Whidbey Island Critters

[Jan K]

Skyline November 12th dive.
The most noticeable change - winter approaching, the sea cucumbers stopped feeding.
The Red sea cucumbers and the Creeping pedal cucumbers added so much color to the Skyline.

[Jan K]

And the second instalment of critters and sights encountered on November 12th dive at Skyline.

[Jan K]

Sunset Bay, Edmonds, November 13th dive.
Many years ago my friend Chris and I dived together at the Possession Beach Park on Whidbey Island. We enjoyed photographing hordes of nudibranchs feasting on the many Sea pens there. Now the sea pens are long gone and I miss them very much. So when Chris found them in the bay across from Possession Point on the mainland side and invited me to see Sea pens again, I was more than happy to join him.

[Jan K]

Sunset Bay November 13th dive. It seems like the crabs are enjoying the Sea pens as much as I do.

[Jan K]

Langley Harbor, Sea Star Wasting Disease survey, November 16th dive. The wasting of sea stars is slowing down.
Only two juvenile Pycnopodia found, both healthy. Few lost crab traps, not many Dungeness crabs seen moving around the tire reef.

[Jan K]

Deception Pass November 18th dive.
Another instalment
Male Kelp greenlings guarding the next generation, not too scared of much bigger critter with a camera (me).
Meanwhile Leafy hornmouth snail are starting to do their part in protecting their species survival.
When I found pile of rocks which obviously fell from the dry world above with their surface still devoid of marine life, I begun taking pictures during each visit to see how fast will the colonization progress when exposed to the strong currents in Deception Pass.

[Jan K]

Deception Pass November 18th dive.
Continuum.

[Jan K]

January 1st, 2023. Langley Harbor. First dive after the Covid and first dive of the new year. Murky waters void of much of the usual marine life. But finding few healthy Sunflower stars, albeit small. was nice. Only few shy rockfish hiding in rock below the seawall, most of the Plumose anemones flat, I wonder if the stormy weather, floods and rains affected the feeding habits of the residents.

[Furnari]

Glad to see you're back diving (and posting), Jan.

[Jan K]

Glad to see you're back diving (and posting), Jan.

Thanks, I didn't know I was missed

January 4, 2023 Deception Pass. Here too the visibility seems to be compromised by the recent weather, silt clouding up the water, 10-12 feet is not too exciting on overcast day.The good thing was that there was not much of current at all during our one hour dive. My friend Tabb was not happy about his leaky suit, but did enjoy the dive nevertheless. Kelp greenlings are still in mating mood, Bull kelp gone and the Winged kelp trashed by the recent storms too.

[Jan K]

January 7th, 2023. Keystone Jetty. Lots of divers, lots of driftwood and lots of noise from the nearby construction site.
But there was no wind to make it worse and the drizzle, part of our winter now. The Giant barnacle on the Rock of Life now hosts once again a large male Scalyhead sculpin, Fred the Third, as we now follow the reproductive doings at that specific spot. The Kelp greenlings have a leg up in that department, alevins, as the newly hatched larvae are called, are starting their life in the underwater world, leaving their eggs. And so, the life goes on...

[Jan K]

January 9, 2023. Possession Point Fingers dive. It has been a while since I visited the most southern end of Whidbey Island. And I had nice dive, flat waters going in, little bit of choppy coming out.

[Jan K]

good reason to revisit Keystone Jetty, this time without any floating debris, all the driftwood stacked up at the high water line. Only one other diver taking advantage of the weather, and of course, introducing him to Fred III was in order.

[Jan K]

Langley Harbor, January 29, 2023
Sunflower stars like cold water more than I do. No wasting stars.
I found four young stars, about 7 inches in diameter, and 14 juveniles, all healthy. So maybe there is hope...

[Jan K]

Langley Harbor, January 29, 2023.
Not many fish encounters on this dive...

[oldsalt]

I guess I should have noticed the relationship between sticklebacks and tubesnouts before, but the sticklebacks' ability to move back and forth from fresh to salt water dominated my interest. I have only seen tubes in salt water while I remember sticklebacks in abundance in Cranberry Lake. Don't I? Curt

[Jan K]

I guess I should have noticed the relationship between sticklebacks and tubesnouts before, but the sticklebacks' ability to move back and forth from fresh to salt water dominated my interest. I have only seen tubes in salt water while I remember sticklebacks in abundance in Cranberry Lake. Don't I? Curt

Lots of Sticklebacks in the Driftwood Ponds ...

Skyline, February 1, 2023
Few nudibranchs, few fish, new to me sponge.
And very unusual - no current whatsoever.
Lot of silt in depth, somewhat better visibility in the shallow water.

[Jan K]

Keystone Jetty, February 5,2023.
Lots of construction on the ferry side of Keystone Jetty, frequent wind storms, rainy weather,
what else can I blame silty waters with poor visibility on ?

[Jan K]

Possession Point Fingers. February 8,2023
Lingcod are slowly coming back. Five egg nests found.
I hope that dive clubs will not repeat organized spearfishing dives here again and let the place recover.

[Jan K]

Possession Point Fingers, February 8, 2023
And few other critters.

[Jan K]

Driftwood Park, February 10, 2023
Since I did not see a single rockfish on the tire reef here, I think there is some truth to the "Winter sheltering" theory.
Only larger fish I encountered on this dive was juvenile Wolf-eel.

[Jan K]

Driftwood Park, February 10, 2023
Bering hermit crab eating Barnacle eating dorid eggs.
How is that for a convoluted caption.
The short version Crab eats slug eggs.

[Jan K]

Driftwood Pond #2. February 11, 2023
There was no sign of the Stickleback fish, no shrimp, no slugs, no jellyfish.
Just few Sea gooseberries. Truly a dead, winter pond.

[Jan K]

Deception Pass, February 15, 2023
Cold, but the current was mild and there was sunshine and no wind above.
Some of the Red sea cucumbers are beginning to show up after the winter sleep.
Northern featherdusters feeding happily too.

[Jan K]

More from Deception Pass, February 15th dive.
Red sea cucumbers begin to wake up here.