Whidbey Island Critters

[Jan K]

Not easy to add new critters to the list. This one was very hard to find and photograph.
too tiny for my old eyes ...

[Dusty2]

Wow I've never seen those little guys before. Great job bringing us something new once again!

[dwashbur]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you didn't have the fisheye lens on for those shots!

[Jan K]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you didn't have the fisheye lens on for those shots!

You are right, not even macro on my G-10 was adequate. I have to settle for fuzzy

[Jan K]

After a long absence, I revisited Holmes Harbor muck bottom:

[LCF]

Jan, there is simply no one, no one in the entire diving and photograph world, who can put together pages like yours. Don't EVER stop posting here!

[oldsalt]

Jan: I am bemused when I hear people with a dozen or so dives tell me they gave up PNW diving, because "There is nothing left to see around here." Your sense of wonder, persistence, and highly developed observational skills belies any such sentiment. I'm with Lynne. Thanks.
-Curt

[Jan K]

Lynne, Curt, thank you very much for your comments about my Whidbey Island Critter saga.
So far, I keep getting surprised by what our local underwater world manages to show off again
and again. After hundreds of dives in the same locations around Whidbey, I am still looking
forward to each and every dive. Even the same critters I photographed many times before
seem to look just enough different. Or maybe it is the onset of dementia
Regardless, I still enjoy diving, and what I see on NWDC posts - so do many others

[Jan K]

[LCF]

OMG, Jan, that's fabulous! I absolutely love hermit crabs, and have found them in some of the strangest homes, but I had no idea there was a species that lived in tubes!

[Jan K]

OMG, Jan, that's fabulous! I absolutely love hermit crabs, and have found them in some of the strangest homes, but I had no idea there was a species that lived in tubes!

This was the first time I found a wandering male .

And what about 200 year old sea urchins? Amazing world we dive in ...

[oldsalt]

In one of my marine invert classes I was taught that since the body temperature of most inverts is set my the surrounding temperature, that growth takes longer in colder water and, consequenty, a given species livespan may increase tenfold. Cool.
-Curt

[Jan K]

Not only humans gather together this time of year.
Northern Kelp Crabs on Whidbey Island forgo turkey for some Bull kelp instead
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL !!!

[LCF]

Love the cartoon!

[Jan K]

Unfortunately, it is still very much a rare sighting on Whidbey.

[oldsalt]

NOAA/NMFS is making an effort to help the Pinto Abalone to recover. My god-grandson works his dream job as a science diver seeking sites to plant young abalone. He also surveys populations of abalone which were planted earlier. I hope they succeed.
-Curt

[Jan K]

Smile, the sun is shining !

[LCF]

Cool, Jan! I got a picture of one of those at Cove 2 a few weeks back, and I didn't know what it was until Laurel told me.

[Jan K]

Kings of Keystone

[Dusty2]

When they are tiny like they are now at Hudson point the color blends in quite well with the orange social assidians that are so profuse at hudson. Since they are sub-tidal I think the orange isn't that much of a factor. Since red (orange) is grey to black at depth and they are in an area where orange is a prevalent color. My big question is why do we have juveniles and never adults? Where do they go and why?

[Jan K]

At the moment, old age and lugging all that diving gear weight up the beach trails caught up with me and hernia has put a stop to my diving, at least for the time being. :( I am waiting for the surgery and subsequent recovery before I can return to my beloved hobby. I will see if I can work with some of my archival images to keep entertaining my fellow critter enthusiasts.
While searching for more information on Painted anemone, I came upon a site which claims that we got it all wrong here on this side of the Pacific Ocean. Since I am not too crazy to go through my old filed and rename all the photos, I contacted an expert.Here is her answer. Personally, I am sticking with U.crassicornis

[Nwbrewer]

Bummer Jan, sorry to hear you'll be dry for a while. I hope your recovery is speedy!

[Furnari]

Sorry to hear that, Jan. Hopefully you'll be back in the water soon...

[LCF]

Recovery from hernia surgery is a lot faster nowadays than it was back when I trained. You'll be back in the water in no time, and in the meantime, thanks for the science lesson!

[oldsalt]

Jan: I have had three hernia surgeries (all different, no re-injuries) in recent years. The hardest part for me was the lying around to heal. I bet you have a lot of journals and photos you can review and organize. Good luck, I am pulling for you.
-Curt