(Photo copyright Evgeniya Lazareva, Far East Russia Orca Project [FEROP, WDC])
One more talk is set for The Whale Trail‘s series, announced today by TWT’s Donna Sandstrom: “Adventures with Orcas in the North Pacific, From A1 Stubbs to Iceberg, the White Russian Bull,” featuring author/researcher Erich Hoyt. Big topic, and a bigger venue – after filling C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) for each of the four previous talks, this time it’ll be at The Hall at Fauntleroy, and instead of on a weeknight, it’s on a Saturday night, June 8th (7-9 pm). Tickets are available now! Read on for the full announcement:

Join us for this this rare Seattle appearance by noted author, whale researcher and marine conservationist Erich Hoyt, author of Orca: The Whale Called Killer.

Erich Hoyt’s first killer whale expedition to Johnstone Strait sailed from Victoria, BC in June 1973, 40 years ago this June. He proceeded to spend parts of the next 10 summers with orcas, culminating in his now-classic book Orca: The Whale Called Killer. He went on to study and work on conservation projects related to other whales, dolphins, sharks, deep sea creatures, ants and social insects, working in Costa Rica, Japan, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Argentina, Chile and other countries.

In 1999 he co-founded the Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP) to find out more about orca pods targeted for aquarium captures and to get Russian students involved in science and conservation of killer whales in Russian waters. Now in its 15th year, FEROP has recorded the Russian pods and photo-IDed some 1500 orcas off Kamchatka and in the Commander Islands — including three white orcas found so far in the study areas.

This is the fifth in a series of Orca Talks hosted by The Whale Trail. The event also features updates from Robin Lindsay (Seal Sitters), and “Diver Laura” James (tox-ick.org and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance), and photography from Judy Lane. Buy tickets early!

About the Speaker
Erich Hoyt is a noted marine conservationist, whale researcher, lecturer and author of more than 20 books including Orca: The Whale Called Killer, The Earth Dwellers, and Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, the latter recently named as an “Outstanding Academic Title” by the journal Choice.

He is an authority on marine protected areas (MPAs) and sanctuaries, and is currently Research Fellow with WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, leading its Global Critical Habitat MPA Program. He also co-directs the Far East Russia Orca Project in Kamchatka and the Russian Cetacean Habitat Project in the Commander Islands.

He is as an appointed member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Cetacean Specialist Group and the World Commission on Protected Areas, and co-chairs the new IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force. He is a member of the International Committee for Marine Mammal Protected Areas and has helped organize and program its world conferences in Hawaii (2009), Martinique (2011) and Australia (to be 2014).

A former Vannevar Bush Fellow in the Public Understanding of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and twice James Thurber Writer-in-Residence at The Thurber House, Hoyt was awarded the Mandy McMath Conservation Award in April this year by the European Cetacean Society at its annual conference for his body of work including books, papers and work on marine conservation. He is a Canadian-US dual citizen who has lived in Scotland since 1989.

About The Whale Trail
The Whale Trail (www.thewhaletrail.org) is a series of sites around the region where the public may view orcas and other marine mammals from shore. Our mission is to inspire appreciation and stewardship of whales and our marine environment by establishing a network of viewing sites along the whales’ trails through the Salish Sea and the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest.

Our goals are to increase awareness that our marine waters are home to orcas and other species; connect visitors to orcas, other marine wildlife and their habitat; inspire stewardship and build community; promote land-based whale watching. Our over-arching goal is to ensure the southern resident orcas do not go extinct.

The Whale Trail provides simple, powerful, and long-lasting reminders to visitors and residents alike that orcas and other whales live in our waters. Through our current sites and signs, including two on every Washington State ferry, we reach more than 22 million people each year. Our near-term goals are to add a site in every coastal county in Washington, and around Vancouver Island, throughout the orcas’ range. Together, we will turn the tide for the whales!

The Whale Trail is led by a core team of partners including NOAA Fisheries, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Seattle Aquarium, the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, and the Whale Museum. Donna Sandstrom is the Founder and Executive Director. The Whale Trail is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, registered in Washington State.

A West Seattle neighbor was a real wildlife hero this afternoon.

From my house, I heard an unusually loud Steller’s Jay cacophony in the park, but figured it might just be a bunch of nestlings calling to Mom and Dad for dinner. Shortly after that I heard a bunch of crows shrieking up a storm, and finally realized I should probably go check it out. I should have done this right away.

