Whidbey Island Critters

[LCF]

I think those guys get lumped into my ID class of "small silver fish".

[dwashbur]

I think those guys get lumped into my ID class of "small silver fish".

They're on my ID list under "Am I ever gonna see one of these???"

[RoxnDox]

I think those guys get lumped into my ID class of "small silver fish".

Sounds like my birdwatching category of "LGBs" (Little Grey Birdz) Jan and Janna and all the folks who can identify these critters impress me every day I read these posts... Not to mention Jan's photo skills!


Jim

[Jan K]

How to have fun in the first 12 inches of water ... No decompression required

[LCF]

Wow, Jan -- that was some mighty still water!

[Jan K]

Back in fall quite a number of Red dendronotid slugs show up at Possession Fingers.

Every once a while I check on them down in 80 feet.


Now they started to lay eggs, somewhere I read that signals the end of them :(

[LCF]

I don't know what's happened, but suddenly, none of the photos in the last post are rendering for me here.

[Jan K]

Lynne, I hope you can see it now ...
I have been looking for Lingcod egg masses on every dive since their usual annual appearance
which in the past started around the end of December. I know they have been reported from other
locales in the Sound, but for some reason, the Whidbey Lings delayed laying eggs this season.
Finally, January 23, I found seven of them. I am sure some of them might be there well before then,
but the snow episode made access to Possession Point impossible. All I know, during my last visit
there before snow, on January 10, the male Lingcod were just guarding "eggless" territories.
Numbers on egg masses given in the order I found them...

[LCF]

First -- I wonder if that's true of all nudibranchs, that they lay eggs and die; I've never really read anything about their life cycles, life expectancies, or anything of that sort.

Second, although I commonly dive Edmonds, which has one of the biggest populations of the biggest lings you could hope to see, I have never been attacked by a male guarding eggs. Most of the time, they just sit there and look at me; occasionally they'll raise their fins and try to look impressive. Even at Sund Rock, where one got very agitated, he made no feints at the divers. Cabbies, on the other hand . . . oh, my! I've been whacked on the head and had my dry suit bitten and DRAGGED by a cabezon not more than a foot long. Those guys are the Jack Russell Terriers of the fish world

[Norris]

First -- I wonder if that's true of all nudibranchs, that they lay eggs and die; I've never really read anything about their life cycles, life expectancies, or anything of that sort.

Second, although I commonly dive Edmonds, which has one of the biggest populations of the biggest lings you could hope to see, I have never been attacked by a male guarding eggs. Most of the time, they just sit there and look at me; occasionally they'll raise their fins and try to look impressive. Even at Sund Rock, where one got very agitated, he made no feints at the divers. Cabbies, on the other hand . . . oh, my! I've been whacked on the head and had my dry suit bitten and DRAGGED by a cabezon not more than a foot long. Those guys are the Jack Russell Terriers of the fish world

I would have to agree with you LCF. I have been shoved and bullied my numerous Cabbies but the lings just sit there using intimidation as their primary threat.

[Jan K]

I got hit by Lingcod once in all the years I photograph Lingcod guarding eggs. At Langley, out of all places. And the Ling wasn't that big... But as the text describes, the male Ling does attack other fish, I saw couple times at Langley one Ling actually tossing off large Sunflower star. But yes, divers are safe

[Jan K]

More egg masses found

[Dusty2]

Don't take it for granted that lings won't attack, I had one at Sund rock just about rip my mask off but for the most part they are mostly bluff. They can really look intimidating when they want to though.

[Jan K]

So I Swam Over the Cuckoo's Nest

[Tom Nic]

That is funny!

And it lends itself to the thought that the male ling is dumber than a post and guards stuff based on color and shape?

Time to do some experiments with blocks of Styrofoam!

[Jan K]

Time for lots of birthdays
Although I did not see daddy Kelp greenling being too diligent in guarding the eggs nestled
in maze of the Prolific Three-section Tubeworm, I did spot him occasionally in the neighborhood.
Lots of his kids were born outside the ocean waters, but they were returned into them
after the picture taking session ... Hopefully they will recognize me when they grow up and will not run away
( as their father did ), when they see me with my camera

[Dusty2]

Wow! What a treat! You get some of the coolest stuff.

[LCF]

FANTASTIC, Jan!

[Furnari]

Amazing, Jan- had you been keeping an eye on the egg mass? Maybe the babies will imprint on you

[Jan K]

After a "Security update" my computer goes bad, crashing applications, not able to save anything .
Thank god Apple sent out fix and it seems to be working. So after the nightmare I feel festive...


And thanks for comments. Yes, I do keep an eye on all the eggs which now seem to be everywhere.

[Tom Nic]

Hmmm... and here I thought Apples never crashed!

[Jan K]

The iMac working again. But the weather is just too beautiful to be sitting
in front of a computer too long. DIVING, DIVING, DIVING

[Jan K]

I don't know what is the attraction, but most of the Gumboot chitons
love the blocks on the rope trail...

[Tom Nic]

I don't know what is the attraction, but most of the Gumboot chitons love the blocks on the rope trail...

Lime in the concrete, perhaps?

[Jan K]

I don't know what is the attraction, but most of the Gumboot chitons love the blocks on the rope trail...

Lime in the concrete, perhaps?

Good idea Tom, It might be the chiton Drive-through !

And more eggs: