Whidbey Island Critters

Fish & Invertebrate sightings and descriptions, hosted by resident NWDC ID expert Janna Nichols (nwscubamom).
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John Rawlings
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Post by John Rawlings »

"This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me."

Hee Hee Hee....we probably left half the membership behind on this one...... :book:
“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

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Post by Sounder »

:dontknow:
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Penopolypants
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Post by Penopolypants »

Moby Dick. I love the cadence of that book, it's a good one to read aloud.
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John Rawlings
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Post by John Rawlings »

Arrrr....keep your harpoon blades sharpened as we go off on the quest for the white Great sculpin! At least we can refer to Jan as Ishmael and NOT Ahab!

Or....have you lost a leg to the white Great sculpin and not told us about it, Jan? #-o

- John
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Joshua Smith
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Post by Joshua Smith »

"though following the sea as highwaymen the road, they but plunder other ships, other fragments of the land like themselves...."

My favorite quotes from this book were used by Ricardo Montablan in Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan-


"He tasks me. He tasks me, and I SHALL HAVE HIM!"

and:

"From hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!"

:evil4:
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John Rawlings
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Post by John Rawlings »

"From hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!"

Ah, yes....always a useful line at parties and other social gatherings!

What a GREAT thread this is! Where else can you get beautiful photos, entertaining cartoons, a marine biology education....AND a discussion of literary classics? =D>

- John
“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

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Tom Nic
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Post by Tom Nic »

Very cool quotes!

Here we are getting an edgymacation on NwDiveClub as well! \:D/
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Jan K
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Post by Jan K »

John Rawlings wrote:Arrrr....keep your harpoon blades sharpened as we go off on the quest for the white Great sculpin! At least we can refer to Jan as Ishmael and NOT Ahab! Or....have you lost a leg to the white Great sculpin and not told us about it, Jan? #-o - John
Thank you John, I do prefer to be Ishmael , for he managed to survive and let us know that: : Ahab, and the Pequod, which, "like Satan, would not sink to hell till she had dragged a living part of heaven along with her...

And I enjoy the company of NW Dive Club :salute:
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Jan K
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Harbor seal

Post by Jan K »

This was my first time sighting of Harbor seal at Keystone, probably because I always look somewhere else, ususally at some small critter and I would most likely miss a Gray whale passing by.. This pup zoomed by, managing to click just one picture. .. #-o

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Zen Diver
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Post by Zen Diver »

Great shot Jan! =D> I've never managed to capture a shot of a seal underwater, fast little buggers.

-Valerie
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Jan K
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Post by Jan K »

Thank you Valerie, they are difficult to capture with Point and Shoot, that is why I missed the better moment when the seal was looking at me for a split second..
And from the waters of Langley:
Very small slug, about a quarter inch if that. I don't see them often, but that might be more due to my eyesight #-o

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Jan K
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Dancer

Post by Jan K »

Giant nudibranch - here I am trying to convey the locomotion of slug swimming ...

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Jan K
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Stomach Wing

Post by Jan K »

It makes me wonder if the scientist who named this slug had limited vocabulary or weird sense of humor..
Another swimming slug - the other common names are little bit more appropriate in my humble opinion ...

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Jan K
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Moon snail hunt

Post by Jan K »

I had same encounter more then a year ago. Same technique applied by the hunter and the hunted. Same result.

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Tom Nic
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Post by Tom Nic »

Deightful Stuff Jan!
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Post by Seth T. »

Wow! Sucks to be the cockle! :pale:
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Post by Sounder »

Nice work Jan!!! That's amazing!!! I would love to see video of this event. =D> :prayer:
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Post by nwscubamom »

Jan, that is really interesting stuff! I knew what it ate, and that it bore a hole, but never knew all the pouncing stuff that the Lewis's Moonsnail does! Very cool that you caught that on film!

- Janna :)
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Post by Pez7378 »

How long do you have to wait, sitting in one spot to observe this type of behavior. I see critters all the time, however I cannot predict what it is they are up to. This is truly amazing footage of nature at its best!
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Jan K
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Post by Jan K »

Pez7378 wrote:How long do you have to wait, sitting in one spot to observe this type of behavior. I see critters all the time, however I cannot predict what it is they are up to. This is truly amazing footage of nature at its best!
Once you recognize potential predator - prey encouter, hunker down and let nature perform. Some plays are longer then others, sometimes nothing happens - so dive often \:D/
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Post by Sounder »

Jan K wrote:
Pez7378 wrote:How long do you have to wait, sitting in one spot to observe this type of behavior. I see critters all the time, however I cannot predict what it is they are up to. This is truly amazing footage of nature at its best!
Once you recognize potential predator - prey encouter, hunker down and let nature perform. Some plays are longer then others, sometimes nothing happens - so dive often \:D/
I love this philosophy. Such wisdom. :prayer:
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Jan K
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GPO

Post by Jan K »

Octopus Lullaby :-({|=

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Post by Scubak »

Jan,
I'm surprised you didn't do a Halloween cartoon...something like your christmas card...
no worries though, your pics are wonderful as always.
I sent the link to this thread to my friend, whose 6 year old son is just now "discovering" the ocean and sea "pickles"... :)
Thanks so much. I want to order him one of your books and ship to him for a suprise...
Thanks so much.

Kirsten
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Jan K
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Post by Jan K »

Scubak wrote:Jan,
I'm surprised you didn't do a Halloween cartoon...something like your christmas card... Kirsten
Kirsten, I got caught up in diving and work.. So here is one from the past..

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Tom Nic
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Post by Tom Nic »

Was he actually sleeping, or did you just catch him with his eyes closed?!

Very cool, as always Jan!
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"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
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