Several people were standing around a baby Steller’s Jay that had been harassed out of its nest by crows, who were apparently harassing and poking at it on the ground until Guardian Angel #1 stepped in to disperse them. Guardian Angels #2 and #3 were staying with the little bird – at first they thought it was dead, but then saw it was breathing. I picked it up and it held on tightly to my finger, so I knew it might be OK. We looked up in the nearby trees for the nest, hoping to put it back, but couldn’t find it. The parent jays were nearby but didn’t seem to be at their nest.

We put him in a box, then called PAWS in Lynnwood, who said to bring it up there for rehabilitation. So Guardian Angel #2, whose name is Marjorie Severson [photo above right], a generous and kind West Seattleite who volunteered to drive the little baby jay all the way up to Lynnwood for PAWS to help him out! I’m attaching her photo with the baby bird. She truly is an angel helping out the forest creatures.

This is fledging season, when a lot of baby birds risk injury or shock. If people find a baby bird on the ground but alive, the thing to do is to put it in a dark quiet box (with gaps so it can breathe), then call PAWS: 425-412-4040. This is their wildlife number, open 8-8 seven days a week, and they’ll tell you what to do. Everyone, put this number in your cellphones!

The image is courtesy of Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey, who has an update on the sculpture in the works for their “Year of the Seal” project (first announced in January) – and your chance to come to a meeting about it on May 13th:

Seal Sitters’ educational outreach project Year of the Seal, made possible by a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods grant, is making great strides. Following a public Call to Artists and Selection Panel review, prominent Northwest bronze artist Georgia Gerber was chosen to create a full-scale sculpture of a harbor seal mom and pup. Georgia is shown here at work on the centerpiece of the project, which is designed to raise awareness about our fragile marine ecosystem.

Harbor seals, year-round residents of Puget Sound, are considered by biologists to be sentinels for the health of our waters. If our water is polluted, so is our marine life, including the fish we eat. The harbor seals of South Puget Sound (including the seal pups of West Seattle) and our resident orcas are highly contaminated with toxins. Litter, storm runoff (pesticides, fertilizers, auto oil, etc), flame retardants and derelict fishing gear in our waters pose grave dangers to all marine life.

Seal Sitters’ volunteers are doing outreach to the public, educating about the impact that humans have on our waterways and the conscious decisions we can all make that have a positive impact. We are talking to school kids about Puget Sound marine life and empowering them with ways they can help.The sculpture, which will reside near the Alki Bathhouse, will serve to remind us not only to Share the Shore with wildlife, but to keep our waterways clean and safe for all life that depends on its health.

Please attend a community meeting on Monday, May 13th, from 7-8 pm (Alki Bathhouse). We will present the project and welcome input from the public at that time. Read more about Year of the Seal here on Seal Sitters’ website. Seal Sitters needs to fundraise additional monies for the installation phase of the project. If you would like to make a donation, please click here.

8:39 PM ‘HAPPENING NOW’ REPORT: It’s one of those nights when The Whale Trail turns inland – to C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) for the ongoing series of presentations about whales and other marine life. Thanks to “Diver Laura” James for sharing photos again – here’s tonight’s featured presenter, Uko Gorter, talking about “Orcas of the World“:

Big crowd again:

Watch The Whale Trail’s website for news of the next event!

ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: Thanks to Laura for also sharing video, if you couldn’t get there last night:

(Video sent by Bob Mohr, recorded by son Jack, in Genesee Hill around sunset Monday, between 55th/54th/Genesee/Dakota)
While that short clip of a coyote on the run in a West Seattle neighborhood – watch the sidewalk at :25 and :40 – isn’t from Highland Park, that neighborhood’s plan to talk about coyotes and other urban wildlife tomorrow night would seem to be of interest to all. A federal wildlife biologist is on the Highland Park Action Committee‘s agenda, 7 pm Wednesday at HP Improvement Club (12th/Holden), and all are welcome. Also on the agenda: The proposed Duwamish River cleanup plan, and why, with a month left for public comment, it should matter to you.

(Honey-bee swarm photographed in Genesee last year by Ute Herzel-Harding)
On this Earth Day, here’s a simple way to take action – save this information about what to do if you encounter a honey-bee swarm. Don’t panic – don’t be afraid – do report them to beekeepers who can give them a new home, which is what some bees are looking for at this time of year. Here’s expert advice from Puget Sound Beekeepers Association president Krista Conner, who happens to be a West Seattleite:

Puget Sound Beekeepers Association wants you to be prepared to help the bees!

