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Examining the Arroyos whale: More of the story, in pictures
April 16, 2010 11:36 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

If you didn’t see the link in the comment thread on our earlier update, photographer Robin Lindsey of Seal Sitters has now officially shared a captioned gallery of her images from Thursday, when she joined marine-mammal experts examining the gray whale that died at Arroyo Beach. Her captions include information you probably haven’t heard before – including Robin’s take on what looked like “slash marks.” The gallery link’s at the end of this update Robin has posted on the Seal Sitters’ blubberblog.org site.

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West Seattle dead-whale update: Towaway tomorrow
April 16, 2010 11:38 am
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

We just went out to check — the gray whale that died on Arroyo Beach two days ago is still off The Arroyos. However, as you can see in our photo taken minutes ago, it’s not particularly visible (aside from the tip of a fin) – and though the low tide of the day hasn’t arrived yet, the whale is now far enough out that it doesn’t appear the receding tide will reveal it. We’ve got a message out to NOAA for the latest, but they had told us last night that they hadn’t found a location to take it yet, so it wouldn’t be moved until that detail was locked in. We’ll add new information whenever we get it. 1:15 PM UPDATE: Nearby resident Scott took a photo at 1, right around the lowest point of today’s lowest tide, and this still is all you can see. 2:03 PM: Just got a note from one of the many people who took photos of the whale yesterday – but there are some closeup views here that you probably haven’t seen before – here’s the link. 2:33 PM UPDATE: Just talked to Brian Gorman with NOAA, and he sent the official brief media update:

The whale is now secured to a buoy near where it stranded Wednesday evening … It will be towed early Saturday morning to a location in Puget Sound that will allow researchers from Cascadia Research Collective and Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife to perform a necropsy. After the necropsy is completed, the carcass will remain on the beach to decompose. Its skeletal remains will be collected and given to Highline Community College in Des Moines, Wash.

He says it took a while for them to find state-owned land where the necropsy could be done and the whale left – they don’t sink the carcasses as they once used to.

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Update: Arroyos whale out of sight, though not towed yet
April 15, 2010 7:25 pm
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

Last update for the night on the gray whale that beached and died at The Arroyos on Wednesday afternoon: The whale is out of sight now, with high tide having just arrived, and night about to fall – the clip above is from a little more than an hour ago We just talked by phone with NOAA’s Kristin Wilkinson, who’s in charge of where the whale goes next. She says the people in the boat in our photo were there to “secure” the whale’s carcass so it won’t move up and down the beach with the tides. Once she has a location where it can be taken for examination, it’ll be towed, but they haven’t figured out yet where they can take it. We’ll be checking with her again in the morning. For one more view of the whale as it looked when it was exposed on the beach at low tide earlier today, here’s video by Christopher Boffoli:

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Update: New information about dead gray whale in The Arroyos
April 15, 2010 10:35 am
|      57 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

(scroll down for the latest photo/info/video)

We’re back on Arroyo Beach in far south West Seattle right now, along with TV crews, watchful neighbors, and whale experts (plus one news chopper overhead). Jeff Hogan tells us that the gray that beached and died here yesterday afternoon is a female, about 30 feet long, “sub-adult,” and emaciated. NOAA has reps here too and will try at high tide to tow it away so it can be necropsied elsewhere, but if that’s not possible, they may have to do a “limited necropsy” here. NOAA tells us the number of gray whale deaths hasn’t risen to an alarming level yet; this one may be the first found dead in West Seattle waters since 1999 (here’s an article we found about what was happening that year). Here’s a wider view of what’s happening here, looking toward Vashon from our spot beneath a residential bulkhead:

The tide is still receding, with low tide at noon, so nothing’s going to change here for some hours. The whale is cordoned off with a yellow-tape perimeter. We did a video walkaround before that tape went all the way up and will add that shortly. We asked Hogan if there is any way to tell if this (or any of the others that died recently) is the one that West Seattleites watched a few weeks ago – he said photographs would have to be used to make the comparison. 11:32 AM: An impromptu field trip from Westside School just dropped by and drew immediate TV attention:

The rain is falling more steadily now. Again, nothing major is expected to happen here until the tide’s in later – high tide isn’t until 7:15 this evening. ADDED 1:44 PM: Finally able to upload the video walkaround we mentioned earlier:

Here are our previous stories:
–First report from the beach, shortly after the whale died
–Nighttime look after the tide went out
Perhaps the most amazing sight is the whale’s baleen (what’s in their jaws to filter food out of muddy shallows) – a photo shared with us by “D” has a clearer look – click ahead (ALSO AHEAD, LATEST UPDATES):Read More

