story filed from Carlsbad.

"There's kind of a buzz. Fishermen are loving it for sure … It's strange times," said Nate Jaros, vice president of animal care at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

The yellow-bellied sea snake sighting is especially rare. An apparently sick one came ashore in Orange County in September, and a beachgoer used a palm frond to move it back into the ocean. William Ludt, associate curator of ichthyology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, told GV Wire there have been only six or seven confirmed sightings in California. The last came during the 2015-2016 El Niño, Ludt said.

Sea turtles are making history, too. Two olive ridley nests found on Orange County beaches in September marked the first recorded sea turtle nests on the U.S. West Coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A beachgoer discovered the first at Seal Beach on Sept. 16. Lifeguards found the second near the Huntington Beach Pier three days later.

Federal and state biologists dug up both nests on Sept. 25 because of high surf from tropical storms, Rolling Out reported. They moved 104 eggs from Seal Beach and 100 from Huntington Beach to the Aquarium of the Pacific. If the eggs are viable, they should hatch around early November.

Kelp forests that thrive in cold water could take the biggest short-term hit from the warming, GV Wire reported. California has declared a state of emergency ahead of winter, according to both GV Wire and Rolling Out.

Ludt told GV Wire the El Niño is far from over. Conditions are expected to mostly return to normal after it fades next year, the outlet reported.

Anyone who spots a sea snake on the beach should not touch it. Sea turtle sightings or strandings can be reported to NOAA's West Coast Stranding Hotline at 562-506-4315.