West Seattle, Washington

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Wildlife 1737 results

West Seattle weekend scenes: Seeing the sights @ low tide
May 6, 2012 1:48 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Thanks to Greg for sharing photos from south of Alki during this morning’s low tide (even lower the next two afternoons). Above, his daughter Lillie carefully checks out a purple sea star. Next, a great blue heron snags a snack:

And of course, Lillie, Greg, and the heron did not exactly have the beach to themselves:

While the very low (and very high!) tides continue for the next few days, the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar will have information about both the tides and opportunities to talk with beach naturalists. We also have tide information on the WSB Weather page year-round.

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West Seattle wildlife: Mystery of ‘sea lion with a number’ solved
May 3, 2012 11:55 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

A week and a half ago, we published that photo taken by Tom Foley while out on the Duwamish River. We thought it was a Steller sea lion; turns out it’s a California sea lion – and known to researchers. LG saw Tom’s photo here and sent the information to NOAA, which she says “got excited about it, and e-mails were quickly sent around between people at NOAA and the Alaska Fish and Game Department’s Steller Sea Lion program trying to identify the animal. Apparently Alaska Fish and Game has an extensive photo database specifically for identifying branded sea lions.” She then received e-mail from NOAA’s Sharon Melin, who told her it was OK for us to publish the e-mail, which follows:

Thank you for reporting the sighting of the California sea lion #8727. He was branded as a 4 month old pup in September 2006 at San Miguel Island, California. At the time, he weighed 23.0 kg and was large for his age. He has been seen regularly in Washington during the winters and at San Miguel Island during the summer breeding season but still is too young and small to be breeding.

San Miguel Island is the northern limit of the California sea lion breeding range and is the westernmost island in the Channel Islands chain off the coast of California. Each year, a population of about 100,000 California sea lions returns to the island to breed and pup. Pups are born in late May and June and are usually weaned in March or April of the following year. Each year we tag and brand 500 pups out of about 23,000 born and conduct long-term observation studies throughout the lives of tagged individuals.

The tagging program for seals and sea lions on San Miguel Island was initiated in 1975. We have had tag recoveries from as far south as Pta Colnette (Punta Colonet), Mexico and as far north as Southeast Alaska. The tagging program provides information for long-term studies on migration, movements, survival, reproductive success, and annual cycles of individual animals. Studies such as these help us to effectively monitor marine mammal populations.

Tag returns are an extremely important part of our studies and they provide valuable information required to understand the biology and status of marine mammal populations. Thank you for taking time to participate in our research effort.

Here’s a map showing San Miguel Island, which is off Santa Barbara, California – more than 1,000 miles away!

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West Seattle wildlife: School-salmon release season begins
May 1, 2012 3:05 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle wildlife: School-salmon release season begins
 |   Environment | West Seattle news | Wildlife

In Fauntleroy Park this morning, Westside School (WSB sponsor) second-graders were the first to visit Fauntleroy Creek this spring to release salmon fry they’ve been raising. The students arrived in vans; the salmon, in a bucket:

Another bucket nearby held a few of the smolt that had been released into the creek a year earlier; watershed steward Judy Pickens explained that they have been transporting smolt downstream that way because last year, so many of them died somewhere between the park and the fish ladder near Fauntleroy Cove. She joined teacher Laura Holmes (center) for a briefing at the park’s north-central entrance before everyone headed down to the creek:

Judy was presented with student art and poetry about the fish, and read the poems aloud before they were tacked up in the kiosk nearby:

Back to that first fish – as was the case with each student in turn, the boy in the black/white hat was instructed to hold his hand over the cup once volunteer Dennis Hinton had scooped up a fry to set free – then to carefully empty the cup into the creek, by a small footbridge a short walk from SW Barton … and then, off went the fry:

Each spring, Judy, Dennis, and other volunteers watch for smolt heading outbound – this spring, 105 so far – and then each fall, they watch for salmon returning home after about 3 years away.

