Page 187 of 217
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 11:27 am
by oldsalt
Jan: I would occasionally find clingfish while tide pooling, but I don't recall seeing one while diving.. Good spot.
-Curt
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:19 pm
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:28 pm
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 9:32 am
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 7:21 am
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:17 am
by Jan K
Langley Harbor, March 8th.
The visibility is still clouded by silt, the rockfish are hiding somewhere, I saw only three Copper in the one hour I spent doing the sea star survey. Not one Pycnopodia, the overall number of sea star species is way down. Except for the Leather stars, all three other species presented in the harbor, Pink, Ochre and Mottled, all had at least one individual affected by the wasting disease. The volunteers removed eleven lost crab traps on February 27 from the tire reef, great job. I found still plenty away from the reef, they could not find due to bad visibility. The only bright spot of the dive were the Giant Plumose anemones.
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 5:10 pm
by Jan K
Keystone Jetty, March 13th.
I don't think we can blame sea urchins for this. In last three days, after I did my safety stop at the end of the dive, I swam around the shallows among the increasingly taller Japanese wireweed in search for the new generation of Bull Kelp. I checked phots from year ago, in the same area we already had quite large number of Bull kelp growing. I did not find a single blade of Bull Kelp. There is some old Stalked kelp providing place to hang out for female Northern Kelp crabs, but I am worried. It will not be the same Keystone without patch of Bull kelp forest. Even if it is often bothersome when trying to swim through it on low tide. :(
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:39 pm
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:26 pm
by coldfinger
Many thanks, Jan. I learn so much from your posts and love your photos and cartoons.
It will really be said if the bull kelp does not come back to Keystone. I thought folks might be interested/saddened in this recent Smithsonian article on this massive die-off of California kelp forests, attributable to loss of sunflower stars allowing urchin overpopulation. And, as it turns out, starving urchins being unappealing to sea otters, even if they won't die. But I guess our Keystone loss is likely from climate change and not urchins? (And we could have told the Californians that sunflower stars were a Keystone species...)
Oops.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-ne ... 180977214/
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 5:00 pm
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:04 am
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 8:46 am
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 7:10 am
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:05 am
by Jan K
Keystone Jetty March madness continues
.
After a windy Sunday cancelled diving there, Monday the 15th was gorgeous again, the seas calm and the sun shining.
The highlight of the dive was finding a tiny slug feeding on Coarse Sea fern. The colors did not fit any of the nudies in my books. After contacting friendly slug experts, the consensus is that critter in the pictures is probably a juvenile White dendronotid (Dendronotus albus). But like so many things these days, without checking specimen DNA, microscope exam and all that, nobody is ever 100% sure. Meanwhile, that little nudi keeps munching on the hydroid, not bothered a bit about correct taxonomy ...
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 1:01 pm
by Jan K
Tuesday, March 16, 2021. I had the jetty all to myself on yet another calm, sunny day.
Last Saturday, Tabitha snapped picture of me so I don't have to rely on selfie for today's post. Thank you T.
Finding the healthy Sunflower star at the end of jetty was nice.
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 2:58 pm
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2021 1:53 pm
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:14 am
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:33 am
by Jan K
Deception Pass, March 21. Although these two critters are described as a common, somehow this was the first time I photographed them. And it was during the last minutes of my hour long dive, after the safety stop over the gravel and sand bottom near point of entry/exit on the Little North Beach...
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 5:25 pm
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:28 am
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 8:34 am
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2021 8:10 am
by Jan K
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:16 am
by Sharkb8
Jan, I’ve seen the exact same coloration of the juvie greenling there before. They are quite beautiful to see underwater!
Re: Whidbey Island Critters
Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2021 9:34 am
by Jan K