Whidbey Island Critters

Fish & Invertebrate sightings and descriptions, hosted by resident NWDC ID expert Janna Nichols (nwscubamom).
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

Langley Harbor, August 20th.
Sea star wasting is rearing its ugly head again, Ay least here. Dozens and dozens of Mottled stars, (Evasterias troschelii), litter the area along the seawall. The deeper water is still more unaffected, maybe because of somewhat cooler water temperature.
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Keystone Jetty, August 22nd.
Pre-dive encounter. It was not a pretty sight. Dead juvenile Harbor porpoise on the water's edge. When I saw its head almost completely cut off and its side cut ope, exposing the inside of that poor mammal, my first thought was, who would do this ? Well after I reported the find to Orca network, the reality, still sad, explained what happened even the true reason of dead is not yet known. It is the necropsy is what made the scene rather gruesome...
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oldsalt
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by oldsalt »

Jan: Years ago, I saw your dive log, which inspired me to keep an illustrated log. Since giving up diving, I maintain a whale journal, with photos. The harbor porpoise is one of my most frequent sightings, but I have ONE photo. They appear and disappear so quickly. I have never seen one up close, so your encounter, while grisly, is fascinating. They are our smallest cetacean. good post.
-Curt :rawlings:
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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oldsalt wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:05 am Jan: Years ago, I saw your dive log, which inspired me to keep an illustrated log. Since giving up diving, I maintain a whale journal, with photos. The harbor porpoise is one of my most frequent sightings, but I have ONE photo. They appear and disappear so quickly. I have never seen one up close, so your encounter, while grisly, is fascinating. They are our smallest cetacean. good post.
-Curt :rawlings:
Yes, it was an unexpected find and after the initial shock, I did took time to look closer at the body and exposed anatomy...


Keystone Jetty, August 22nd.
Swimming again along the large school of juvenile rockfish does lift the spirit on this gloomy, overcast morning. The Bull kelp forest did not materialize this season. Even on this very low tide, access to the deeper water is not difficult. But I don't think this is a good sign for the future... Who knows ?
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Keystone Jetty August 22nd. The rest of pictures from that dive.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Skyline August 26th.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by oldsalt »

Jan: You know I follow your posts with enthusiasm, but, strictly speaking, these are not Whidbey Island Critters. The photographer is though.
-Curt ;)
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Post by Jan K »

oldsalt wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 6:25 pm Jan: You know I follow your posts with enthusiasm, but, strictly speaking, these are not Whidbey Island Critters. The photographer is though.
-Curt ;)
In my age, confusion is part of life :)

Keystone Jetty August 27th.
What a beautiful afternoon, calm waters and good visibility underwater, enhanced by the sunshine. Today, after a long break, I was joined by Maya.
We saw Wolf eel swimming out in the open at the jetty, I never seen one in the vicinity of the jetty in shallow water (on safety stop).
Good company to chat with before and after the dive.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Skylline August 26th.
Wolf eel and Red Irish Lord neighbors. The Lord looks angry. :)
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Deception Pass, August 29th.
Foggy start of the dive, visibility underwater was decent 15 plus feet and as always, under the waves, there is plenty stuff to enjoy.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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And more from Deception Pass.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Keystone Jetty August 30th.
I did not see the Lingcod catch the fish it has inside its cavernous mouth, maybe it is one of the Kelp greenlings which dart around the rocks of the jetty.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Keystone Jetty August 30th, the rest of the dive snapshots..
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Langley Harbor, September 1st.
Sea star wasting survey finds lots of wasting, mainly Mottled stars, some small Sunflower stars, not wasting, but some curling, which might be sign of stress since it doesn't look too natural. But I did see it in the past, before the SSWD.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Langley Harbor, September 1st.
Spotted ratfish encounter.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Keystone Jetty September 3rd.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Keystone Jetty, September 4th.
Lesson 1 for Scalyhead sculpins:
The shrimp is easier meal to swallow than is the Buffalo sculpin.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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More of Keystone encounters
Lingcod buddies, Lingcod cleaning roll and Great sculpin being eaten...
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Possession Point Fingers, September 7th.
Warmer water doesn't seem to be good for the sea stars.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Possession Point Fingers September 7th dive, the rest of pixels...
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Skyline, September 10th.
What would be a dive here without Candy stripe shrimp?
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Some of the Skyline fish encounters. September 10th.
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Skyline August and beginning of September.
I am falling behind processing photos from recent dives. My excuse? Diving. And more diving... And also old age :)
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Keystone Jetty, Sunday September 12th. Plenty of divers showed up.
Introducing jetty marine life to Maya's friend, testing drysuits, and so not many pictures were taken this time ...
We did find four GPO hiding in the rocks, and drysuits did keep everybody dry. And I had the pleasure to meet again Brandon Cole, whose underwater photographs can be found in every issue of Alert Diver. (I hope all of the divers do have DAN insurance ! :) )...
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Jan K
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Re: Whidbey Island Critters

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Skyline, September 10th. Scaled crab.
First the juvenile and then an adult, unfortunately, without its spoon-like fingers.
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