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West Seattle wildlife: Giant Pacific Octopus, close up
April 29, 2012 6:07 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

You never know what you are going to find on the beach at low tide. This closeup look at an octopus arm found south of Alki Point a few days ago is courtesy of West Seattle photographer Machel Spence. She even found the upper mandible of its beak – the only hard part of an octopus’s body:

Probably not the same octopus – but two weeks ago, Jana and her kids found an intact octopus on a local beach; we’d been saving those photos – click ahead if you’re interested in seeing one:Read More

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West Seattle wildlife: ‘Common’ yet uncommon bird sighting
April 26, 2012 8:44 pm
|      22 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Shared by Alki photographer David Hutchinson, who says, “My wife and I came across this Common Loon in Elliott Bay while walking near Salty’s this evening.” (The bird may be deemed “common” by name, but its beauty is anything but!)

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West Seattle wildlife: The sea lion with a number
April 23, 2012 12:09 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife


(Click image to see it in a larger size)
Sharing that photo (and others) taken during a Puget Soundkeeper trip along the Duwamish River, West Seattle volunteer Tom Foley wondered, “Does anyone out there know who might have numbered the animal and if they would like to know it has shown up here in Elliott Bay?” A bit of online research reveals Steller sea lions – the species we believe this to be – have been widely branded along the North Pacific so that sightings can be tracked; Stellers are on the endangered-species list. Can’t tell from this number, though, who might have placed it there…

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West Seattle wildlife: Surprise sighting, and bonus photo
April 21, 2012 11:36 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

From Danny McMillin:

I’ve never seen a Eurasian Collared-Dove until this morning. I spotted a pair while photographing an eagle on Alki Point. I’m curious to know if anyone else has seen these doves in West Seattle; and if so, where and when.

As a bonus, Danny included the eagle (pursued by a crow):

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West Seattle wildlife: Bird with a view
April 18, 2012 10:17 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle wildlife: Bird with a view
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather | Wildlife

No one can resist the downtown-skyline view from West Seattle – not even the noble and ever-busy crow. Thanks to Darren Pilon for sharing the photo. P.S. While rain is on its way back, the forecast includes some weekend sun.

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West Seattle Whale Watch: Orcas make a splash!
April 18, 2012 1:09 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

Thanks to Gary Jones for sharing photos of the orcas that put on a show between Alki Point and Bainbridge Island late this morning!

We heard about it via Facebook, went down to the water to see if we could see them, and no luck (again), so Gary’s photos are much appreciated. Expert watchers say all this leaping is because they’re feeding.

We also got a call from a nice person who said he could see them via telescope from his home over Beach Drive (and offered us the chance to use it), but at the time – 12:30ish – they were “way on the other side.”

According to the Orca Network‘s latest Facebook update, these are likely “transients” – orcas that eat mammals (seals, sea lions, whales) instead of fish, which is the staple of Puget Sound’s resident orcas.

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West Seattle beauty: Sights above and beneath the sea
April 17, 2012 4:00 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Before we get going all-out with a brand-new day – and Tax Day, at that! – take a moment for two seagoing West Seattle sights shared by WSB’ers. First, John Hinkey‘s view of the Monday night sunset. Next, the latest undersea video from diver/photographer Laura James – who lets her camera linger on market-squid eggs on the seafloor near Seacrest:

The eggs take just past two months to hatch, according to this squid-info page. (Yes, same squid that appears on menus as calamari.)

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It takes a village … to rescue a West Seattle wildlife raft
April 16, 2012 7:02 pm
|      17 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(August 2010 photo by Guy Smith)
Another chapter to share in the ongoing saga of Alki’s Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft, first launched in 2008, first mentioned here when we heard from Joy’s husband Guy Smith in 2009, and the subject of some memorable stories since then. Today, Guy shared another one:

Joy’s raft is in dry dock again after an underwater line broke. That’s nothing new, but the way the raft was rescued is quite a story.

We discovered it had broken loose in the late afternoon on Thursday the 12th and located it drifting along about halfway to Duwamish Head. There wasn’t enough daylight left to get a boat and pull it home, so we crossed our fingers and went to dinner with friends. They volunteered to look for it the next day in their boat, but when we got back home at dusk we couldn’t believe our eyes. The raft was tied to a buoy about halfway between the point and the Alki Promenade. How could this have happened?

As near as we can tell, from listening to all the neighbors’ stories and a little guesswork, the raft and buoy were drifting toward Alki Point at about 7:30 pm, on the strong incoming tide when a neighbor, Zack Singer, jumped into his kayak and set out to rescue it. Zack said he was spurred to action when he, Judy, and Linda were sipping cool ones on the patio and Judy said something like “we can’t let that raft get away; we like watching it too much.”

