Madrona Beach - June 24, 2009

Madrona B. Team Madrona B. Team

Heart Cockle Heart Cockle

Typical rock wt. critters Typical rock wt. critters

Large chiton Large chiton

Nudibranch & seastar Nudibranch & seastar

Two seastars Two seastars

On the morning of June 24, eleven hearty Beach Watchers braved the rain and strong winds to conduct the Madrona Beach monitoring where a -3.6 tide was expected at 12:35 PM. The crew included Jack P, Judi M., Dave B, Linda B, Shirley C, Alex K, Beth H, Bill B, Pat B, Pete D., and Mike F. captain. Among the most interesting critters found near the low tide line were a large cockle (Clinocardium nutiallii), large groupings of nudibranchs (Onchidoris bilamellata) and their eggs, one rock of which was being shared by a seastar, a quite large Mossy chiton (Mopalia muscosa) and, under one rock, several small seastars (Pisaster ochracaus) that seemed to have ended their dueling with a handshake. There seemed to be a vast amount of nudibranchs among the seaweed covered rocks, more than we remembered from previous years.

quadrat inspections quadrat inspections

Team searchers Team searchers

Pete doing H2O quality tests Pete doing H2O quality tests

The quadrats were lean this year, predominately filled with green seaweed, but few critters out at the depth they were laid and one quadrat was sitting over a flowing stream of water revealing little. But in general, the beach proved to be healthy and teaming with Salish Sea shore life. Pete D., monitoring leader for Camano Is, took the opportunity to take water quality samples from Madrona Beach to be tested in lab. This beach is done by Pete on a regular basis.

As the team neared completion a light rain began and the group were glad to be done. Members retired to Mike F. home for snacks and talks. Thanks to Mike for hosting and for all who came.
Pictures provided by B. Blandin and J. McDougall.

Elger Bay - June 22, 2009

Elger Bay monitor team Elger Bay monitor team

Young helper Anna Young helper Anna

Quadrat inspection Quadrat inspection

A dedicated crew of 13 Camano Beach Watchers plus 3 guests enjoyed a morning on the beach during the Elger Bay monitoring of June 22. The weather was a bit overcast which kept things cool, but we were not sprinkled with rain. Tina Dinzl-Pederson, Interpretive Specialist of Cama Beach State Park, joined the Beach Watchers for the bio-survey and we enlisted her help recording data on a clipboard. Pat F. brought along her granddaughter, Anna. Bill B. was a champion with the survey lines and laying out the quadrats for us.

mussel & chiton mussel & chiton

seastar & crab seastar & crab

sea urchin sea urchin

creosote log removal creosote log removal

Near the end of the monitoring an adult bald eagle did a fairly close and low fly-by out over the water. In the nearby estuary to the east, the Department of Natural Resources were conducting creosote log removal by helicopter.

Semibalanus cariousus Semibalanus cariousus

Large limpets & barnacles Large limpets & barnacles

Many species on rock Many species on rock

A photo taken by John C. showed a barnacle species that had not been identified at Elger Bay in previous survey sessions. Mary Jo Adams, our Whidbey focal, reviewed the photo and believes the rock had three species on it-- the two common Balanus sp. and a few Semibalanus cariousus.

Pacific oyster Pacific oyster

Pete D. provided a bit of detail from the session: ''We saw a diverse representation of healthy beach flora and fauna. Among many species, we saw a 'surprise' Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas).'' This lone find was 4 inches long and was covered with barnacles.

Thanks to Alice B., beach captain, for this report and B. Blandin, J. Custer, and J. McDougall for the photos.

South Lagoon Point-June 22, 2009

Looking for organisms Looking for organisms

Team photo South Lagoon Point 2009 Team photo South Lagoon Point 2009

..Charadrius vociferus.. Killdeer Killdeer Killdeer

..Paranemertes peregrina.. Purple ribbon worm Paranemertes ingesting polychaete Paranemertes ingesting polychaete

..Anthopleura elegantissima.. Aggregating anemone Anthopleura elegantissima splitting Anthopleura elegantissima splitting

..Hermissenda crassicornis.. Opalescent nudibranch Hermissenda crassicornis Hermissenda crassicornis

..Onchidella borealis.. Leather limpet Onchidella borealis Onchidella borealis

The tide dropped to the -3.8 foot level on June 22nd and Libby Haywood had the South Lagoon Point team hard at work seeking out data for that beach. And they found a lot! This team identified more than 80 species. Highlights for the day included the discovery of an

..Anthopleura elegantissima..
Aggregating anemone

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aggregating anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima)

aggregating anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima) in the process of splitting in two, watching a

..Paranemertes peregrina..
Purple ribbon worm

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purple ribbon worm ingesting a polychaete

purple ribbon worm ingesting a polychaete, and finding a live Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) adhering to a boulder in the low intertidal zone. They also spied

..Onchidella borealis..
Leather limpet

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leather limpets (Onchidella borealis)

leather limpets (Onchidella borealis) and an

..Hermissenda crassicornis..
Opalescent nudibranch

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opalescent nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis)

opalescent nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis). Pigeon guillemots were bobbing in the water just beyond the low tideline while a

..Charadrius vociferus..
Killdeer

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killdeer

killdeer kept a wary eye on the group. To top it all off, red paintbrush was spotted growing high on the bluff above the beach.