With recent losses of bee populations worldwide, seeing a few bees around the garden is something to celebrate. But what do you do when a few thousand bees show up?

Most swarms are the size of a football, more or less.

Longer days bring a surge of blooming trees and flowers which create a short window of time for healthy honey bee colonies to split and create new colonies. This split happens when honey bees swarm: roughly 10-15 thousand bees and their queen will leave an existing colony and land upon a tree branch or side of building. Once there, this mass of bees can resemble a very large pine cone or football shaped mass. Swarming is the natural process that honey bee hives go through to create new colonies and spread their genetics to new locations.

Honey bee swarms are vulnerable outside the hive to weather, animals and more importantly people. They need to find a new home quickly. In a rural setting this is usually a hollow tree but in the city with loss of habitat this can take the form of a wall or attic of a house where they become a problem for homeowners.

If you encounter a swarm it is important to remain calm and to call a beekeeper quickly before the bees leave to a new home or take up residence in an undesirable location. It is important to not kill or disturb the honey bees by spraying pesticides or even water on them.

Puget Sound Beekeepers Association offers the community a “swarm list” – a list of beekeepers who are willing to collect swarms. The swarm list should be your first resource to manage a honey bee swarm. Swarm collection usually is provided for free if the bees are within easy reach and are not inside a wall or house. Follow the directions on the list for confirming help is on the way. While you wait for the beekeeper, the best thing you can do is get your camera ready and make sure people stay 10-15 feet away from the swarm.

When a beekeeper arrives they will remove the swarm by transferring them into a hive box. Bees in a swarm are less likely to sting because they have nothing to defend and are gorged with honey so they have energy to build a new colony. The beekeeper may work bare-handed or in a full suit to transfer the football sized swarm of bees into a hive with a shake of a branch or by the handful if they are on a wall. Once the majority of the bees are in the hive the beekeeper will wait for any stray bees to find their way into the hive box before closing the hive up to take to their new home.

Here and anywhere in the greater Seattle area, please refer to the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association swarm list to find a swarm-catching beekeeper: pugetsoundbees.org/psba-swarm-list

Thanks for helping the bees!
Puget Sound Beekeepers Association

Our local orcas have cousins all over the world! Find out about them during the fourth event in The Whale Trail‘s series of presentations: “Uko Gorter: Orcas of the World – An overview of the diversity of Orcinus orca.” It’s one week from tonight, according to the official announcement:

Orcas (killer whales) are one of the most widespread mammals in the world. Like humans, they exhibit unique cultural and even morphological differences.

Join us for this presentation by scientific illustrator Uko Gorter (also the president of the American Cetacean Society’s Puget Sound chapter), who will discuss the diversity of orcas around the globe. Spectacular photos highlight the subtle (and not so subtle) difference in appearance, unique behavior, and prey preferences between the many orca populations. Some differences are so great, they may lead to a taxonomic revisions and determination of new species and/or subspecies of orca. Uko will also discuss his collaboration with with biologists Bob Pitman, John Durban, and Andy Foote to create a poster of orca ecotypes and forms.

—–
Where: C & P Coffee Company, 5621 California SW
When: Thursday April 25, 7 – 9 (doors open 6:30)
Cost: $5 suggested donation, kids free.
–Tickets available at brownpapertickets.com

Buy tickets early and we will save you a seat! The event also features updates from Robin Lindsey (Seal Sitters), and “Diver Laura” James (tox-ick.org and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance), and photography and art from Judy Lane and Mike Russell.

(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
9:59 PM: Call it “moving day.” Or – night. At Burien’s Seahurst Park, the partial fin-whale carcass that washed up on Saturday is to be moved tonight.

WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams was there throughout the day as it was prepared for the move.

We’ll add more of Nick’s photos later tonight, as well as an update on tonight’s planned move.

11:23 PM UPDATE: Robin Lindsey from West Seattle-based Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network tells WSB, “I just heard from NOAA and the whale is officially off the beach and the tow is underway…

“A good day today with a lot of education on the beach in a team effort. … The whale is being taken to a remote location for natural decomposition and collection of the skull at a later date for educational and research purposes.” Watch for a post on the SS site tomorrow.

10:21 AM WEDNESDAY: The city of Burien, whose park system includes Seahurst, says the removal operation cost it $3,100. Meantime, the aforementioned post by Robin is up; she writes that the whale’s remains are now at the location where they’ll decompose naturally.

