Tag Archives: aquatic

Sea Lions Off Fort Casey

I was strolling along the ridge above the beach at Fort Casey when a group of people ahead of me called out to each other about some sea lions off the shore.  Sure enough, there they were when I got to the edge and I could see three of them swimming around.  Looked like a male and two females from a distance.  I was heading down to the beach anyway so wondered if they would still be around when I got down there.

It turned out that they were not moving too far, and they were close to the shore as I walked by.  The sun was almost directly behind them, so it wasn’t an ideal time to be watching the wildlife, but I sometimes found myself offset enough to get a glimpse of them.  Of course, when you are close to sea level, your ability to track them and get good shots is a bit limited but still worth a go.

Crabs Hunting in the Rocks at Edmonds

Nancy and I were walking along the shore in Edmonds and decided to stroll out on the fishing pier.  This follows the line of the breakwater for the marina and the large rocks that the breakwater is constructed from make for a good habitat for wildlife.  We saw a starfish on one area but, since they don’t move too quickly, it was not much fun to watch.  However, there were a couple of crabs lurking down there.  One was just hanging in its little space waiting for something to come its way.  Another was a lot more active and was making good progress across the rocks.  I got a bunch of still shots but also played with a little video as you can see below.

Fishes In The Test

The River Test runs through the grounds of Mottisfont and there is a diverted section of it that runs through a very unnaturally straight section of river near the house.  As we walked along the path by this section, we saw a couple of fish in the water.  As we moved on, we realized that there were loads of them.  To my untrained eye, they looked like they might be trout but I am not an angler or any sort of sim expert.  I got some photos of them but video seemed like the best bet so I had a good at that too.  Can you identify them?

Salmon Climbing The Ladder

The salmon that come through the locks in Ballard come in three waves according to the park rangers.  There are three types of salmon and each type comes at a slightly different time of year.  (I’m sure the sales like this so they get three feeding times!). Within the fish ladder, they have a viewing gallery which allows you to see the fish as they loiter for a while before surging up the next step in the ladder against the flowing water.

It is quite impressive to see how fast they can go when they make an effort.  They swim gently against the current in the viewing area waiting for a time that seems appropriate to them.  Then they align themselves with the inlet port through which the water is rushing.  This needs a dose of acceleration to avoid being pushed back into the gallery and then, once they are stabilized, a surge of effort and they zip up the port.  Photos don’t do it much justice but video is a better medium.  The reflections off the glass are not ideal but you will get the idea.

A Tree Trunk Supporting Sea Life

The Pacific Northwest shorelines are strewn with tree trunk.  Whether they have been washed in to the see or are strays from the logging business, doesn’t matter.  There are tons of them everywhere.  This one was on Cannon Beach.  I have no idea where it originally came from but it had washed up here at some point and got quite established in the sand.  The surface of the wood had become the home of a multitude of sea creatures.  It was festooned with them.  I wonder how much they depend on it staying there or, if it gets washed out again in the next storm, they would be in trouble.

Baby Catfish En Masse

I am no specialist on fish (or any other wildlife for that matter) so, if I have got this wrong, please feel free to correct me in the comments.  I was down at Juanita Bay seeing what wildlife was out an about.  I was on one of the boardwalks and looking in to the water to see if there was anything in there.  I saw a black mass seeming to pulse and move.  I was confused as to what it might be but the long lens gave me a clearer view of things.  It was a massive amount of baby fish.

My previous disclaimer comes in to effect here.  I think they were catfish based on the shape of the mouth and the barbs but that could be totally wrong.  Let’s assume for now that they were.  There was hundreds of them, if not thousands.  They were moving around furiously but staying closely packed together for safety.  The group would gradually move around and migrate through the plant life.  Occasionally, a group would split off into a second section and then later they would somehow find each other again and regroup.  They looked almost alien as they swirled and moved.  I did take stills, as you can clearly see, but video seemed like the better way to convey the impression that they left.

Leaping Fish

If you stand by Juanita Bay for a few minutes, you will see fish leaping out of the water periodically.  The carp are spawning and they leap out all the time.  Getting a shot of a leaping fish seems like it would be almost impossible since you couldn’t know where they would be leaping next and getting lined up would not be possible in the tiny instant that they are out of the water even if you did see them immediately.  However, there is some hope.

For some reason, the fish will often leap twice in roughly the same place.  However, they only seem to do it when you are not training your camera on the spot where they last came out.  I will watch with the camera down and see them jump again and again.  Bring the camera up and they don’t play ball – normally.  However, I did get lucky on one occasion.  I got a second leap as I pointed the camera at the location of the previous ripples.

I had an even better chance on a later date.  I was staring down into the water and could see the shape of a carp as it swam just below the surface.  I didn’t know whether it would be possible to get a clear shot of it in the water but started tracking it anyway.  Then it turned and came out of the water right below me.  I couldn’t have been better placed to get the shot.  I’ll take a good dose of luck any time.

Sea Lion Boys On Tour

This winter, the area around Shilshole Bay in Seattle has had some new residents.  It is not unusual for sea lions to be in the area at this time of year but this year they have taken to hanging out on the floating docks around the bay.  One favorite spot for them is the barrier alongside Ray’s Boathouse.  This barrier has a flat top to it but is based on cylindrical tanks.  Consequently, while a bunch of sea lions might be on top of it, another one climbing on or one jumping off can cause the whole thing to rotate and, if they are not careful, they can get dumped in the water.

A lot of people have been coming down to watch them hanging out.  A bunch will be on the floats, some asleep and others barking at each other or the sea lions trying to get on.  More can be seen swimming around in the surrounding area.  It was fun to watch them for a while but it was pretty chilly the day we were there so we didn’t hang around for too long!

What Is Farmed Here?

Eastsound is the main town on Orcas Island.  As you head out of the town center towards the eastern side of the island, you go along the shoreline of a wide bay.  The tide was out as we drove over that way and there were some frames set in to a section of the beach.  Clearly this is an area which would be submerged at high tide so I assume it is used to farm something.  Shellfish of some sort were what I assumed but I don’t know for sure.  If anyone has any suggestions as to what they might be, please let me know in the comments.

Surfers At Waikiki Beach

The title is not intended to catch you out, but it probably will.  These photos are in Washington rather than Hawaii.  Cape Disappointment has a small beach tucked under the cliffs and it goes by the name of Waikiki.  At the tail end of my trip there, I saw that a group of surfers had gone in to the water and were making the best of the waves which, since they were a lot smaller than what I would have hoped for, we probably ideal for them.

Not being a surfer, I am not a good judge of what the right techniques are when surfing but, even so, you can usually quickly work out who has got a better feel for the waves and who hasn’t.  Picking the right one to go for and getting up to speed to make it on to the wave seems to be a bigger deal than staying up for some of the people.  As I say, I’m not a surfer so this is all uninformed commentary.

Two things are of interest when photographing surfers.  Having them coming in your direction so you can see their face while they are carving across the wave or watching them wipe out in style.  The latter is probably not what they want me to be focused on but you take what you can get when shooting this stuff!