West Seattle, Washington
06 Saturday
Just got word from Kersti Muul that orcas were seen northbound off north Vashon about half an hour ago.
Just got a tip – six orcas “with a baby” in view northbound passing the Vashon ferry dock as of a short time ago. Still a good half-hour of light if you’re up for whale-watching!
10:21 AM: Two humpback whales are in the area, reports Kersti Muul. “East of shipping channel, off Alki,” but no direction determined yet. Let us know if you see them! (Not sure you’d know what humpbacks look like? Here’s their page in The Whale Trail‘s species guide.)
1:58 PM: And now orcas are in our area too, Kersti reports – a group of transients southbound off Bainbridge.
Thanks to Kersti Muul for the tip: Orcas are visible from West Seattle. Currently, midchannel southbound, north of Elliott Bay. Let us know if you see them!
On this patriotic holiday, we note that the turkey has a unique American history – you can read about it here and here (among other places). So, it’s a great day for an update on The West Seattle Turkey, now in its third month on the peninsula. The top photo was texted to us this week; the next one, sent today by Christine:
The Turkey does enjoy finding new perches, as Joy discovered outside the West Seattle High School wood shop earlier this week:
Thanks to everyone for the ongoing photos and sighting reports. While we just call it The West Seattle Turkey, several have given it names – Rose, for example, has named it “Admiral Belvidere,” appropriate given the area in which The Turkey has settled.
Our area’s seabirds – and the people who track them – could use your help. This year’s Puget Sound Seabird Survey includes five West Seattle locations and Seattle Audubon is now recruiting volunteers to be part of it. The announcement:
Are seabirds in the southern Salish Sea increasing or decreasing in numbers? Which species are changing their range? Help us find out. The Puget Sound Seabird Survey (PSSS) is a community science project managed by Seattle Audubon that trains volunteer birdwatchers to gather valuable data on wintering seabird populations across our region.
You can contribute to this vital seabird science by joining the 13th season of this exciting project. We are now recruiting enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers. Training on survey methodology will be provided on September 18th in Lincoln Park and at other locations throughout Puget Sound after that date until the first week of October. Volunteers should ideally be able to identify Puget Sound’s seabird species and be available on the first Saturday of each month, October through April. But, if determining between Barrow’s and Common Goldeneye is a challenge, we’ll team you up with more knowledgeable surveyors. To help us determine each volunteer’s seabird identification skills, take our quick, fun Seabird ID Quiz.
Learn more, including training dates, at www.seabirdsurvey.org and email Toby Ross, Senior Science Manager tobyr@seattleaudubon.org, if you would like more information, or to take part.
Thanks to Regan for what might be our favorite photo yet of The West Seattle Turkey … though the second one in this May 31st post is a close second because of its background. Still no hint of its origins, as The Turkey starts its third month in West Seattle.
That’s the most-recent reader photo we’ve received of The West Seattle Turkey, texted last weekend. We missed the chance to post it then – but Cat reports spotting The Turkey a few hours ago, in the general East Admiral area where it’s been hanging around for weeks, so we feel confident in reporting it’s still alive and well. It’s been two months since the first West Seattle sighting.
11:36 AM: The tip’s just in from Kersti Muul: Orcas headed this way, transients, southbound from mid-Bainbridge Island. Let us know if you see them!
12:19 PM: Update from Kersti – the whales have paused for “a kill” between Bainbridge and Blake Islands.
Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network and friends hope you will join them on Saturday:
This coming Saturday morning, June 29th, from 9:30 AM – noon, Seal Sitters, along with Sno-King Marine Mammal Response and SR3, will be sponsoring our annual beach cleanup at Alki. We will be meeting at the Alki Statue of Liberty (61st Ave SW & Alki Ave SW) [ Map ]. There will be a brief introduction by Kate Melges, highlighting her work with Greenpeace on ocean plastics and microfibers.
Supplies will be provided by Seattle Parks & Recreation and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. For additional details, check this announcement on Seal Sitters’ Blubberblog: Sentinels of the Sound beach cleanup.
While we are requesting an RSVP to ensure we have enough supplies, please feel free to drop by to visit our display tables and help out. RSVP to SealSitters.Outreach (at) msn (dot) com
Thanks to Kersti Muul for the alert – she relays word that Washington State Ferries spotted orcas off the north end of Vashon, northbound, as of the top of the hour. Transients, not residents. As always – if you see them, please let us know!
11:31 AM: Going on a month and a half after we first started getting reports about, and photos of. The West Seattle Turkey, it’s still hanging out on the peninsula. The photos above and below were sent last night by Monica Zaborac.
And from a few days earlier, this photo’s from Jeremy Barnes:
Though the sightings started in April in southwest West Seattle and steadily moved north, then east, it has been consistently reported south/southeast of Admiral for a few weeks now. Still no hint of its origin. P.S. Thanks for the updates!
ADDED 1:30 PM: A photo from this morning, same general vicinity, courtesy of James Craig:
As reported here last week, the fry-release season at Fauntleroy Creek has just wrapped up for Salmon in the Schools participants – but the Fauntleroy Watershed Council is offering community members a special chance to participate, and it’s this Saturday (June 8th), 1-3 pm, at the big bridge in Fauntleroy Park.
