SEAL SITTERS FLIPPER FEST MAY 31 2015

A host of environmental organizations from the Northwest participated in Flipper Fest at the Alki Beach House on Sunday.  Both Government and NGO organizations participated.  Nearly 600 people attended this highly successful environmental education and general fun event.  A number of local businesses and organizations provide items for a successful fund raising raffle.  Dozens of organization staff and volunteers made sure visitors were will provide with information and answers to questions concerning the work of the participating organizations.  Many visitors were families and activities were provide to both entertain and educate the children.

GULL WARS

WHY THE MOST HATED ANIMALS OF GULLS ARE GULLS

AH....NICE FLOUNDER FOR LUNCH

LITTLE SANDY BUT SURE SMELLS GOOD

NOW JUST NEED TO GET IT DOWN BEFORE THE #@$%^%& TEEN AGERS ARRIVE

GOOD NOBODY AROUND

FORGET IT CROW!



OH CRAP!

LET GO OF MY FLOUNDER YOU *&^*%$

GIVE IT BACK....GIVE IT BACK!



SCHMITZ AND ALKI BEACH ROAM 5-20-15

From cool and cloudy to warm and sunny at the beach today.  A minus 2.2 ft. tide exposed some interesting marine life.  Enjoyed the company of a lovely lady from Chicago...Sue who was visiting Seattle and checking out marine life.  I was happy to see that she got her very first introduction to a Moon Snail. 
 I noted that there were a few dozen (no actual count) Purple Stars on the condo pilings south of Constellation Marine Reserve.  There were three that had very low level of SSWD (Sea Star Wasting Disease).  Most of the stars were full adult size with a few smaller ones.
One strange thing:  Shells of a dead clam were firmly wedged in the clay hole of a Piddock Clam.  It took sometime to wiggle the shells out of the hole....it turned out to be shells of a Butter Clam.
I can only surmise that the Butter Clam ended up in the hole as a juvenile and grew up inside the hole....and died there. Never seen anything like that before.

Sue from Chicago introduced to Moon Snail

Thickclaw Porcelain Crab Pachycheles rudis
 

Thickclaw Porcelain Crab with eggs

 

Piddock Clams in clay

Monterey Dorid - Sea Lemon

Mottled Anemones - Purple Star - Keyhole Limpet

Purple Star on condo piling

Purple Stars (one with low level SSWD - lower right)



Mystery clam shell in Piddock hole



Not a Piddock but a Butter Clam shell

 

BUZZ'S MARINE LIFE OF PUGET SOUND TURNS 4 TODAY

I'M NOT SURE THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO LAST THIS LONG....BUT A FEW PEOPLE STILL LOOK FOR A SECOND OR TWO......SO WHAT THE HECK!.....
WE WILL GO FOR ANOTHER 4........

SOUNDS FAMILIAR....

"4 MORE YEARS"....."4 MORE YEARS"

OF COURSE, TO MANY PEOPLE'S DISAPPOINTMENT, THERE IS NO TWO TERM LIMIT ON A BLOG!

THE ONLY FOLLOWERS I'M SURE OF

TWO NEW LINKS ADDED TO BLOG

Added two links to home pages for Seadoc Society and Puget Sound Restoration Fund.
Lots of good information on our local Washington State and British Columbia marine waters.



Seadoc Society      http://www.seadocsociety.org/salish-sea-facts/

Puget Sound Restoration Fund:    http://restorationfund.org/

BEACH NATURALIST TRAINING DAY AT CONSTELLATION MARINE RESERVE 5-17-15

Another lovely day at the beach......lovely brownies.  One unusual find was the sea slug Dendronotus iris (2) which is normally found sub-tidally where it feeds on the burrowing anemone  Pachycerianthus fimbriatus.  A count of Pisaster o. on the south side of the breakwater just south of the park turned up 92 healthy and 1 sick star.  Most of these stars were very close in size...with a few exceptions.  This compares to a count of 38 healthy Purple Stars in the same area a month ago so there has been some in migration to the breakwater or I can't count worth a damn.  In other areas of the beach...mostly the north end, there were 4 Purple Stars with SSWD.  No count of stars in the entire park was made. Lots of Moon Snail egg cases and a few easily found Moon Snails.  Thanks to all the Beach Naturalists.  This week will see a couple more days of good minus tides.

Purple Star with SSWD North end CMR

Purple Star with SSWD North end CMR

Healthy Purple Stars Breakwater

Dendronotus iris (2 found)

Piddock Clam

South Side Breakwater 92 healthy 1 diseased Purple Star

Keyhole Limpets on Breakwater

KAYAK PROTEST - SHELL OIL POLAR PIONEER DRILL PLATFORM 5-16-15

Over 200 kayaks and other watercraft participated in a protest against Shell Oil and the locating of the drilling platform Polar Pioneer in the Port of Seattle.  While the City of Seattle refused to issue a permit for the Polar Pioneer the Port of Seattle contracted with Shell Oil to dock the oil rig at the port.  The Polar Pioneer will depart the port for the Arctic for the summer drilling season sometime soon.  The main protest goal is to stop additional drilling for oil in the Arctic.  It would not matter which oil company owned the Polar Pioneer...it's the drilling and its environmental risk for the Arctic that protesters are concerned about.  A march on the Port of Seattle by protesters is scheduled for Monday May 18th at the port.  The kayak protest was orderly and peaceful and the march May 18th is designed to be non-violent.
LARGE OIL SPILL OFF SANTA BARBARA CALIFORNIA!
MAY 18TH 2015 -  And you wonder why these people are protesting drilling in the Arctic.