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Another West Seattle beach cleanup: Lincoln Park, tomorrow
September 25, 2014 5:24 pm
|    Comments Off on Another West Seattle beach cleanup: Lincoln Park, tomorrow
 |   How to help | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Just found out from “Diver Laura” James that Puget SoundKeeper and Ocean Conservancy are partners in another big local beach cleanup – this one, sponsored by Cox Enterprises, is tomorrow (Friday, September 26th) at Lincoln Park, 9 am-1 pm. They’re not soliciting more volunteers but Laura says if you want to help, they have room and won’t turn you away (tell the signup table you’re part of Diver Laura’s “team”). They’ll be on the beach north and south of Colman Pool, with registration at the nearest picnic shelter on the south stretch, starting at 8:45 am.

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Speaking of cars … commercial shoot on Alki Beach
September 10, 2014 9:04 pm
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Lots of questions tonight about a film shoot on Alki Beach. Photo just in, courtesy of Don Brubeck (thank you!). We’re told it was a car commercial – that would explain the car on the sand! – reportedly for the Subaru Impreza.

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West Seattle weekend scene: Imagine a buttless beach
August 23, 2014 12:28 pm
|      18 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

On the sidewalk next to the volleyball courts on Alki, you’ll find Barbara Clabots and other Surfrider Foundation/Seattle Chapter volunteers getting out the word to get cigarette butts out of the sand, as previewed here the other night. The ones in the container next to Barbara were collected from beach cleanups last year at Alki and Golden Gardens. Surfrider is trying to combat the widely held (and erroneous) belief that the material in cigarette filters is biodegradable – it’s actually plastic. They’re also offering businesses the chance to sponsor canisters like this one for ongoing disposal:

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‘Hold On To Your Butt’! Surfrider Foundation campaign Saturday
August 21, 2014 8:08 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Every time there’s a big cleanup at Alki Beach, we hear about volunteers collecting pounds and pounds and pounds of cigarette butts. Even one is too many, says the Surfrider Foundation, which is trying something new this Saturday – an awareness campaign:

For the last several years, the Seattle Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has held numerous beach cleanups at some of the city’s most popular parks.

Even though smoking is banned on Seattle Parks beaches, play areas, and playgrounds, the cigarette filters continue to pile up at every beach cleanup and according to the Ocean Conservancy are the most common item picked up on beach cleanups around the world. A report from San Diego State University found that the toxins leaching from just one cigarette butt could kill a fish placed in a one liter bucket.

“A common misconception is that cigarette filters are biodegradable because they look like a paper product, but they are actually plastic and recyclable”, says Susan North, Surfrider volunteer. “The San Diego and Vancouver Island Surfrider chapters are already leading very successful Hold On To Your Butt campaigns which are cleaning up our beaches, cities, and streets.”

Their goal is to reduce local cigarette litter by educating smokers that butts are plastic and toxic to marine life. Surfrider believes it is important to empower smokers through education and also to provide smokers with ways to dispose of cigarette butts that are not a fire hazard. The chapter is working with Seattle Parks and Recreation by placing two ash cans at Alki Beach Park.

On Saturday, August 23rd, from 10 AM-1 PM at Alki Beach and in conjunction with the Alki Beach Volleyball tournament, Surfrider volunteers will hand out flyers and hold a beach sweep to draw attention to the amount of butts on our beaches. The campaign committee invites the public to attend and learn more about the initiative and find out how to sponsor an ash can.

P.S. Also on Alki this Saturday morning, the annual Great Cross-Sound Race, so heads up, it’ll be busy at the beach!

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Sailboat on the sand: Beached on Alki
July 13, 2014 11:15 am
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

(Photo received via text message – thank you!)
We’re receiving notes pointing out/asking about a sailboat that’s up on the sand on Alki Beach this morning, not far east of the Bathhouse. We don’t know anything but the circumstances but we do know that authorities are aware – there was scanner talk about it earlier this morning, including the acknowledgment that it’s probably going to be there for some hours, as the tide is very low this morning and high tide isn’t until about quarter past 7 tonight.

