We saw a bald eagle perched on a light pole at the Edmonds waterfront, near the ferry terminal. It took off, perhaps hunting for a few minutes, and then returned to the same spot.
Moon Snail egg casing and shell
Euspira lewisii
I found David Jamison's web site EXPLORE PUGET SOUND HABITATS AND MARINE LIFE to be extremely useful in figuring identifications.
www.pugetsoundsealife.com/puget_sound_sea_life/Moon_Snail...
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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I think this is Five-ribbed Kelp Costaria costata
I found David Jamison's web site EXPLORE PUGET SOUND HABITATS AND MARINE LIFE to be extremely useful in figuring identifications.
www.pugetsoundsealife.com/puget_sound_sea_life/Five-ribbe...
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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Yellow Lupine - not sure of the species, growing profusely in sandy soil at the edge of the beach.
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) hunting during low tide.
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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Glaucous-winged Gull
Larus glaucescens
www.pugetsoundsealife.com/puget_sound_sea_life/Glaucous-w...
I found David Jamison's web site EXPLORE PUGET SOUND HABITATS AND MARINE LIFE to be extremely useful in figuring identifications.
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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Painted Anemone
Urticina crassicornis
I found David Jamison's web site EXPLORE PUGET SOUND HABITATS AND MARINE LIFE to be extremely useful in figuring identifications.
www.pugetsoundsealife.com/puget_sound_sea_life/Painted_An...
Seen in profusion on the north side of the Edmonds ferry dock
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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Clam siphon ?
These necks emitted squirts of water that reached heights of 0.5 meters, they would slowly rise up and then squirt. They were observed growing under the Edmonds ferry dock, which seemed to be a rich area of marine life. I did not want to dig one up just to try for an ID.
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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Bay Mussel
Mytilus trossulus
growing on the pilings of the Edmonds Ferry Dock
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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Acorn Barnacle
Balanus glandula
I wonder if thise are smaller barnacles that are attached to the larger barnacle?
I found David Jamison's web site EXPLORE PUGET SOUND HABITATS AND MARINE LIFE to be extremely useful in figuring identifications.
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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Purple Sea Star
Pisaster ochraceus
These sea stars eat barnacles and mussels - which explains why we found them so prominently on the pilings of the Edmonds ferry dock.
www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/sea-stars...
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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Sunflower Star
Pycnopodia helianthoides
www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/sea-stars...
A nice beach walk with Mary Ellen while we had a -3.06 feet Low Tide
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Great Blue Heron, standing in the water of Puget Sound, between Brackett's Landing North and Meadowdale Park.
WAC 220-16-720: "'Brackett's Landing Shoreline Sanctuary Conservation Area' is defined as those bed lands and tidelands owned by the City of Edmonds at Brackett's Landing Shoreline Sanctuary, and the water column above these bed lands and tidelands including all of the area known as Edmonds Underwater Park." Effective since 1970.
Observed on the Campus of Shoreline Community College, just north of Seattle, Washington. This tree was about 20 meters tall. I estimate it was planted during the landscaping of the college, thus it is about 40-50 years old. It is out of it's natural range, however, Sequoia seem to do well in the Pacific Northwest.
Several Coast Redwoods at Ballard Locks
Young redwood, about 20 feet tall
Young redwood, about 20 feet tall
for context, see daily account #15. this was a large black crow that i caught sitting on what i think is a douglas fir tree outside my house. a number of them came out because we put some food (english muffin) outside, which attracted these crows and a few eastern gray squirrels. the crows would fly and sometimes hop over, grab some food- not before looking around suspicously, and then fly it away to consume it.
for context, please see daily account #15. this is an eastern gray squirrel eating some english muffin in my backyard. i saw a few climbing around plum trees and western red cedars in my yard before they came down to eat food. two of them grabbed food and ran away to eat it, and one stayed, undisturbed by me, nibbling away at her grains. they seem to be nearly as friendly in residential areas (at least near my house) as on campus, as i remember feeding them from my hands when i was growing up.
for context, see daily account #15. i have seen this plant in a number of places, and it has taken over the entire back portion of my yard, which we don't really tend to. there is some bamboo and plum trees back there, and one of the only low-growing plants there is this peculiar looking one, which i have definitely seen elsewhere but have no idea where to start identifying it. some inches up from the base there are darker, rhododendron-like leaves that fan out from a central point, and then the stem goes through the middle and shoots out these networks of little green umbrella-like leaves with tiny star-shaped flowers on each.
update: i found it in a book!
for context, see daily account #15. i know that this particular alyssum was planted, but i documented it because i have seen alyssum growing wild near sidewalks and even on sandier substrates near beaches and in other parts of the city. i know because i always pick some to smell it- it has a beautifully sweet fragrance, and i see it most often in white, purple, or some combination of the two. i learned that it is native to the mediterranean region, but has been naturalized everywhere else.
Worst visibility I have ever seen in edmonds. But there was a really good sized seastar clinging to the rocks at about 25ft
for context, see daily account #15. we have over ten species of rhododendrons in our house, but this one i identified as Rhododendron ponticum for its violet-purple flowers. i saw bumblebees going at them around 10 am this morning, as they were in full bloom and it was warming up to be a sunny day.
for context, see daily account #15. these violets were not currently blooming, but i see them take over patches of my parents' garden every year. the small purple flowers that come out exactly resemble the ones for Viola odorata. the leaves are shaded and heart-shaped, and they tend to take over areas that have shade and that are home to other weeds, such as stinky bob and dandelions.
for context, see daily account #15. i'm fairly certain this is a different species of horsetail from the more common Equisetum arvense (common horsetail) which has much narrow and more dense leafing. this horsetail had rather sparse, long leaves (do they have a different name than leaves?) that came out in opposite branching in groups of ten. the specimens i found growing under a rhododenron tree in my house were probably only 8-10" tall.
for context see daily account #15. we have numerous foxglove plants and just confirmed that we've never planted a single one. but they're so beautiful that you can't get rid of them all! they are usually found in bunches in different parts of the yard, growing anywhere from 2-6' long. they are currently flowering. i didn't see bees or any other pollinators in the flowers this morning, but it may have been too cold.
for context see Daily Account #15. i saw bumblebees pollinating rhododendron trees that were in full bloom. i don't know what kind of bees they are, so i looked up "bumblebees found in north america" and ventured to say it was Bombus rufocinctus based on the region it's found and the distinctive, thick orange band on its lower half. if you have any other suggestions, i'd be happy to know!
for context, see Daily Account #15. the buttercup this most closely resembled to me was the creeping buttercup, Ranunculus repens, although there are roughly 600 species in that genus. i saw these buttercups growing in numerous parts of the yard, usually in close proximity to other plants- either grasses or otherwise. these were packed in with some stinky bob and poppies.