Zack hooked up to the raft and buoy, but the current was too strong and he found himself being pulled south around the point. Luckily, Jack Miller was heading north in his big boat, the “Baltic Sea,” and responded to Zack’s hail.

(Photo by Kyle Udo, added Tuesday morning, courtesy Kyle’s dad Pat Hogan)
Jack hooked up to what he laughingly described as “a pretty unusual sight” and pulled the whole thing around the Point to the first buoy they came to; one of only 3 left on this stretch of beach where a dozen used to be. Zack said it wasn’t exactly a smooth ride; because when Jack took off, the kayak was being pulled backward. Afraid it would flip, he whipped out his knife and cut the kayak loose (instincts from working on tug boats), nicking his finger in the process.

At the new buoy, rope was needed; so Zack paddled to the beach and borrowed a length from Duff Kennedy’s seemingly endless supply. Jack donated a throw-ring float from the Baltic Sea to keep the lines from sinking and tangling. All this action was watched by neighbors on the beach as they shouted encouragement and advice (happy hour was running late that day).

On Saturday, Jerett Kaplan donated his rowboat for retrieving the raft; and it now sits in dry dock, awaiting new parts and a call to the diver. It’s been a nice marine refuge and people along the beach like to watch the birds and seals. Penny Earnest is a Seal Sitter volunteer and sends in daily seal counts. Thanks go to other neighbors who keep watch on the raft and who helped fill in details – Bette Callan, the Hogans, the Warrens, and others; even the unknown owner of the buoy where the raft was temporarily tied. The biggest thanks go to Zack and Jack for their timely action.

Sharon Kennedy related that on Friday, she had watched a mother seal and her pup circle the spot where the raft normally floats; circling for quite a while before they gave up and left. She laughed when she told that she had almost started yelling and pointing to the new location.

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West Seattle Whale Watch: Did we mention, more orcas?
April 15, 2012 12:32 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

On the WSB Facebook page, we shared the Orca Network‘s report of orcas between north Vashon Island and West Seattle, closer to the Vashon side, but hadn’t heard any other reports – till FB commenters confirmed the sighting. They’re reported to be southbound past south West Seattle (but of course that means they’ll eventually have to head back this way).

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West Seattle wildlife: Keeping the ‘kids’ in line; takeoff time
April 10, 2012 7:44 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

(First 2 photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Walking at Don Armeni this morning, we stopped to watch one of the local Canada goose families as they headed up the ramp and off to truly greener pastures park lawns. We can’t even approach the cuteness factor of David Hutchinson’s last parent-and-gosling photo, but we snapped away bravely just the same.

Then, just as we were about to publish those two photos, Cheryl Nellis shared low-tide sights via Facebook – including this view of a great blue heron taking wing as brant munch eelgrass in the foreground:

(Thanks to Cheryl and the other great local photographers who share images – wildlife and otherwise – via WSB!)

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West Seattle wildlife: ‘Easter seal’ pup ‘Bunny,’ and a followup about ‘Sandy’
April 8, 2012 10:26 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

Yes, West Seattle had an “Easter seal” today (By the way, the original Easter Seals are still around.) Jen sent us the top photo of a pup on Alki this morning, watched over by Seal Sitters, whose Robin Lindsey told us tonight they nicknamed “Bunny” – because it kept popping up all over the place! Robin shared a photo too:

Robin also calls our attention to a story published tonight by our partners at the Seattle Times, following up on a sad story she broke last week – also reported here last Monday – the death of the rehabilitated pup “Sandy,” found tangled in old fishing gear in Edmonds. The Times story quotes a conservation group as saying more than half a million sea creatures are killed by lost/abandoned gear every year.

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West Seattle Whale Watch: Orcas heading this way
April 7, 2012 2:20 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

2:20 PM: Got a call about southbound orcas that – if they don’t change their direction – might soon be visible off Alki Point. We’re heading off to look; let us know if you see them.

3:59 PM UPDATE: We didn’t have any luck ourselves (as usual) – but maybe we were too early, as they are still out there, according to those discussing it on the WSB Facebook page.