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West Seattle 4th of July aftermath: How you can help
July 5, 2014 6:55 pm
|      18 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

(UPDATED with pics from others who did some cleanup! Share your photo: editor@westseattleblog.com)

Got a little time before dusk? You can make a big impact by heading down to the beach with a bag. There’s been lots of talk today about the noise of last night – not quite as much about the debris in its aftermath. West Seattle advocate/activist “Diver Laura” James reports back on what she found when she went to the shore this afternoon to see the aftermath:

I went out for about an hour and got halfway down Alki Beach. The fireworks debris is not as prominent as it was last year after the private fireworks display, but there was definitely stuff to be cleaned up.

The public beaches are actually a bit cleaner than the private beaches and the park next to my house, mostly because the cops shut the beach down at 11 pm last night. I encourage everyone to take 15 min to half an hour and walk the local beaches in your neighborhood. If you don’t have a local beach, take a stroll by the local park. If you don’t have a local park, check your street. It may not be your fireworks debris, but I would put a healthy wager on all of us having shot off some assortment of noisemakers at some point for which others did the cleanup. Puget Sound and its inhabitants don’t care who fired them off, it’s who picks them up that really matters. While you are out there, feel free to pick up some other trash as well – plastic caps, styrofoam, plastic utensils, earplugs, wrappers, you name it… Every little bit helps and your individual actions count.

There is a garbage patch growing on the bottom of Puget Sound, and the only way we can stop it (other than everyone learning to dive and coming with me to clean it up) is to stop the trash before it reaches the waterways. So step up, bend down, and pick up that trash. Do it for Puget Sound, do it for our collective future. A lot of the cardboard and plastic debris is up in the high tide line, mixed in with the seaweed …

… but with a bit of patience you can pick it out.

If you can’t spare any time tonight – maybe tomorrow.

ADDED: NW went to Alki and shared this photo afterward:

ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: Here’s what Claire picked up:

Anybody else? editor@westseattleblog.com

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Seal-pup season on local beaches: What to do if you see one
July 3, 2014 10:13 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

That little harbor seal photographed by Adem at the Fauntleroy ferry dock last weekend wasn’t technically a pup, Robin Lindsey from Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network explains, but rather a yearling. However, the season of seal births IS now under way, and if you see a little seal on a local beach, it’s most likely a nursing pup and it’s critical that you keep your distance so its mom won’t be scared away when she comes back for it. It’s also important to call Seal Sitters – 206-905-7325 (SEAL) – so they can help.

Earlier this week, rescuers had to intervene after a nursing pup got stuck in the rocks by Duwamish Head; the story is on their Blubberblog website. That pup, nicknamed Junebug, was the third spotted on West Seattle shores already this season, which Robin says is the earliest on record.

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On second look, Seattle Parks discovers, and plans temporary fix for, seawall damage from stolen car pushed into water
July 1, 2014 5:17 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Remember the car stolen from Queen Anne, found upside down in the water off Emma Schmitz Overlook?

(Photo republished with permission of Beach Drive Blog)
That’s the photo from Beach Drive Blog‘s original report early Sunday morning, June 22nd. We followed up with Seattle Police and Parks the next day and published this story. Right after the crarsh, Parks didn’t find noticeable seawall damage, but on second look, that assessment has changed. Update today from Parks spokesperson Joelle Hammerstad:

The crews who maintain the parks couldn’t tell if there was damage, but when our engineers went out there, they definitely found some. Please see attached pictures.

We are going to truss up the wall with structural steel as a temporary measure as we await a full replacement. We have been working with the Army Corps of Engineers for some time on a replacement project, and we expect that the replacement will happen sometime within the next two to three years.

BDB reported on the replacement plans back in April.

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Beached-buoy update: King County water-quality outpost floats in, gets towed out
June 29, 2014 9:25 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Environment | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

FIRST REPORT, 9:25 AM: Lura shares the photo from the 5400 block of Beach Drive SW. It appears to be the King County water-quality-monitoring buoy placed off Lincoln Park almost a year ago, described at the time as “firmly anchored in about 550 feet of water just less than half a mile off Point Williams.” She was making phone calls in hopes of finding someone to report it to, and just sent an update saying a neighbor has reached somebody. (The buoy, by the way, still seems to be sending readings.)

UPDATE, 4:51 PM: From King County’s Kimberle Stark:

Thanks definitely go out to the residents who reported the buoy was on the beach!!! Staff from the King County Environmental Laboratory are going to try and retrieve it tonight. We’re not sure what happened yet until we get a close look at the bottom frame. Thanks again to the residents who reported it in such a timely manner!