Even after 1,800 fry were released by more than 700 students, 100 fry were reserved for the occasion.
It’s free – first-come, first-served.
For a map showing where the bridge is – go here.
(Photo courtesy Seal Sitters)
Space is still available in Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network‘s June 15th volunteer training. Here’s the announcement:
Interested in protecting seals and other marine mammals? Seal Sitters’ first training of the year will be held on Saturday, June 15th, in the front meeting room of the Alki UCC from 10 AM – Noon. If you would like to volunteer, this training qualifies you for on-the-beach duty in our territory from Brace Point through the Duwamish River including Harbor Island. As a member of NOAA’s West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network, we respond to reports of any marine mammal on the beaches in those areas. Harbor Seal “pupping season” is now underway in Washington and runs from late June – September in our area.
An RSVP is required to attend. Please use this link for more details including instructions on how to RSVP.
The photo and report are from Eilene Hutchinson:
Around 7:40 this evening, we were just south of Salty’s when we were startled by a loud sound and looked up to see a whale surfacing close to shore. We believe this was a gray whale.
It moved off to the north along the Harbor Ave shoreline. We drove to Duwamish Head, where along with others, we watched it surface a number of times before the whale headed southwest toward Alki Point about 8:00 PM.
If you haven’t seen The West Seattle Turkey in person yet (we haven’t!), these photos sent by Monica Zaborac just might be your clearest view yet. So, for all The Turkey’s fans, we are publishing these pronto:
Monica explained, “The Turkey was spotted hanging around 39th and Hanford. A dog got loose and started chasing it and it is the first time I have seen a turkey fly! He is still hanging around in that area. Also 2 houses away, a bunny rabbit.”
It’s been a month now since first word of The Turkey.
Four weeks after they both (re)surfaced, West Seattle’s mystery birds have been sighted again this afternoon:
THE WEST SEATTLE TURKEY: This bird seems to be southbound now. First sightings were in Seola and Arbor Heights in late April – 3 years after another string of turkey sightings – and it moved north to Alki Point, then east to Admiral/Belvidere, where it seemed to have settled – until this sighting today near Tibbetts United Methodist Church, about midway between Admiral and The Junction.
Linda sent that photo/report; this next one is from E:
THE WEST SEATTLE GOLDEN PHEASANT: This one has not ranged far from the Arbor Heights area since we published a sighting four weeks ago, six years after the previous series of sightings. E’s photo was taken today in the Marine View Drive area.
(Photo by Mark Sears – permit 21348)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“It’s a good week for the whales!”
So declared Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail as her organization’s May gathering began at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor).
She added: “It’s going to be different for the whales this summer and beyond.” Her explanation at the May 16th meeting was followed by an update from Mark Sears, the West Seattle-based researcher who is ofteb out with them when they visit central Puget Sound.
But first: Read More
(Video by Karen Therese, as orcas passed Lincoln Park)
8:45 AM: Northbound orcas off Constellation Park, reports Kersti Muul.
10:40 AM: Thanks for the updates and photos in comments!
(Added: Photo by Gary Jones)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 4:35 PM: Thanks for the tips! We’ve gotten several about northbound orcas passing west-facing West Seattle. Most recently, Kersti Muul – who says it’s the T65a transients – reports they’re passing Fauntleroy. Let us know if you see them!
(Added: Photo by Eilene Hutchinson)
ADDED 9:23 PM: Thanks for the photos! And also thanks to the commenters for the updates as they passed our shores.
Thanks to Trevor Simonton for the photos from Sunday, taken from the shore at Lincoln Park. He writes:
My wife and I saw some kind of porpoises (and a harbor seal) fishing off of the Fauntleroy ferry terminal … I thought it would be fun to share some pics.
We would love to get some opinions on what kinds of fins we saw… maybe Harbor Porpoise? Dall’s Porpoise? (on the far right of the pic of the paddleboarder there’s a harbor seal’s head… he was bobbing up and down along with the porpoises)
Trevor’s photos included one that needs no ID help:
As for the fins – even with a species guide like the one offered by The Whale Trail, we couldn’t tell. Can you?
At our West Seattle Bee Festival booth on Saturday, the bird we have uncreatively nicknamed “The West Seattle Turkey” was Topic A with those who stopped by to say hi. So we’re sharing news of three sightings today. Above is a photo sent by Lily this afternoon when the turkey turned up in the 3200 block of Walnut SW, just a bit south of West Seattle High School, where Zoe caught this quick clip:
Zoe reports, “The turkey that has been roaming around was behind the woodshop at West Seattle High School this morning. A fun addition to 4th period. And it was still in the area this afternoon – this photo’s from Ray:
Ray saw it this afternoon on the northeast side of the WSHS campus. As Rose reported last week, the turkey seems to have settled in the general east Admiral area. Sightings began in southwest West Seattle three weeks ago. No one’s come forward to say they’re missing a turkey; we’ve checked with the Seattle Animal Shelter and they’re mystified too.
Second orca alert of the day! This time from Jeff Hogan of Killer Whale Tales, reporting northbound orcas in the Fauntleroy ferry lanes. Let us know if you see them!
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