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West Seattle wildlife: Nesting hummingbird in Fauntleroy
April 7, 2012 4:09 am
|      16 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

If you ever wonder where those beautiful hummingbirds seen in local yards go to nest, or rest … maybe they all go to Fauntleroy. “Woodsman Steve” shares this photo by friend Michael Oxman, taken in Fauntleroy Park. “Pretty special since you never see a hummer sitting still,” observed Steve. “In fact, in all my years on this planet I have never seen a nest.”

(It’s been exactly one year since the last time we were lucky enough to receive a hummingbird-nest photo to share with you … last year the folks at The Kenney [WSB sponsor] on the north end of Fauntleroy were watching theirs!)

ADDED SATURDAY NIGHT: Steve later shared another photo by Michael, same hummingbird, different angle:Read More

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West Seattle wildlife: Sure sign of spring – goslings!
April 4, 2012 11:17 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

This is the fifth spring that Alki photographer David Hutchinson has kindly shared his wonderful Canada geese images with WSB. This one, taken today along Harbor Avenue SW, arrived tonight, with the observation “Despite the cold blustery weather, spring must be just around the corner”; we checked back in the archives, and we’ve been lucky enough to have his gosling (and grownups) photos going all the way back to 2008 … scroll through this newest-to-oldest archive to see them (with a few other wildlife photos along the way).

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Satellite-tracked seal pup Sandy found dead, tangled in line
April 2, 2012 1:10 pm
|      16 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(January 2012 photo by Robin Lindsey)
Just in from Robin Lindsey of West Seattle-based Seal Sitters:

I am so sad to report that West Seattle’s rehabbed seal pup “Satellite” Sandy was found dead yesterday, entangled in fishing line near the Edmonds fishing pier.

This just serves to remind us of the many dangers that seal pups and other marine mammals face with fishing line, lures and nets. Pups are attracted to fishing piers and docks because those structures create a climate where tiny fish thrive – the very fish that make up a good portion of a seal pup’s diet. When fishermen dump bait at boat launches and fishing piers it only compounds the dangers for pups – and frustrations of fishermen when pups and adults steal bait from their lures. With discarded lines and lures abundant around popular fishing spots (such as Colman Pool at Lincoln Park), we can all help by picking up any debris on the beaches and in the water. The waters of Washington are littered with derelict fishing gear and nets and it is estimated a minimum of 50,000 animals die yearly.

Had Sandy not been fitted with the id and satellite tags, her death would most likely never have been reported. We are encouraging divers to document any animals they find entangled in fishing gear – do NOT try to remove the animal or the gear itself. Dead or alive, it is against Federal law to touch a marine mammal without authorization. Additionally, removing net and fishing gear is extremely dangerous. Please e-mail photos and lat/long to Seal Sitters and we will forward to the appropriate person for entry into a database. I have added some links of interest regarding marine debris and derelict fishing gear removal in my post (on Blubberblog).

It was just two months ago when Robin reported that Sandy had been released and was being tracked.

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West Seattle wildlife: From the backyards to the beach
April 1, 2012 2:41 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

Three views of West Seattle wildlife to share – first, from Patrick McCaffrey, a pileated woodpecker – and then from Melanie Dixon, her backyard screech owl, “just before taking off after prey”:

On the beach at Lincoln Park, a placid Saturday afternoon view of a resting seal. Sabra, who shared the photo, says Seal Sitters were on the job:

Seal Sitters hasn’t had an off-season yet this year. (Many of their adventures and challenges are chronicled on their “blubberblog” site.) Meantime, thanks to everyone who shared photos – send ’em any time! (Or share via the West Seattle Blog group on Flickr.)

ADDED 7:42 PM: One more Lincoln Park photo – a barred owl, seen and photographed there by Kate:

… which reminds us that West Seattle naturalist Stewart Wechsler has two owling walks on his calendar, just days away.

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West Seattle wildlife: Sick raccoon caught in Fauntleroy
March 25, 2012 4:19 pm
|      40 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

The reader report and photos are from Rebecca in the Fauntleroy Cove area:

Early this afternoon, I discovered a raccoon wandering around the property; it was daytime and I thought it strange that a raccoon would be out and about.

After watching him for a minute I realized he was either very sick or dying. Turns out he had distemper, which is highly contagious and can kill off an entire colony of raccoons, not to mention infect dogs and humans.

I called Seattle Animal Control and they were on the scene in about 20 minutes, quickly caught the little guy, and took him off in a cage. If he isn’t too badly infected, he will receive treatment; otherwise he’ll be euthanized.