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Update: Receding tide reveals Arroyos whale
April 14, 2010 11:00 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Though the neighbors who discovered that gray whale dying off their beach in The Arroyos (map) this afternoon were sad, some also acknowledged it was exciting in a way, such an unusual sight. And that is why Christopher Boffoli went back tonight to see what the receding tide revealed – low tide is around midnight, though not nearly as low as it will be tomorrow. One of the TV stations that went out to report on the whale after our report this afternoon, KING 5, says experts think starvation is a likely cause of the recent deaths around the region of several grays. As we noted in our earlier report, whale expert Jeff Hogan – from whom we often get first word of local whale sightings – plans to go back at tomorrow’s midday low tide, when the whale can be necropsied. After that, a decision will be made on what to do with its carcass.

ADDED 11:59 PM: Nearby resident Scott has posted video shot by his wife in what apparently were the whale’s final moments, around 4 this afternoon. The video and a few more photos are here. And via Facebook, the whale experts at Orca Network discuss starvation and its role in gray-whale deaths, which they say happen in our region several times a year, so this year may be trending ahead of the average already.

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Update: Gray whale strands and dies off The Arroyos
April 14, 2010 4:59 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli, substituted at 7:11 pm for our original cameraphone photo)
ORIGINAL 4:59 PM REPORT: We are on a private beach in The Arroyos where neighbors and whale experts have gathered because of a stranded, likely dead, gray whale. More to come. 5:04 PM UPDATE: Among those here is whale expert Jeff Hogan, who’s been talking to NOAA. He thinks the whale is indeed dead, possibly just within the past hour – neighbors here tell us they saw it moving around earlier this afternoon. It is off a bulkhead in front of homes along this far southwest section of West Seattle shoreline; the whale is mostly submerged but the tide is starting to go out. 5:27 PM: Update, the tide actually is still rising – high tide is in about an hour. Then there’s a minus tide at midday tomorrow, and experts will examine the whale then if it hasn’t floated off overnight. Two TV choppers were over us a little while ago so you may see something about this on tv too. Here’s what Hogan told us a short time ago:

Again, this is happening just off a private beach (we are here by the good graces of the neighbors, one of whom called us about an hour ago to ask who to report this sort of thing to) so not a good idea to come down to try to get a glimpse. If you see a marine mammal in trouble, by the way, this is the hotline (easy to find any time on the Seal Sitters’ website) 800-853-1964. ADDED 6:52 PM: Video from a little more than an hour ago, giving you a little more perspective on where the whale is, in context with the residential shoreline (and Vashon across the way):

Hogan expects to be back in the morning where a low tide would beach the whale so it could be necropsied. We will be continuing to monitor the situation tonight.

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Followup: The Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft, recovered!
April 13, 2010 7:55 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(2009 photo by Greg Whittaker of Alki Kayak Tours & Mountain to Sound Outfitters[WSB sponsor])
One day after reporting that a renowned raft was missing off northwest Alki, we just got an update from Guy (and Joy D.) Smith –

We got a call today from Daniel … who lives just around the corner on the beach close to the lighthouse property. He said a raft had washed up on the beach and wondered if it was ours. We checked there yesterday and didn’t see it. But it is ours. We’ll try to tow it back to our beach tomorrow, weather permitting. We can’t believe our good luck in finding this raft 3 times after the bad luck of losing it 3 times.

Three generations of the Smiths’ family collaborated a year and a half ago to build the raft, whose story you can read here.

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Missing off Alki: Keep an eye out for the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft
April 12, 2010 11:25 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

(October 2009 photo courtesy Guy Smith)
Last fall, we brought you the story of the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft – tethered to a round white buoy with blue stripe, northeast of Alki Point. This morning, the raft’s co-builder Guy Smith e-mailed to ask that people be on the lookout for the raft — it’s gone, apparently having broken away from the buoy (which is still in place) sometime overnight. If you’ve seen it – or something you think MIGHT be it – please call Guy at 206-937-8742.

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Friday afternoon fuzzy moment: Baby Canada geese
April 9, 2010 3:56 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

Last year, Alki photographer David Hutchinson shared several progress reports on Canada geese along Harbor Avenue SW, birth to maturity. This year, the photo you see above just arrived, under the heading “First Gosling Photo of 2010.” David explains:

The Canada Goose gosling season has begun on schedule along Harbor Avenue. This family of six goslings was seen getting acclimated to their new surroundings. Hopefully everyone will be tolerant of their presence over the next 2 ½ months as they roam the shoreline of Elliott Bay from Don Armeni south to Salty’s.