Pebble Beach - June 9, 2009

Shore crab with clam Shore crab with clam

Pete verifying critter Pete verifying critter

Cobbled shoreline Cobbled shoreline

A great day for doing intertidal bio-monitoring! Sunny, beautiful and a low tide of -1.7 at 12:33 PM, Beach Watchers arrived at 10:30 AM near the south end of Camano Is to one of our more unique settings, hosted by Derek W. This beach monitoring line begins immediately at the base of a high bluff area with several homes tucked in to its edge. The line going out marches through dense cobbles, to sands and cobbles, and finally to just sand. At the shore edge there is a lot of green seaweed, but this year, not very many of the expected low intertidal species. Getting to the low shore, one goes through areas of active clams, many crabs, large numbers of limpets and snails, and lines of seaweeds and mussels all intertwined.
This year, there were fewer species found among the rocks, but the barnacles were dense in some areas. And many periwinkles were found in apparent colonies of new, tiny ones; these included the Littorina scutulata and the Littorina sitkana. In 2008 we saw many sea stars, but this year we found only a few small ones and only in the last few sections we found many anemones but almost all were closed up and thus un-identifiable. A total of 32 species were found; the numbers of Barnacle-eating nudibranch (Onchidoris bilamellata) were many and their eggs coated huge areas.

Recent slide Recent slide

End of the line End of the line

Onchidoris bilamellata Onchidoris bilamellata

Onchidoris eggs Onchidoris eggs

Nudibranchs & eggs Nudibranchs & eggs

A recent hill slide occurred here and it is interesting to ponder its impact on this area. Located just north of our start line, its rock and soils should have drifted northward, away from the monitoring line. Pictures were taken to record these changes. Afterwards the group gathered at the picnic table of our host to relax and enjoy their gardens which thrive at sea level. Thanks to all who came for the monitoring and to our gracious hosts.

Pictures by J. Custer and J. McDougall and G. Pence; article by Judi

English Boom - June 8, 2009

Haliplanella Haliplanella

Lugworm 4 in long Lugworm 4 in long

Lugworm - another view Lugworm - another view

This beach on the south shore of Skagit Bay used to be characterized by boot-removing mud and a rapidly spreading Spartina meadow. Over the last few years the Spartina has largely disappeared (due to aggressive treatment by the State). The remaining Spartina hummocks have been colonized by beach arrowgrass and Fucus sp. The mud however remains. This beach is also home to a colony of purple martins, the largest swallow in North America, who use nest boxes attached to the old logging pilings.
Survey results were similar to last year in terms of species present along the profile and in the quadrats. This is not a beach where we find a lot of different species within the boundaries of the profile. This year 21 different plants and animals were identified which is up a few from last year. Although never abundant, there were no limpets found this year. We did find many small lined anemones, Haliplanella lineata.
The big discovery of the day was a lugworm, a polychaete, which Mary Jo has been trying for years to get a good picture of. (The English Boom lugworm will probably be appearing soon among the EZ ID photos on the Beach Watchers website for Island Co.)
One final note: No intertidal Spartina was seen this year in the area near the profile, but behind the storm berm there is a small lagoon in which a 2-3 year old clone of Spartina was discovered. It was removed.

BW Monitoring Group BW Monitoring Group

New species found New species found

And last but not least, John was happy to report that no BWs were lost to the killer mud this year and they didn't even break out the Muck-O-Lids. Thanks to John C. for this report and his excellent pictures. And Mary Jo Adams sent over a great one of the mentioned lugworm, as seen above. Note also that there was a new strange species found on this beach -- by the name of Bridger - also seen above!

Iverson Beach - June 6, 2009

Iverson upper beach Iverson upper beach

Iverson Lookout Iverson Lookout

Iverson monitoring team Iverson monitoring team

The intertidal bio-monitoring of Iverson Beach was held on a Saturday, June 6, 2009, in conjunction with The Wonders of Iverson program on Camano Island, a Beach Watcher event, so that interested folks who came to explore the estuary area at Iverson Beach could also join Beach Watchers and see what monitoring was all about. It was a beautiful, partly sunny day and 12 Beach Watchers participated.

Mussels abound Mussels abound

Seaweed and mud! Seaweed and mud!

purple varnish clam shell purple varnish clam shell

This beach is located on the most northerly shore of Port Susan Bay where there is little movement of water and the tide goes out a long way because of the gentle slope. From the starting point we went out 550 feet to a low tide of -1.7 ft. We did not find many new creatures; it is predominantly sand, but at about -0. we found a broad swath of land (50 feet deep and several hundred feet long) covered with small rock and loads of mussels, Mytilus trossulus. Beth H., captain of this beach, looked up the records for last year and green seaweed was noted in this area, but no mussels. We thought this was strange and will hope to look at it during the year. We also found one Purple varnish clam, Nuttallia obscurata, which is an invasive species and which although no longer alive worried our Beach Watcher monitoring leader, Pete D., since its presence indicates their possible arrival to this area. Thanks to captains Donna W. and Beth H. for hosting this beach and to Bill B. and Judi McD. for pictures.

Footprint Rock-May 28, 2009

Black oystercatcher

Footprint Rock team photo 2009

Dungeness crab

Haliclystus

Charlie Seablom’s team had beautiful sunshiny weather and a -2.4 tide when they made the long hike to Footprint Rock on the west side of Whidbey Island on May 28. The team was made up of five adult monitors with one sunbonnetted little one along to supervise. Melody Kuschnereit got a good look at a stalked jelly and Libby Hayward spotted a Dungeness crab (Cancer magister). Other highlights for the team included polychaete worms and a black oystercatcher.