We are fortunate to have a diverse population of wildlife in West Seattle and it’s important to keep an eye out for abnormalities that could be a threat to them, us or our pets.

Distemper signs to look for: Conjunctivitis in the eyes, mucous discharge covering the eyes. Wandering around in circles, disoriented, falling down, slower than normal movement. For more information check out Distemper in Raccoons. The number for Animal Control: 206-386-7387

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Update: Harbor porpoise dies off Alki; biologists investigate
March 18, 2012 10:24 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
A sad procession on Alki less than an hour ago – but one that might ultimately yield some knowledge for the future: A dead harbor porpoise was taken away by biologist Dyanna Lambourn from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Mammal Investigations unit and biologist/stranding coordinator Jessie Huggins from Cascadia Research Collective. Also on hand at the beach this morning, Seal Sitters first responder Robin Lindsey, who got word of the porpoise’s death at mid-afternoon Saturday (the organization is part of a stranding network for all marine mammals, not just seals), and Seal Sitters volunteers David and Eilene Hutchinson. So far we know the porpoise was an adult female, but the cause of her death was not obvious and will require further investigation.

As the biologists (in the photo with camera-wielding Robin) explained to curious passersby, harbor porpoises are not rare and not endangered (read more about them here), but the biologists say they seldom wash up like this – most often, they die at sea and “just disappear.” On the Seal Sitters’ “blubberblog” site, Robin tells the story of the elaborate operation carried out last night to secure the porpoise until it could be picked up this morning; as she writes, it died further east along the Alki shore, and was moved to the spot where we photographed her and the biologists this morning (near the 53rd Avenue Pump Station section of beach). The porpoise is now being taken to a facility in the South Sound.

3:47 PM UPDATE: Robin has updated her report, but the necropsy results aren’t in yet – look for another update (there and here) when they are.

11:03 PM UPDATE: Robin at Seal Sitters has updated her report again with those results. Biologists say the porpoise had a serious lung infection. Full details added at the bottom of her story.

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‘Arroyos Whale’ at Highline College’s MaST: West Seattle links
March 4, 2012 8:43 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

As the skeleton of the ‘Arroyos Whale’ – the gray whale that died in West Seattle waters on April 14, 2010 – went on display this weekend at the Highline College Marine Science and Technology Center, the 15-mile distance between Redondo Beach and Arroyo Beach seemed to vanish. Not just because of where the whale was found; also, MaST’s executive director Dr. Kaddee Lawrence, beaming at a big turnout for Saturday’s whale debut, is a West Seattleite:

She told us another story of community ties: The West Seattle/White Center “charity beer” Whale Tail Ale was served at last weekend’s party for MaST volunteers who worked on the project, from a keg donated by Big Al Brewing. (The Arroyos Whale exhibit’s backstory was told by WSB contributor Keri DeTore in this story last month.)

The skeleton is suspended from the ceiling in the MaST building closest to Redondo Beach Drive (where, in another West Seattle echo, it is next door to the Redondo Salty’s). Look at it from the back, rather than front, and you will notice something that might startle you as it did us:

The bones from the whale’s fins are reminiscent of human hands, something not at all apparent when you view a whale either at sea or, in a sad circumstance such as this whale’s death, on land:

(April 2010 WSB photo by Tracy Record)
The Arroyos Whale is now on permanent display at MaST, which is open to the public, free, 10 am-2 pm every Saturday. But if you want to see the informational exhibit related to its death and the ensuing investigation – with not only wall displays but also a video loop of TV-news reports from April 2010 – you’ll want to get there this month or next, before another exhibit moves in. P.S. Further out on its pier, MaST also has an aquarium building, with Puget Sound sea life:

100 local species are represented in its 3,000 gallons of sea water, Dr. Lawrence told us (and unceremoniously resting on the pier outside the aquarium building, you’ll see the skull of a fin whale killed by a ship in 2004). MaST is at 28203 Redondo Beach Drive South (map).

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West Seattle wildlife: Watching like, well, a hawk
March 3, 2012 8:25 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Click to see larger image via Flickr)
Thanks to Russell in Arbor Heights for sharing his photo of that Cooper’s hawk. He explains that it “has been scoping out a finch nest in our carport.”

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