UPDATE, 6:40 PM: Looks like they were able to retrieve it – Lura sent this photo of the buoy under tow:

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Sick starfish: If you see any sea stars this weekend, here’s what to do
June 14, 2014 2:27 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

The tide’s coming back in again after the mega-low -3.3 at noontime. But it’ll be almost that low tomorrow, and if you went out on the beach today – or plan to do so tomorrow – “Diver Laura” James has a request for you: Everyone studying the sick starfish is hoping for a new round of surveys with this weekend’s low tide, so if you saw any starfish, alive or dead, there’s a variety of ways to share the information – optimally through the surveys linked here, but Laura adds: “If people don’t have time to fill out a form if they could just use #sickstarfish [social-media hashtag] or manual entry on www.sickstarfish.com or even just email me at ljjames@mac.com, it would be a massive help.” She was planning to do a walking survey near Seacrest, to reach divers and others in the area.

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West Seattle low-tide sights: Sizable squid on Alki
June 12, 2014 12:01 pm
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle live | Wildlife

12:01 PM: “Washington’s squid are generally less than a foot long,” says this state Department of Fish and Wildlife page. Well – not this one that Carrie Ann photographed during this morning’s low tide. She says, “Looks to have a bit of wear and tear from hitting rocks and scavengers pecking at it, but still impressive to see up close.” Humboldt squid? Reminiscent of this one five years ago.

2:46 PM UPDATE: In comments, Lynn says it’s believed to be a “robust clubhook squid.”

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Premature seal pup’s short life on Alki: Did you see its mom?
June 11, 2014 11:45 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Wildlife advocates tried but were unable to save the life of a prematurely born seal pup that appeared on the Alki shore on Monday. Robin Lindsey from Seal Sitters Marine Stranding Network tells the story of “Luigi” in an update on Blubberblog, and adds in a note to WSB:

Yesterday was a terribly sad day for all of us that looked after Luigi, estimated to be only a day old when reported on Alki Monday. For the past two days, onlookers were so considerate and caring and understood the urgency about keeping the area free of disturbance in hopes that mom would return. There are a number of reasons that this pup might have been abandoned on our shore – not the least of which is that the mom may have died during the birth. We are hoping that anyone who might have noticed an adult seal on shore Monday at Alki or nearby – or one offshore that appeared to be in distress – will contact us so we might help unravel this mystery.

It is no mystery, however, that if people and dogs are too close and scare away a mother seal, she will often not return for her pup if she feels threatened. As always, dogs continue to be a problem on our public beaches and put wildlife at risk.

In the photo here, you can see the long lanugo coat that indicates she was born a month prematurely, a very difficult hurdle for survival. To our knowledge there has not been a live lanugo birth in West Seattle before – certainly not in the almost 8 years I have been doing this. Pupping season is just now getting underway in South Puget Sound rookeries and full-term pups generally start being born in late June. Usually, we see our first pup in West Seattle in early July, but the height of the season is September and October as weaned pups disperse from the rookeries.

Usually, a pup turns up on shore just to rest while its mom is out looking for food. If you see one – as Robin mentions, the season is about to begin – or if you have information on the circumstances of Luigi’s birth, call 206-905-SEAL. Robin also adds a vital reminder: “Only authorized members of NOAA’s Marine Mammal Stranding Network can handle marine mammals. It is against the law to touch, move or feed them.” (It really IS a network, including volunteers like SS – the most recent NOAA map with contacts is here.)

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Happening now: Low tide in West Seattle, with volunteer naturalists at 2 beaches
May 29, 2014 11:52 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Just before noon, the low tide will be out to -1.9 feet – great for beach exploration. As we’ve been noting for the past few days, the Seattle Aquarium‘s volunteer beach naturalists are back on duty.

Part of the corps, John Smersh (who you might know from longtime WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits in The Junction), shared the photos from Constellation Park south of Alki Point. The naturalists are there and on the Lincoln Park beach by Colman Pool until 1 pm today; here’s their schedule for the rest of the week, and on into summer. In just two weeks, you’ll see some even lower tides, bottoming out at -3.3 feet on June 14th, lowest it’ll get this summer.