With everything else that’s been happening today, the saga of the dead fin whale at Seahurst Park slid out of the spotlight, but we do have two updates tonight: First, its resting place on the beach has finally been cordoned off to end the spate of illegal touching – thanks to “Diver Laura” James for allowing us to share her photo. Second, authorities are facing extra logistical challenges in trying to remove it, including those posed by what the whale’s carcass is missing - Robin Lindsey from Seal Sitters has been talking with federal and local officials and has an update online here. If you missed the previous coverage, the whale – missing about half of its body, not all lengthwise, so it’s still more than 50 feet long – washed up at Seahurst this past Saturday morning; researchers believe it was hit by a ship, but that might have happened many miles away.

(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
There may be a decision today on what will, or won’t, be done with the dead fin whale (an endangered species) that has drawn hundreds to the shore of Burien’s Seahurst Park the past two days. WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams returned to the beach on Sunday and shows us a scene of tributes and mourning as well as curiosity. Among those bringing flowers, 7-year-old Faith Hunter:

There was also the smelly reality of a multi-ton carcass, as Lucas Brooks noticed:

Some simply stood quietly to observe, and pay respects:

Fishing buddies Kyle Thope, right, and Corey Wiggins took a closeup look:

Ruby Rose (photo below) said she was gleaning information from the whale.

She told Nick, “I can receive information through my heart and my hands, and sometimes my third eye. … Whales are living libraries downloading information to me.” Others learned from the scene in a more conventional manner – Steve Knapp was there with his 7-year-old daughter Sera:

What looked like blood might instead have been red paint from whatever ship is suspected to have hit the whale:

That is one of few clues – the “strike” could have happened in Puget Sound, or perhaps hundreds of miles away in the open ocean:

Whatever happened, so many knew only that they might never again get a chance for a look at this type of endangered whale, second-largest in the sea. Some sat in contemplation, like Nastalja, left, and Trina:

Many used phones and/or cameras for a visual souvenir:

The crowd swarmed – many touching the whale, though experts warn against doing so:

Robin Lindsey of West Seattle-headquartered Seal Sitters, whose volunteers came to the scene though it’s south of their jurisdiction, asked us to share these words of warning:

Photos of people touching dead marine mammals is always a tremendous concern. Infectious diseases among marine mammals is on the rise, many of them zoonotic (meaning people and dogs can get them). Blood and fluid oozing from an animal is obviously potentially unsafe! Please, everyone admire and pay tribute to this majestic animal FROM A SAFE DISTANCE. Once again, this stresses the importance of having stranding networks who can respond to such incidents, educating people and keeping them safely away and investigate cause of death. The elimination of Federal funding from the 2014 budget will greatly impair research into emerging disease and studies of human impact on marine mammals. We strongly encourage everyone to please contact their congressional representatives and ask that John H. Prescott Grant funding be restored to the 2014 budget.

That’s explained further in this story Robin had published on the Seal Sitters’ Blubberblog just before the Seahurst stranding happened. Without researchers, so many lessons that might be learned from the loss of this animal might be missed. Its appearance alone bore fascination, such as its baleen:

And the lines that mark it ..

From the Sunday crowd, the tributes kept coming … and the curiosity:

Even other creatures were curious (though dog owners too should heed Robin’s warning, above):

But now there is one big question about this big creature: What will happen to it?

We’re told a decision could come as soon as today; we’ll update when new information is available. Meantime, the experts investigating the whale’s death continue their work, too; here again is the preliminary report that Cascadia Research Collective published Saturday. (Our previous reports are here [Saturday afternoon] and here [Saturday night].)

(Saturday photos by Nick Adams for WSB, unless otherwise credited)
Dead or alive, an endangered fin whale is a rare sight in Puget Sound. So the one that turned up dead at Seahurst Park in Burien on Saturday (here’s our previous report) was something Jesavel Garcia said she would tell her grandchildren about – the reason why she took a self-portrait with the whale in the background. She had company:

And for researchers, it was quite a sight as well:

Up close, you could see its baleen:

(Photo by David Hutchinson)
That photo is courtesy of David Hutchinson, who was one of the volunteers from West Seattle-based Seal Sitters who went to the scene; Robin Lindsey has written about it on the group’s Blubberblog site. More photos and information ahead – including troubled waters for funding of response and research in cases like this:

