LOW-LOW TIDE: Nighttime sights from West Seattle’s shore

| West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

You’ve heard a lot about the upcoming “king tides,” but the flip side of that is, we’re also in a period with very low low tides too – though this time of year they happen late at night, so they’re not as conducive to exploring. Nonetheless, some people were out last night, including Rosalie Miller, who shared four photos (thank you!) – above, Painted Anemone; below, Mottled Star:

The next two: Monterey Dorid and Gumboot Chiton:

Rosalie summarizes her experience as, “Amazing night at the beach! A gala of marine life and low-tide enthusiasts.” Tonight the low-low tide is even lower than last night – it’ll be out to -3.6 feet at 10:32 pm.

HS January 21, 2023 (6:02 pm)

Ooohhhhhh! So cool. Happy to see the starfish. I’m hoping they’re making a comeback.

Rosalie Miller January 21, 2023 (8:23 pm)

Other folk reported that they saw six sunflower sea stars. And the mottled stars were so plentiful that we had to be very careful not to step on them. We did not see very many of our usual purple stars.

Just wondering January 21, 2023 (6:21 pm)

The green and white mottled star photo would make a great jigsaw puzzle!

Rosalie Miller January 21, 2023 (8:25 pm)

Agree, that would be a fun and challenging puzzle tho complete.

Bri January 21, 2023 (9:43 pm)

This was my first time going to one of these low tide events and it was exciting to see all the creatures and plants. It was surprising at just how many there were that you really wouldn’t notice unless you took the time to stop and look. Highly recommend.

Dennis Lohr January 22, 2023 (10:01 pm)

Thanks for sharing these amazing and wonderful creatures with us!

Frances Bullock January 23, 2023 (7:15 pm)

Oh, this is great! I love low tide, no matter that it’s late at night.

I can hardly wait to get out there again, to enjoy nature, to move about very, very carefully — with respect for the sea life, and to get great photos like yours!
Frances

Taylor Campbell January 24, 2023 (3:38 pm)

These ultra low tides are absolutely fascinating. I love the propensity for everyone to richly learn about the animals that live in or near the sound and respect it.Personally, I had a really tough time watching others less mindful and/or naive with their steps. I attempted to gingerly weave through on the sandier areas, but found many crabs were crushed left and right. I decided to stop somewhat as a speed bump in between an open area and the water, flanking the rockier, more diverse portion that many were trampling blindly to arrive to. I watched as a larger crustacean attempted to bury itself in place, shrimp scattered, fish and more unable to much to avoid human curiosities. Daylight hours, I presume are a free for all for scavengers, birds, and predatory animalsPerhaps it’s just something I need to accept that animals will destroy more creatures than usual during these extra low tides.This was my first night time low tide visit in a very popular tidal flat I’ve made in my 3+ decades. I have many tidal flats experiences as a child, college student, and adult.

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