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Signs of summer: Banners go up for Seafair Pirates Landing on Alki
May 27, 2014 11:39 am
|    Comments Off on Signs of summer: Banners go up for Seafair Pirates Landing on Alki
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

With Memorial Day weekend opening the gate to summer, festival season is in view. This year, the Seafair Pirates Landing on Alki is earlier than usual – Saturday, June 28th. On a visit to the beach this morning, we noticed the newly placed promotional banners, making their annual appearance. There will of course be pirate sightings before then; according to their online schedule, they’ll be in the Portland Rose Parade this weekend (as will the Chief Sealth International High School Marching Band).

SIDE NOTE – ALSO IN JUNE: Two more big-event dates for your June calendar – the Westwood Village Street Fair on June 14th and the Morgan Junction Community Festival (co-sponsored by WSB) on June 21st.

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Don’t touch marine mammals! Reminder from Seal Sitters after troubling report of Lincoln Park incident
April 21, 2014 1:08 pm
|      23 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

From Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey:

Seal Sitters’ hotline received a call last evening that two women (with illegally
off leash dogs on the beach) at Lincoln Park picked up a harbor seal pup and moved the animal. By the time we received the call the pup had left the beach. Apparently there were a number of people who told the women it was the law to stay back and not touch the pup – information which they disregarded. The pup was close to our beach signage at the north end of the Park which also has the number of our stranding hotline.

Seal Sitters would like to remind people that all marine mammals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act which prohibits touching, feeding, moving and disturbance. Violations such as the one reported last night can be prosecuted by NOAA Office for Law Enforcement punishable with a substantial fine and, if the infraction is severe enough, jail time.

I personally find it hard to believe that an approximately 7 month old pup would allow anyone to pick him up unless he was sick or injured. This is all the more reason the women should have called Seal Sitters’ hotline at 206-905-7325 (SEAL) in case the animal needed to be transported to rehab for stabilization and treatment.

We have had an unusually quiet off season with very few weaned pups coming ashore. They are more often using the offshore platforms to rest – which is obviously much safer from harassment by people and dogs.

Harbor seal pupping season is just now beginning on the outer coast of Southern Washington and Northern Oregon. Please be aware as you walk coastal beaches and if you see a pup alone on the beach, stay back and give the animal space so the mom will not abandon her newborn.

Seal Sitters thanks the residents of West Seattle for their support in helping to keep marine mammals safe in our area. If you see a seal pup on the beach, please call our hotline immediately.

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Mid-afternoon photo break: The eagle has (almost) landed
April 17, 2014 3:20 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

You love skyline-from-Duwamish-Head photos. You love bird photos. Now – thanks to Craig Howard – two in one! Couldn’t wait until tomorrow’s daily preview to share it, so while we work on a few more news stories, here it is. Craig was on the beach at low tide, and “a murder of crows sent this eagle down right in front of me. He hung around until the crows went away. Didn’t seem to mind me at all.”

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Video: See what The Whale Trail’s volunteer cleanup found along the Lincoln Park shore
April 4, 2014 9:15 am
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Do you enjoy Lincoln Park – its views, its wildlife? It can’t be taken for granted; it’s at risk due to human carelessness – but human caring can help make up for it, as you’ll see if you take a few minutes to watch the video. Thanks to Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail for sharing the video Barry White produced of last weekend’s TWT cleanup at the park – in the rain! – organized by Judy Lane. Donna has also written about it on the Whale Trail website.

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Why plant palm trees on Alki? ‘Beach-y whimsy,’ says Parks, among other reasons
March 24, 2014 2:35 pm
|      61 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

In case you missed it – our Friday mention of those palm trees, just planted at Alki Beach Park (hat tip again to Connie), were the most-discussed WSB story of the weekend. We promised to follow up today with Seattle Parks, whose Joelle Hammerstad responded, first checking out the comments and then putting together this Q/A:

Q: Why are there palm trees at Alki?

A: The palm trees planted last week are part of a larger project to improve and beautify the landscape along Alki Beach. For the past several years, Parks landscape architects and plant horticulturists have been working to add interest to the landscape along Alki. Among the many projects undertaken include planting sea grass, arranging interesting and attractive and driftwood along the beach and adding an element of beach-y whimsy with the addition of palm trees in this location.

Q: How many trees are there?

