Whidbey Island Critters

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 5:47 pm

Tom Nic wrote:
Jan K wrote:Not enough to keep urchins in check ...
Perhaps some urchin crunching wolfies will help? I've seen more than usual this Fall.

We might first to teach the Lingcod population at the Jetty not to eat them

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 10:05 pm

Oops. The Ling's would complicate things now, wouldn't they....

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 8:28 am

Watching the sea stars slowly returning and no new cases of wasting which is a good news.
I am seeing Sunflower star recruits at Langley and Holmes Harbor now, but many of them
have few of their arms much shorter. I wonder if the grow up same way, or the "shorties" catch up ...

Tidepool Geek · Post by **Tidepool Geek** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:44 am

[quote="Jan K"]Watching the sea stars slowly returning and no new cases of wasting which is a good news.
I am seeing Sunflower star recruits at Langley and Holmes Harbor now, but many of them
have few of their arms much shorter. I wonder if the grow up same way, or the "shorties" catch up ...

Hi Jan,

The shorties definitely catch up! While the Feiro Center has never had any sunflowers as small as the ones your photos show I'm not sure I've ever seen one under a foot in diameter that didn't have at least one new arm coming in. Larger ones are also often growing new arms but they seem to hit a plateau at about 22 or 23 arms. FWIW: We don't have the space to keep a sunflower that's much bigger than 18 inches in diameter.

Several years ago we were brought a sunflower that had had all but two of its arms hacked off (I'm guessing a p*ssed of crabber). When we got him he had two proportional arms and about 18 stubs; in about 2 years he was sporting 22 proportional arms. The new arms were equal in length to the originals but about three shades lighter in color, which made for an entertaining talking point. During the third year new arms darkened to match the originals and we lost our talking point. He was outgrowing the tank by then and we released him about three and a half years after he came to us.

Shortly yours,
Alex

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 7:01 am

114 years old study shows that short arms are OK when you are juvenile.
"You will grow out of" it says mama Pycnopodia

dwashbur · Post by **dwashbur** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 8:17 am

So, just like humans, they go through a gawky stage when they're young?

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 6:56 pm

It has been a while since I found GPO out in the open.
Not much action, just hanging out at the Keystone Piling...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 8:46 am

Scubie Doo · Post by **Scubie Doo** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 9:30 am

Awesome Octo Pics!!!!

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:39 am

Thank you Jesse,
And on other front, it is egg time at Keystone...

dphershman · Post by **dphershman** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:26 pm

its neat that your setup allows you to do both macro and wider angle shots without changing lenses. I take it that's with the Olympus OM?

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:32 pm

dphershman wrote:its neat that your setup allows you to do both macro and wider angle shots without changing lenses. I take it that's with the Olympus OM?

Yes, OLympus OM-D 12 -50mm zoom lens.
The price of that flexibility - not as sharp as fixed focal length lens provides.

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:37 pm

Crazy that they would lay their eggs that shallow!?

I wonder if it is "normal" behavior?

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:44 pm

Tom Nic wrote:Crazy that they would lay their eggs that shallow!?

I wonder if it is "normal" behavior?

It is not normal. And there was not male Ling guarding it. Which suggests that it was a mistake
by the female which laid the eggs there.

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:32 am

Hermit crabs flipping houses ...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:46 am

Housing shortage at Driftwood Park. Wolf-eel condominiums...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 6:49 am

Swimming out to deeper water in three foot visibility and I run into this.
Rather spooky to have a scull appear from the murky waters. And this is
the fourth dead seal I run across in last three years here. All within one
hundred feet radius.

carlk3 · Post by **carlk3** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 9:54 am

Creepy

LCF · Post by **LCF** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 10:02 am

Going back a few posts . . . with the squid eggs, there is a substance in the casing which is toxic. I remember watching a video where somebody chewed on one, and their whole mouth went numb and slack.

The photos of the greenling eggs, where you can see the baby fish curled up, with the eye and the tail and the spots, are unbelievable. I'm so glad we have you, Jan, to spot the things we don't, and more than that, to record them so we can gaze with wonder at them.

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 1:59 pm

carlk3 wrote:Creepy

Quite the set of choppers on those cute little guys....

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 8:25 am

Leaving the morbid in the shallows, clay walls of the Possession Fingers offer more cheerful photo opportunities.

carlk3 · Post by **carlk3** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 10:53 am

Jan,

I loved the article about you and with your photos in Pacific Northwest Diver.
(Free on-line at http://pnwups.com/images/Archive/01.2015%20PNWDiver.pdf)

- Carl

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 11:59 am

Thanks Carl,

Here is sea star I don't encounter that often ...

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 8:45 am

Not the usual sea lemon color.
Beware, eating old tires will affect your tan

JohnNielsen · Post by **JohnNielsen** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:32 am

Love your pics Jan. Learning alot from your posts!

Northwest Dive Club

Whidbey Island Critters

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