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West Seattle wildlife: Orca photos, and an “Easter seal”
April 4, 2010 5:35 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Thanks to Trileigh, wildlife photographer extraordinaire (remember Wollet the owlet?), for providing the first photo we’ve seen of one of the orcas that have been in the area today. She took the photo from the south side of Lincoln Park. (Here’s our earlier story, with updates and comments tracking the sightings.) ADDED 8:52 PM: Trileigh sent this one later, after going through hundreds more she took:

(BACK TO ORIGINAL 5:35 PM REPORT) And we’re happy to be able to share another great photo, an “Easter seal” courtesy of Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey, photographed this morning before the sun went away:

There’s another photo on the Seal Sitters’ “Blubberblog“ – see who the seal shared the raft with for a while.

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West Seattle Whale Watch: Easter orcas
April 4, 2010 9:56 am
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

ORIGINAL 9:56 AM REPORT: Just got note and text from Gary — orcas spotted west of the Alki Point lighthouse, heading “slowly south.” Off to look. 10:20 AM: Orca expert Jeff Hogan just called, says they’re off Lowman. 10:28: You need binoculars to see them – they are by Blake Island and heading south fairly fast. 10:46 AM: They went into the far passage off west Vashon, out of view, but keep an eye out later – Jeff says they’re transients. 11:46 AM: And now they’re heading back north, per commenter Jen – who also just called. Watch the comments; we’re heading back down the hill to look again! 1:35 PM: Just back from whale-watching – you definitely need binoculars – they’re out between WS and Blake Island again, and you can look for a very, very small boat, which is virtually next to them. We just watched them for quite some time from a vantage point near the West Beach Condos west and downhill from Marine View Drive’s north end (map); they did not seem to be going in any particular direction. We’re told that what some describe as “playing” – we saw tail-slapping while watching – could mean they’re feeding. Bottom line, they could be visible off our shore for quite a while. Keep an eye on comments here, and/or on our Facebook thread.

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West Seattle Whale Watch: 2 more looks at Saturday’s visitor
March 28, 2010 11:07 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle video | Wildlife

Two more video views of the gray whale that amazed West Seattle whale-watchers on Saturday (no sightings today, although grays were spotted in other areas of central Puget Sound, including off north Seattle shores, and this one could have been among them): First, nighttime views from photojournalist Cliff DesPeaux, who spent several hours at Jack Block Park late last night/early this morning, the last West Seattle sightings before whale-watchers called it quits for the night. Next, from John at Gypsy Soul Productions, who shot this video as the gray whale meandered around the shore by Harbor West (the condos built on pilings over the water):

If you’re interested in whale sightings and not already on the Orca Network e-mail list, sign up here – they send a daily/nightly roundup of sighting reports, often with photos, not just orcas – you’ll often see news about grays and humpbacks, too.

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West Seattle wildlife watch: No whale so far; plus, seal necropsy
March 28, 2010 11:28 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Two wildlife notes: First, as of this writing, no new sightings reported this morning of the gray whale that captivated people along the West Seattle shore (our reports from yesterday are here and here, and a stunning overnight photo from seattlepi.com is here). Susan from Orca Network (which tracks other types of whales too) posted some observations on its condition in this WSB comment. If you see it – please share the news – here’s how. Meantime, Robin from Seal Sitters has published a touching and sad update on the death of “Sea Star,” the nickname given to the harbor seal that turned up on Alki Friday – read it here.

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Report #2: West Seattle goes wild for a shore-hugging gray whale
March 27, 2010 7:59 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle video | Wildlife

(Our first report, with morning sightings, photos and video, can be found here)

Any closer, and it would have needed a reservation for a table. That’s video we got via iPhone about an hour ago, when the gray whale that’s been hugging West Seattle shores all day turned up just west of Salty’s on Alki. As noted in our first report this morning, it was sighted south of Brace Point in the 7 o’clock hour, then made its way slowly up along Lincoln Park, Lowman Beach, Beach Drive, Alki Point, then turning into Elliott Bay, where it picked up quite a fan base on shore:

That’s what we found when we first pulled over by Anchor Park (see the anchor in the foreground – this is also known as Luna Park since part of the old amusement park’s natatorium used to be under that pier). As the whale moved eastward into the bay, the crowd moved with it. We lost track of it when it went under for an extended time after the Royal Argosy passed by Salty’s. If you’ve got photos/video to share, we’d love to add more – meantime, the two people who shared photos earlier have shared more – first, two from Trileigh – no, we don’t know what the orange spot is in the closeup:

And from Rick:

As for whether the whale’s OK or not – we know at least one citywide-media friend was trying to track down experts. Certainly they are seen around here from time to time. Again, our earlier report with more photos and video is here.