A: There are 9 palm trees located in this landscaping area. The two most recent trees planted were by far the most mature. There are seven smaller palm trees grouped with the two larger ones. The addition of these last two trees completes the landscaping plan for this area of the beach.

Q: How much did the trees cost?

A: The trees were free. L & B Nursery in North Seattle donated the trees to Seattle Parks and Recreation. We received the donation last year, but only put them in the ground recently. After receiving the donation, we allowed their root system to mature a bit more before planting them. Mature palm trees are sold for around $125 a foot. We estimate that the donation for these trees is between $2,500 and $3,000.

Q: These trees are not native to the Pacific Northwest. Why did Seattle Parks and Recreation plant them?

A: These trees are native to China. They are a temperate species called Windmill Palm trees, and come from a region of China that gets colder than Seattle. Seattle Parks frequently plants non-native species in Seattle’s parks. When park visitors encounter a flowering tree in Seattle’s parks, they are usually seeing a non-native species. These include flowering cherry trees and dogwood trees, but also non-native ornamental trees, such as Japanese Maples. Nearly all the flowering annuals that bring bright colors to flower beds in the summer are non-native.

Q: The trees will impair the view.

A: Palm trees have an inherently small canopy. As they get more mature, they simply get taller. Their small canopy will grow higher and higher and impinge less and less on views. They will reach a height of about 35 feet.

The palms in our photo are near Alki’s 53rd Street Pump Station.

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Seen on Alki: ‘Production shoot’ no-parking zone; new palm trees
March 21, 2014 3:38 pm
|      33 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Two sightings on Alki:

SIGHTING #1: Driving Alki Avenue a little earlier today, we noticed those signs along both sides of the Alki Bathhouse block (61st SW vicinity), announcing a temporary No Parking zone for 11 am-10 pm tomorrow (Saturday, March 22nd). The mandatory hard-copy notice attached to one sign explains that it’s for a “production shoot.” No further details so far.

SIGHTING #2: At first we wondered if this were related to #1, but a Twitter conversation threw cold water on the idea: Palm trees arrived today, further east on the beach, tweeted Connie (@EyeOnAlki). At first, that led to memories of 2011, when palm trees were brought in so that Alki could double as Florida during the filming of “Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas” (which has since been retitled “Switchmas“). But after we tweeted that observation (but before we could get to the beach for the photo below), Jen (@hildeborg) tweeted that Parks crew members told her they’ve planted two between 53rd-54th SW to see how they do – with more possibly to follow.

We’ll be checking with Parks for more on the palm plan.

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Followup: Luna Girls now in permanent home on West Seattle shore
February 24, 2014 11:02 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

A little over two weeks after we reported installation under way on the east end of Seacrest Park, just west of Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), the Luna Girls sculpture is installed and out from under its protective tarp. That’s artist Lezlie Jane with her privately funded 15-foot-long, nine-foot-wide creation, which she describes as “flame-cut from slab steel”; thanks to Mark Jaroslaw for sending the first photo. Jane’s website for the sculpture includes and explains their names – from left, Emily, Gunvor Katja, and Lorna.

P.S. There’s more, including video from the installation, on the Southwest Seattle Historical Society website.

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Wondering about the Alki sea lion carcass? Update from Seal Sitters
February 4, 2014 6:03 pm
|    Comments Off on Wondering about the Alki sea lion carcass? Update from Seal Sitters
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

There’s an update tonight on the sea lion mentioned here two weeks ago after WSB readers noticed its carcass near a driftwood log featuring a sea-lion carving. From Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey:

Seal Sitters has been receiving calls about a deceased California sea lion on Alki Beach. We want to take this opportunity to update your readers.

This animal carcass washed ashore last month on a private beach along Beach Drive SW. Seal Sitters responded, documenting and marking it with non-toxic paint at that time. Since then, a succession of high tides has moved the carcass and it is now near the west end of the Alki promenade. Marine mammals can transmit disease, so please keep kids and pets at a distance. Seal Sitters has been in contact with Seattle Parks & Recreation and Animal Control concerning this animal and arrangements for removal are being made. We will continue to monitor this situation.

The California sea lions that forage and rest in Puget Sound are largely males and can reach 8 feet in length and weigh up to 850 pounds. Females rarely migrate to our waters. Healthy sea lions are extremely mobile on land and can be dangerous. Never approach or disturb live sea lions.

