Whidbey Island Critters

LCF · Post by **LCF** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 6:51 pm

Jan, you do absolutely the best ever diving-themed Christmas images. But my favorite is still the cave one. I loved sending out each and every one of those cards.

YellowEye · Post by **YellowEye** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 8:57 pm

Hi Jan
Great photos as always. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.
We'll have to resolve to try to dive together next year. Are you going to the club dive?

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 10:54 am

YellowEye wrote:Hi Jan
Great photos as always. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.
We'll have to resolve to try to dive together next year. Are you going to the club dive?

Let me know when you plan to visit our local spots, I don't travel much anymore off Whidbey these days ...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 6:34 pm

Well, the Wasting Syndrome menace reached Whidbey's Possession Point now :(

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:18 am

Surveying another site. Signs of Sea Star Wasting Syndrome appearing ...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:17 pm

LCF · Post by **LCF** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:51 pm

It is so wonderful to see photos of healthy sunflower stars. I miss them; our central Sound sites are far less colorful and interesting without them.

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 2:20 pm

The disease is creeping up upon Whidbey, Keystone is being affected now too. :(

Holmes Harbor is OK for the time being ...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Wed Jan 29, 2014 12:45 pm

searching for stars - south to north

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Thu Jan 30, 2014 5:53 am

LCF · Post by **LCF** » Thu Jan 30, 2014 8:34 am

Yet another educational entry! Thanks, Jan! I don't think I have ever seen one of these.

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Fri Jan 31, 2014 12:54 pm

LCF wrote:Yet another educational entry! Thanks, Jan! I don't think I have ever seen one of these.

Lynne, in all these years, this was my second sighting. And they are not rare, they say ...

And what about adding two new names to my list, Feather duster and snail which feeds on it.
Although I have passed over them many, many times, I didn't know.
It keeps me diving, I learned about the tiny white snails just yesterday ...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:43 pm

This was the first time I saw a Sunflower star snatch something off its back. I did not see the sculpin land on the top of the sea star, I expected to get a shot of it posing, but as I was setting my camera to macro mode, I saw the star grabbing the hapless fish and move it fast towards its stomach on the underside. I really don't know if the fish was dead since I did not see it swim up the star. No idea how it got up there, no rocks, no floating dock overhead...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:22 am

renoun · Post by **renoun** » Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:11 pm

Rather timely since Craig McClain was just writing about his research on communities of wood boring organisms off Monetary at Deep Sea News today.

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 10:08 am

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:03 pm

Seeing some of the Mottled stars with unusual bumps on arms.
I wonder if it is tied to the disease...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 6:30 pm

I wonder how they manage to lay eggs INSIDE the tunicate ...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 11:42 am

Another week of sea star wasting surveys on Whidbey. Most locales with bad visibility . Something to do with wind and rain.
The disease keeps going on, but not at the same massive die-off scenes reported elsewhere.

Desert Diver · Post by **Desert Diver** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:41 pm

Its late for Christmas wreaths, but that looks neat!

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sat Feb 22, 2014 6:05 pm

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 9:36 pm

After long time, I came across another Lingcod cleaning scene.

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 8:50 pm

Another week of Sea Star Wasting surveys in local waters. Although sick stars are found on most dives,
there are plenty of healthy sea stars still around.

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:35 pm

Deception Pass revisited for yet another Sea Star Wasting survey.
Still healthy population, the one Mottled sea star arm does not necessarily mean
that it is a wasting disease. I hope it is not and although the sea stars there are not
as numerous as they are or were elsewhere, they add nice diversity to the place.
Visibility was good and thew sunshine topside made it look almost tropical.
Enjoy.

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:37 pm

Northwest Dive Club

Whidbey Island Critters

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