1:12 AM UPDATE: We gave up the whale watch for the night just before dusk but a hardy crowd has stayed out looking – and been rewarded with sightings off Jack Block Park. Josh Trujillo of seattlepi.com has published amazing shots – check them out here. And depending on who else is out overnight, you can follow the Twitter hashtag #alkiwhale to get the latest.

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West Seattle Whale Watch: Gray whale spotted close to shore
March 27, 2010 9:58 am
|      26 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Scroll down for added photos, video)

ORIGINAL 9:58 AM REPORT: Getting multiple reports of a gray whale off south West Seattle shores, Brace Point earlier, Lincoln Park near Williams Point (Colman Pool area) within the past half-hour. The photo above is from Rick Rasmussen, who glimpsed it south of Brace Point earlier this morning:

At 730 this morning, I saw what looked like an unusual disturbance in the water, just south of Brace Point, very close to shore. It was in about 15-20 feet of water, but close to the drop off to much deeper water.

It appeared to be a large whale, black or dark gray, with no dorsal fin. It looked larger and also longer than the Orcas we’ve seen around here.

At first, it was moving quickly and sporadically, just breaking the surface of the water and not showing much of itself. Then it started moving slowly in a circle for a few minutes, disturbing the water, mostly submerged. It then partially surfaced and spouted twice, a few minutes apart, then swam off toward the deeper water, showing a lot of it body before disappearing.

12:18 PM UPDATE: While out for the past couple hours, we saw the whale multiple times from Lincoln Park’s north beach and then from Lowman. It’s apparently off Emma Schmitz now – we went there too soon – according to a tweet we received. Lots of whale-watchers out; we’re checking video we shot, and also starting to receive some photos. Here are two from Trileigh – the first is the whale’s backbone, she says:

ADDED 12:46 PM: And this is our short video clip. Not close-enough in to see much, maybe most worthwhile for the oohs and aahs in the background audio!

More photos later as we get them. Gray sightings are not as common as orca sightings in Puget Sound – but they aren’t uncommon either – the whales do detour here sometimes while heading up from breeding grounds in Mexico to summer feeding grounds in Alaska, and there are apparently some that just never bother finishing the trip!

2:37 PM UPDATE: Via Twitter and comments, we’re hearing the whale is still in West Seattle waters – off central Beach Drive (Weather Watch Park) per “dq,” still moving northbound since @kerrywa on Twitter said it was off Me-Kwa-Mooks just before 2. Thanks for the reports!

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West Seattle wildlife: “Late-season” seal pup appears at Alki
March 26, 2010 4:26 pm
|      19 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Scroll down for Saturday update – the seal pup didn’t survive)

Alki’s David Hutchinson shares that photo, along with this report:

A Harbor Seal pup “hauled out” before noon today at Alki Beach just east of the Bathhouse. Seal Sitters were on site along with Dan Campau of Seattle Parks & Recreation and set up a safety perimeter. Quite a number of people stopped by to observe and take photos. Robin Lindsey of Seal Sitters said she thought it probably was a late season pup from last September judging by its size. The pup is still on the beach as of 2:55 PM.

4:53 PM: Added a video clip courtesy of Eilene Hutchinson:

Thanks to the Hutchinsons for sharing that sweet sight; you can find out all about seal pups on West Seattle beaches (and what to do if you happen onto one) at sealsitters.org.

2:56 PM: Sad news in comments – David Hutchinson reports the seal pup died early this afternoon. He says more details will be forthcoming on the Seal Sitters’ site at blubberblog.org.

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From the WSB Forums: “Bee” on the lookout
March 22, 2010 8:14 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle news | Wildlife

beesbydeckandfence.jpg

(June 2008 Riverview-area photo by Christine – click to see larger version)
We’ve had a few reports in recent years of bee swarms (particularly the summer of 2008), followed by frantic searches for information on who, if anyone, to notify. This year, the experts have reached out first – with this note in the WSB Forums today. Beekeeper Brad Jones writes that if you find a honeybee swarm – he and other local beekeepers (including Sustainable West Seattle president Brian Allen) will help find it a home. Their contact info is in the Forums post – worth bookmarking!