We’d like to remind all WSB readers that Seal Sitters is the NOAA designated marine mammal stranding network for West Seattle. As such, we respond to all calls regarding live or dead marine mammals on our beaches. There have been calls directly to NOAA and the Coast Guard concerning this animal and those calls are simply referred back to us by the respective agencies.

Seal Sitters MMSN thanks the West Seattle community for all the help protecting marine mammals. If there are any questions or to report marine mammals on the beach, please call our hotline at 206-905-7325.

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West Seattle beach notes: Of sewage and seals
January 22, 2014 10:20 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Remember that sign on Lowman Beach? We now know the extent of the Murray Pump Station overflow that closed the beach back during the January 11th power outage: 1.5 million gallons. That’s according to Annie Kolb-Nelson from King County Wastewater Treatment, who didn’t have that stat when they were still dealing with the exact aftermath; we checked back this week to ask. It happened just as the county is launching into construction of two West Seattle projects meant to dramatically reduce the chance of such overflows – one of them right there at Lowman, which is now full of fencing and bordered with two construction trailers (this is their water-facing side):

Two components of the work ahead could have prevented or reduced the January 11th overflow – the pump station itself, beneath the south side of Lowman Beach Park, will get a backup power system, instead of having to await the arrival of a portable generator if an outage happens. And a million-gallon overflow-holding tank will be across the street.

The other project will reduce overflows at the nearby Barton Pump Station, north of the Fauntleroy ferry dock, which itself, like Murray, is getting a power upgrade. Its overflow-reduction system is very different – roadside raingardens to hold stormwater will be built in two of the neighborhoods in the “basin” feeding that station. And that project is about to have its two pre-construction community meetings – tomorrow and Saturday – time/location details are here.

The end result of both projects is supposed to be cleaner water. Not just for people, but for wildlife. We were reminded of that when we went to Lowman Beach today to photograph the construction trailers.

At Lowman, we also saw that seal pup, which had been on the rocky shore since relatively early in the morning, when Morgan spotted it and shared that photo via Twitter, hours before our visit. Seal Sitters were there by the time we saw it, and they thought it might be the same one we found ourselves guarding for a little while Tuesday evening at Lincoln Park – the story’s on the Seal Sitters’ website.

ADDED: Turns out it probably wasn’t “Cameo.” The Wednesday seal hung around all day and, as noted by Seal Sitters, got the nickname “PeeWee.”

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Speaking of marine mammals: The sea lion, the carving, and the hotline
January 21, 2014 12:01 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

More marine-mammal news today:

(Image courtesy David Hutchinson)
On the beach at Constellation Park south of Alki Point this weekend, a striking sight: Near a log carved with Native-inspired art of a sea lion … the carcass of a sea lion. Jana first pointed it out to us via the WSB Facebook page, recalling that we had mentioned the carving in Lincoln Park back in 2012, and marveling at how the sea lion came to rest nearby. Then we heard from David Hutchinson of Seal Sitters, who also had spotted it, and noted that this is an eight-foot-long male California sea lion first reported to the group on January 10th – at the time, it was at Andover Place Park several blocks south, and they tracked it to the Constellation Park vicinity, where, he says, “it beached the next day.” Researching the carving, he then found our second story, from one year ago, when the carved log was sighted near Cormorant Cove Park. So, he deduced, “Since that date it has moved about 500 feet further north to where my photo was taken.” He also shared this closer look at the carving:

Besides marveling, as had Jana, that the sea lion and carving had come to rest almost together, David asked that we share this reminder:

Folks coming across any dead marine mammal on West Seattle beaches should report it to Seal Sitters at 206-905-7325. We respond, document/photograph the animal, and fill out a Level A report for NOAA. The animal is marked so that if it floats to another location, it can be identified. Before the recent funding cuts, a necropsy might have been performed to determine cause of death. Seal Sitters is not responsible for the disposal of dead animals on private property. Ones on public beaches are either returned to the water to re-enter the food chain, or Seattle Parks & Recreation is contacted for disposal.

The funding cuts he mentions are detailed here. And in case you didn’t already know, Seal Sitters wants to hear about live marine-mammal sightings, too, not just seals – same number as above, which also has a handy mnemonic, 206-905-SEAL.

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