What
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)Observer
wendy5Description
I rarely see Ring-billed Gulls, so it was a surprise to spot one in this park.
Photos / Sounds
What
Olympic Gull (Larus glaucescens × occidentalis)Observer
wendy5Description
An immature Olympic Gull attempted to swallow a large flat fish, maybe a Starry Flounder?
Photos / Sounds
What
Starry Flounder (Platichthys stellatus)Observer
wendy5Description
An immature Olympic Gull attempted to swallow a large flat fish, maybe a Starry Flounder?
Photos / Sounds
What
Great Sculpin (Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus)Observer
wendy5Description
The head of a very large Leptocottus armatus (Staghorn Sculpin) washed ashore. It's one of two fish heads I found on the beach that day.
Photos / Sounds
Observer
wendy5Description
An empty shell of a Calyptraea fastigiata (Cup-and-Saucer Snail), only the second one I've ever found.
What
Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora)Observer
wendy5Description
Collinsia parviflora (Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary), one of the first signs of spring at Ft. Worden.
What
Mottled Star (Evasterias troschelii)Observer
wendy5Description
It's unusual to find an Evasterias troschelii (Mottled Star). This large, healthy star was washed ashore. I helped toss it gently into the sea to avoid having gulls eat it.
Photos / Sounds
What
Ornate Tubeworm (Diopatra ornata)Observer
wendy5Description
Dozens of Diopatra ornata (Ornate Tubeworm) washed up on the beach, and others still lived in the low intertidal. Photos are of six or seven individuals, including one quite dried out. I don't remember ever seeing them along this stretch of the beach, though they have been along Kinzie Beach (and lots at Cape George).
Photos / Sounds
What
Pale Springbeauty (Claytonia exigua)Observer
wendy5Description
I think these tiny white flowers blooming on the dunes may be a Claytonia species?
Photos / Sounds
What
Mining Bees (Genus Andrena)Observer
wendy5Description
A sole, dark bee, lay on the dunes, then flew off. A few flowers are now blooming in the dunes. A Mining Bee?
What
Green Falsejingle (Pododesmus macrochisma)Observer
wendy5Description
Half of a Pododesmus macrochisma (Green false-jingle) washed up on the beach.
Photos / Sounds
What
Copper Rockfish (Sebastes caurinus)Observer
wendy5Description
A large fish head (one of two large heads I found today-- from people cleaning their catch and tossing the heads overboard?
Photos / Sounds
What
Stalked Kelp (Pterygophora californica)Observer
wendy5Description
Pterygophora californica (Old Growth Kelp) with a twisted stipe. Lots were washed ashore, high on the beach.
Photos / Sounds
What
Northwest Ugly Clam (Entodesma navicula)Observer
wendy5Description
I think this is an Entodesma navicula (Northwest Ugly Clam), only the second one I've ever found.
Photos / Sounds
What
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)Observer
wendy5Description
A cheeky Golden-crowned Kinglet joined a mixed flock in a Doug Fir.
Photos / Sounds
What
Olympic Gull (Larus glaucescens × occidentalis)Observer
wendy5Description
An Olympic Gull is eating a live juvenile Dungeness Crab.
What
Townsend's Warbler (Setophaga townsendi)Observer
wendy5Description
The first Townsend's Warbler I've seen this year.
What
Rockweed Isopod (Pentidotea wosnesenskii)Observer
wendy5Description
I turned over a rock during the low tide and found dozens of Idotea wosnesenskii (Rockweed Isopod).
Photos / Sounds
What
Striped Dogwinkle (Nucella ostrina)Observer
wendy5Description
Lots of Nucella ostrina (Northern Striped Dogwinkle) gathered during the low tide. I was surprised as I've never seen so many in one place before. The Frilled Dogwinkle is much more common on local beaches.
Photos / Sounds
What
Genus ArgopectenObserver
wendy5Description
This Cockle looks different from the familiar Nuttall's Cockle.
Photos / Sounds
What
Dungeness Crab (Metacarcinus magister)Observer
wendy5Description
A live juvenile Dungeness Crab is being eaten by an Olympic Gull.
Photos / Sounds
What
Feral Pigeon (Columba livia var. domestica)Observer
wendy5Description
A Rock Pigeon enjoyed a rain puddle.
What
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)Observer
wendy5Description
An adult Surf Scoter swam and dived with a younger male Surf Scoter near the pier.
Photos / Sounds
What
Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba)Observer
wendy5Description
About 20 Pigeon Guillemots swam and dived near the pier, with many chattering and some chasing each other dramatically! A few were not in breeding plumage-- too young?
Photos / Sounds
What
Dungeness Crab (Metacarcinus magister)Observer
wendy5Description
Pieces of a Metacarcinus magister (Dungeness Crab) that had been torn apart. No smell, so maybe a molt, or maybe eaten by birds before separating the legs.
What
Mossy Chiton (Mopalia muscosa)Observer
wendy5Description
A Mopalia muscosa (Mossy Chiton) found the way I often see them, hollowed out and eaten, maybe by a gull, oystercatcher, or crow.
Photos / Sounds
What
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)Observer
wendy5Description
Two Western Meadowlarks were foraging near a pair of Killdeer, then flew off separately. This is one seated on a yellow bush lupine.
What
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)Observer
wendy5Description
Only three Red-breasted Mergansers were bobbing and diving in the rough sea.
Photos / Sounds
What
Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus)Observer
wendy5Description
About 35 Short-billed Gulls were flying low over the waves and pecking at the sand as the waves churned up bits of food, maybe tiny invertebrates. This is the first time I've noticed a red orbital ring around the eye.