As mentioned in our Saturday report, today marks exactly three years to the day since a similar scene started unfolding on the beach in West Seattle’s southwesternmost neighborhood, The Arroyos, after a gray whale died offshore. This is just a few miles south:

A situation like this is known technically as a stranding, whether the animal lives or dies. Like the gray-whale stranding in 2010, this one also is being investigated by Cascadia Research (its preliminary report is here), which made the early determination that it died because it was hit by a ship, and that what turned up at Seahurst was only part of a fin whale that when alive had been up to 65 feet long – that’s as long as a six-story building is tall; here’s some hint at the scale of the 52-foot section found at Seahurst:

They are the second largest creatures in the sea; this is the 10th one stranded in Washington in the past 11 years, according to the Cascadia site, and ship strikes are blamed for eight of those deaths.

Despite the tragedy of the scene, the majesty remained. Touching one of the whale’s fins, Christina Pfeiffer told Nick, “We were really interested in coming to see it, we love whales and are nursing students.”

The whale had died up to a week earlier, according to the Cascadia Research report. As noted in that report and Robin Lindsey’s Seal Sitters writeup, responders also came from the federally funded stranding-network program – and Robin had reported just Friday that the proposed federal budget eliminates that funding. If you are concerned, the time to contact Congress is now.

In Robin’s Saturday night report, she also mentioned steps that can be taken to lessen the chance of ship strikes – something noted in this video shared on the WSB Facebook page by Peter Han:

We will be following up today on what will happen next; you might recall that the 2010 gray whale in The Arroyos eventually was towed to a remote beach where it was left to decompose until its bones remained, and they are on display at the Highline College MAST center in Redondo (here’s our report on the exhibit’s opening).

(Photos courtesy Isa Sorensen)
Since we report so often about marine mammals here on WSB, we’re mentioning this even though it’s south of our coverage area, after getting a call from someone who wanted to make sure we knew about it: A fin whale has washed up on the beach at Seahurst Park in Burien; KIRO TV quotes experts as saying they believe it died after being hit by a vessel. Isa Sorensen gave us permission to share some of his photos.

Coincidentally, tomorrow will mark exactly three years to the day since a gray whale stranded and died off southwesternmost West Seattle, in The Arroyos. That’s less than four miles from Seahurst, if you were going by water. KIRO says Cascadia Research Collective will do the necropsy; it has researched other such cases in years past (including one in Tacoma in 2009). Fin whales, by the way, are rare in Puget Sound – so rare, they’re not even on The Whale Trail’s list of commonly sighted species;

(Photo by Robin Lindsey)
It’s a beautiful day on the water and a beautiful day for wildlife watching – if you keep your distance, and that’s a required-by-law 100 yards. Robin Lindsey from Seal Sitters shared the photo and asked us to help get that reminder out – please don’t get so close to those sea-lion-laden buoys on the bay:

It was like a flotilla out there yesterday and lots of watercraft around them today, too. While it is tempting to get closer, people need to remember that all marine mammals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Sea lions and seals need to rest and regulate their body temperature. That is exactly what a huge Steller sea lion bull and a jostling gang of sea lions, mostly male California sea lions, are doing on the buoys. Our Eastern stock of Stellers are considered “threatened,” while the Western stock that lives in Alaska and Russian waters is indeed “endangered.”

Watercraft violating this federal law are being photographed and the images are being sent to NOAA’s Office for Law Enforcement. A Steller bull is a huge animal, weighing up to a ton, and if provoked could leap off and injure someone. It is only common sense that a kayaker not get within feet of the buoy as they were doing yesterday. Alki Kayak Tours is doing a great job of informing their renters to steer clear of the buoy, but others may not be aware that getting too close not only causes undue stress on the animals, but is a violation of the MMPA and punishable by fine.

We want people to get out on the water and enjoy wildlife – from a respectful distance.

Want to know more about marine mammals? Here’s the Seal Sitters’ resource-links page.

Thanks to “Diver Laura” James for sharing video of researcher John Calambokidis‘s harbor-porpoises presentation from the latest in The Whale Trail‘s series of talks, this past Thursday night at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor). Another good turnout – click the image to see a larger version of this panorama:

This was the third in TWT’s new series of events, also featuring other local advocates (such as Laura, for tox-ick.org and Puget SoundKeeper Alliance, and Seal Sitters – whose David Hutchinson is in the panorama, standing by a camera, of course). We’re checking with TWT’s Donna Sandstrom to see what’s next on the schedule; you can also watch the Whale Trail calendar for future additions.