Whidbey Island Critters

[Jan K]

Possession Point Fingers, December 20th.

[Jan K]

Langley Harbor, December 23rd.
Before the GREAT FREEZE.
From the lives of crabs, the way they grow
The molting pics are from a different dive while back.

[Jan K]

Langley Harbor, December 23rd.
Vancouver (aka Northern) and Split-branch feather-duster
worms spawning...

[Jan K]

January 5th, 2022. Keystone Jetty.
The roads finally cleared, the ice melted from the steep hill near our home and so was only logical to properly celebrate the New Year by going diving.
The visibility underwater was not good, between 5 and 10 feet, very silty. But it was good enough to visit the Rock of Life and note, that the empty Giant Barnacle shell there is again occupied by a large Scalyhead sculpin male. But it is not our bellowed Fred.
The new King of the Rock to be therefore called Fred the Second, and hopefully he will rule as successfully as Fred the First did, who provided safe place not only to many female sculpins to deposit their eggs, but also a handsome subject for countless underwater photographers. Long Live the King !

[Jan K]

Keystone Jetty, January 5th.
In spite of the cold temperatures above, first signs on new cycle appear below the surface. In the shallows, the Japanese wireweed begin to rise from the holdfasts left behind last year. Hopefully, the Bull kelp makes its annual appearance in greater number soon, it didn't make much of a show the last season. The Stalked kelp is still in dormant mode, the bare stalks pointing up to the grey world above taking its time to show off its blades...

[Jan K]

Keystone Jetty, January 5th. Feeling little bit under the weather, no new dive since last Wednesday.
Three more critters from that dive.

[oldsalt]

Wow, Jan. You don't often post a brachiopod do you? I think that is a cool sighting.
-Curt

[Jan K]

Wow, Jan. You don't often post a brachiopod do you? I think that is a cool sighting.
-Curt

Thank you Curt, they are not that rare, just overlooked, as many smaller critters

Wrapping up the Keystone dive on January 5th.

[Jan K]

Langley Harbor January 11th.
Winter blues. Sea star survey found one wasting Ochre star, the good news may be the large numbers of sea star juveniles.
But then I have seen that in the past and it did not blossom into abundance of adults here.

[Jan K]

Deception Pass, January 13th.
First dive here since the closure on November 1st, the winter is taking toll on the North Beach area, therefore, access road to this part of the park is closed for winter until March 31st. When the skies cleared and wind ceased to churn up the seas, it was time to check out the underwater scene here. Visibility 5 to 10 feet was not that good, especially when compared with the beautiful day above the water.

[Jan K]

Deception Pass, January 13th.
Normally, the Black sea cucumbers hug the rocks and sea floor in great numbers. On this dive I found two adventurous individuals climbing up on the stipe of Stalked kelp, I never seen that before, especially in this high current environment.

[Jan K]

Deception Pass, January 13th.
The mystery of blisters on bodies of Red Sea Cucumbers reappears this winter. Nowhere else in Whidbey Island waters have I have seen this, and apparently nobody else ever seen this elsewhere. If it is disease, than it is a mild one, no mortality seems to associated with the blisters. And so, every winter, during the surveys, I ponder what is going on...

[Jan K]

Keystone Jetty, January 16th.
Divers from near and far descended on mostly cloudy, but calm Keystone. Finally met Internet friends from California, Phil and Merry, their first taste on Whidbey diving. Fred The Second, had plenty of visitors and smiles on divers show, that diving the jetty is still rewarding.

[Jan K]

Keystone Jetty, January 16th.
Nudibranch edition. The highlight was watching the Clown Nudibranch waltzing over Northern Kelp Crab.

[Jan K]

The headline caught my attention.
"Sea Anemones Eat Ants".

[Jan K]

Keystone Jetty, January 17th.
Diving with Maya, testing her new drysuit.
It kept her dry, hopefully she will join me now more often.

[Jan K]

Keystone Jetty, January 19th.
Another dive here, this time in search of the Lingcod egg nest which was sighted on Sunday by a fellow diver. After receiving the information where to look for it, (depth 25 feet, end of jetty where the rocks enter water), I spent quite a long time looking for it, but I failed....
Maybe my eyes are failing me ... :(

[Jan K]

Possession Point Fingers, January 21st.
What a calm day on the beach, there was not even a ripple , only passing boats sent some waves to the shore. Underwater, the visibility wasn't that good, but there was not current and there is always something to see, even if it is not exactly anything special...

[Jan K]

Possession Point Fingers, January 21st,
Wrapping up pics from that dive.

[Jan K]

Driftwood Park, January 22nd.
Just another new craft beer ?

[Jan K]

Driftwood Park, January 22nd
And the rest of the underwater scene from the dive.

[Jan K]

Skyline, January 24th.
Ten feet visibility is not ideal for exploring the large area of Skyline wall, but there is always something here to enjoy. Its nickname Candyland is well deserved. The Candy stripe shrimp, although very small, is found by searching out its home, here in Skyline on the body of Crimson anemone. The Threespine shrimp in the third panel is carrying load of eggs.

[Jan K]

Skyline, January 24
From the lives of sea stars ...

[Jan K]

Skyline January dive wrap-up:
Here, the Kelp greenlings use the Hard Gnarled Clump Sponges to lay their eggs into, while elsewhere it is the empty Giant Barnacle shell.

[Jan K]

Lagoon Point, January 26th.
Shallow dive in protected waters.