PEARL AND JAM - JAM MAY BE WEANED - MT. RAINIER MT. GOATS, COYOTE, GROUSE.

It may be time for Harbor Seal pup Jam to be called a weaner meaning there is no longer any free milk from mom.  Jam is estimated to be between 4 and 6 weeks old which is the time frame when pups are weaned.  The last nursing was observed on September 11th.  Currently the daytime tides are not low enough for the seals to haul out on their favorite rocks.  Good luck to Jam.  The other Harbor Seal seen often in the same area with Pearl and Jam is Mudhoney a female that my have lost a pup and has been hanging out with Pearl and Jam.  She was seen on September 12th but Pearl and Jam were not around.  

My hikes at Mt. Rainier have been rewarded with some interesting wildlife visits.  I met a herd of some 9 Mountain Goats while hiking the Huckleberry Creek trail and was visited during my lunch break on the Naches Peak Loop trail by a lone coyote.  Some deer showed up as well as my favorite rodents the Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels with some Pikas and Marmots....Grouse were common.  As most visitors to this blog know I include the Puget Sound watershed area....because all that fresh water ends up in Puget Sound sooner or later...  Enjoy your Fall season....yep it is meterological fall (Sept 1 to Nov 30)....if not the astronomical one.

Mudhoney

Mudhoney

Pearl and Jam

Pearl and Jam

Osprey with flounder

Sign of Fall

Hoary Marmot

Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird

Nanny, Billy and the Huckleberry Kid

How butterflies are made

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel

Mt. Goat

Yellow Warbler

Pika

Pika

Rain in on the way

Coyote

 

PEARL AND JAM CONTINUE TO REST ON WEST SEATTLE BEACH.....MIGRATING RUDDY TURNSTONES ARRIVE AND SOME ADDITIONAL FURRY CRITTERS FROM MOUNT RAINIER

Harbor Seals Pearl and Jam continue to rest at low tide on West Seattle beach.  First seen on August 6th and last seen on August 29th.  Pup Jam will be weaned 4 to 6 weeks after birth so that should be within the next 2 weeks or so...question is will Jam continue to frequent the current haul out site? 
The Ruddy Turnstones are uncommon in our area but are seen in small numbers during migration from the Arctic coast to points south.  They are closely related to Black Turnstones which are common wintering birds on our shorelines.
In addition I have also posted some images of some furry critters from Mount Rainier.  While these are not marine species they are in the Puget Sound watershed like many other critters I have posted here...plus I just really like seeing these mountain critters....so I hope you enjoy the marmots, ground squirrels, chipmunks and Pika images.  Summer is winding down...Harbor Seal Pup season is upon us....Happy Labor Day weekend all.

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel

Being amphibious

Piks

FIRST HARBOR SEALS OF THE SEASON PLUS GULL IS SMARTER THAN OCTOPUS 8-12-18

Today the first Harbor Seal pup showed up at Alki and Seal Sitters were there...with no place to sit.

The first pup of the season also brought a family member...its mom.  So a two seal day,  Mom named Pearl and pup of course is Jam.

Yesterday at the same beach another very uncommon sight.  A Glaucous-winged Gull found a very unlucky Giant Pacific Octopus....a rather shrimp of an octopus.  The end was very predictable....

Pearl and Jam

Northern Hairy Chiton

CALIFORNIA SEA LION 'DUDLEY' CAPTURED AND REMOVED FROM ALIK BEACH WEST SEATTLE 7-18-18

A Juvenile California Sea Lion named 'Dudley' was captured and removed from Alki beach in West Seattle on 7-18-18.  Dudley is approximately 5-7 years old.  He had lost the use of his hind flippers which showed some lacerations which may or not be associated with the loss of use.  He may also be ill.  Normally sea lions in this condition in the wild are placed under observation if possible and not captured.  Nature will then take its course.  There are over 300,000 California Sea Lions in the North Pacific and they are not endangered however they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  Dudley would have be left to nature but he moved onto a heavily used public beach where he likely would have interacted with humans...at 400 pounds and a defensive disposition it is possible he could have caused serious harm to anyone who came too close.  This is the reason for his capture and removal from the beach.  It is likely that Dudley would have faced a slow painful death if left to nature.  The WDFW and NOAA and Seal Sitters staff were all involved in the capture.  This is the first capture of a California Sea Lion on Alki beach ever recorded. Beaching of Sea Lions in Puget Sound is extremely rare as they rest in the water or often on offshore platforms or buoys.  All California Sea Lions in the Seattle area are males that come north from California, Oregon or Washington coasts during the non-breeding season and are seen in the area from August till May.  By May all but a few have migrated south to breeding grounds in California, although some do breed on the Washington and Oregon coasts.  Females remain south and nurse pups for about 6 months.  We do not see females in the Seattle area.  The capture went smoothly even though Dudley did put up some resistance and it was the professional expertise of the WDFW and NOAA that made the capture go well.  More on Dudley's fate later. 

Finally on a happier note at the same time Dudley was being captured we noticed a nest just below where we were standing that was full of White-crowned Sparrow chicks....Life begins..

Dudley

Dudley

Ribs and backbone showing - Dudley about 200 lbs underweight

WDFW capture boat

Preparing for capture

Dudley resists capture

Safely in cage

Ready for transport to WDFW lab.

White-Crowned Sparrow chicks