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West Seattle Whale Watch: Another orca sighting
March 22, 2010 2:39 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

The fabulous folks at Orca Network had passed along news of a few orcas spotted off Carkeek Park in North Seattle earlier today – and now we’ve just heard from Vanessa at Alki that it looks like they’re off Alki Point/Lighthouse as of a few minutes ago, “heading toward the islands.” Let us know if you see them!

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West Seattle wildlife: Caution, coyotes crossing
March 20, 2010 8:23 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Coyotes | West Seattle news | Wildlife

From Jodi, by the southwest end of The Bridge:

I just wanted to let you know that coyotes have been very active in our neighborhood the last two nights. This morning at 4 am there was one in front our house yelping and running up and down the street (4000 block of Fauntleroy Way SW) along the West Seattle Bridge between the pedestrian overpass and the light at 35th. It was having a fit because there was another coyote on the road (West Seattle bridge) running back and forth between the east and west bond lanes trying to figure out how to get over the chain link fence to join it companion. We watched them for over 10 minutes before they both headed towards the pedestrian overpass. There wasn’t much traffic at that time of the morning on a Saturday, but it could be deadly other days of the week.

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West Seattle scene: Spring colors “blooming” on the shore
March 20, 2010 12:12 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Low tides this time of year aren’t mega-low (here’s the chart) – but low enough to happen onto sights like that one, photographed by Eve at Lincoln Park on Friday. In the note accompanying the photo, she wondered why there’s such a wide color variation among the common sea stars, as demonstrated in these two. We did find at least one scientific paper that suggested an explanation – but perhaps someone with a little more user-friendly marine-biology knowhow has a simpler answer!

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Next generation of Puget Sound salmon: Fauntleroy Creek hatch
March 19, 2010 12:23 pm
|    Comments Off on Next generation of Puget Sound salmon: Fauntleroy Creek hatch
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | Wildlife

The announcement posted by the Fauntleroy Creek overlook (across the street and up the embankment from the ferry dock) trumpets the happy news: Home hatch! Creek steward Judy Pickens mentioned this the other day and now we have details – volunteers who recently surveyed the creek spotted up to 200 coho fry resulting from last fall’s spawning (18 spawners were seen). As the flyer notes, they’ll have company soon: Local schoolchildren will release about 2,000 more baby coho into the creek this spring. This is a good time of year to visit the overlook, before all the bushes and trees grow their leaves back:

Big event in Fauntleroy next week, by the way – area residents are invited to the annual Fauntleroy Community Association Membership Meeting and Food Fest, during which they can either join FCA or renew their membership (all memberships expire at this same time each year). 6-8 pm Tuesday at The Hall at Fauntleroy; more details at fauntleroy.net.

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West Seattle Whale Watch: Orcas off Fauntleroy, again
March 15, 2010 10:54 am
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

10:54 AM: Just got this note from Lori:

My son, Ian, is currently on the ferry from Fauntleroy to Southworth right now (10:40 a.m.) and is watching at least 3 orcas. He says they seem to be just kind of hanging out again between Vashon & Lincoln Park. They’re rather surface active. He saw quite a bit of tail slapping. He estimated them to be about 200 yards from the boat.

That follows the Friday and Saturday sightings (KING 5’s helicopter caught them on Friday – the video is included in our update). 11:28 AM: We’re on the south LP waterfront – no luck, aside from a sea lion sighting. 12:25 PM UPDATE: Finally gave up to head back to HQ – but we ran into Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail, who was on the phone with a contact on Vashon who had clear view of them off the north end of the island – perhaps a little too close to the Southworth side for viewing from here. Updates as we get them. 1:18 PM: Donna called – she can see them now from Lincoln Park, south side. 2:26 PM: KING5‘s helicopter got video again today – and we’ve embedded it atop this story. 5:10 PM: Rode the Fauntleroy-Southworth ferry round-trip at mid-afternoon in hopes of whale sightings – saw spouts in the distance off the Arroyos – but now we have word from Facebook friend Krista that they are heading north “toward Alki Point,” as of a few minutes ago.

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West Seattle whale-watching: Orcas off Lincoln Park
March 12, 2010 3:20 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Just got the call from Jeff Hogan at Killer Whale Tales: Five orcas off Lincoln Park – closer to the ferry dock – transient orcas, the kind that hunt sea lions and seals, and he says “they just made a kill” so you may see birds hovering around where they are. Let us know if you see them! 4:15 PM UPDATE: Back from an expedition. Very quick sighting in the distance, via binoculars, off north Vashon. Looked from the Lincoln Park shore like KING5’s chopper found them – video’s not on their site yet, but we’ll add a link here when it’s available. 5:14 PM: Adding the embedded video atop this item.

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