Old Clinton Beach

Old Clinton Beach team photo 2010 Old Clinton Beach team photo 2010

Checking salinity Checking salinity

Profile reading Profile reading

..Chthamalus dalli.. Little brown barnacle Chthamalus dalli Chthamalus dalli

Recording data Recording data

..Littorina scutulata.. Checkered periwinkle Checkered periwinkle Checkered periwinkle

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

..Phyllaplysia taylori.. Eelgrass sea slug/Taylor's sea hare Eelgrass sea slug Eelgrass sea slug

It was an enthusiastic team of five that closed out Whidbey Island's 2010 monitoring season at Old Clinton Beach on August 10th with Virginia Allen at the helm. A thick layer of eelgrass blanketed the lower intertidal and the gung ho monitors carefully sorted through it in search of the small organisms that call this rich habitat home. They were rewarded with the discovery of three species of sea slugs (Phyllaplysia taylori-eelgrass sea slug, Hermissenda crassicornis-opalescent nudibranch, and Onchidoris bilamellata-barnacle eating nudibranch). They also saw quite a few eelgrass limpets (Lottia parallela) and at upper levels of the intertidal zone there were large numbers of little brown barnacles (Chthamalus dalli). With the tide dropping below the -2 foot level, the profile line at this beach extended 410 feet to the water’s edge. This beach is just down from Clinton's ferry landing so the team enjoyed watching the big boats coming and going as they worked. Topping it all off were flybys by pairs of great blue herons, bald eagles, and belted kingfishers.

Ledgewood Beach

Profiling Profiling

Ledgewood Beach Team Photo 2010 Ledgewood Beach Team Photo 2010

Species consultation Species consultation

..Gobiesox meandricus.. Northern clingfish Gobiesox Gobiesox

..Pisaster ochraceus.. Purple sea star Pisaster ochraceus Pisaster ochraceus

..Amphipholis sp... Dwarf brittle star Amphipholis sp. Amphipholis sp.

Six Beach Watchers and one neighborhood resident showed up to check out the beach at Ledgewood on the nifty singular date that can be written out as 8/9/10. Three species of seastars were found (mottled, sunflower, and purple) and one species of brittle star (Amphiphois sp.). This was the first time several of the team members had seen a live brittle star so they were quite thrilled by that discovery. A close look at the mottled seastar (Evasterias troschelli) revealed that it packed along a commensal scaleworm. The team also encountered hundreds of tiny Lacuna snails. While Lacuna snails are generally less than a cm. tall, a vast majority of those found at Ledgewood were so small as to be barely discernable as snails. Each of the six quadrats at the +1 foot and 0 tide levels had almost 100% coverage by Ulva sp. To top off the morning, two great blue herons flew past the profile area and loon call was heard.

Possession Point

..Upogebia pugettensis.. Blue Mud Shrimp Upogebia Upogebia

Possession Point Team Photo 2010 Possession Point Team Photo 2010

..Melibe leonina.. Lion nudibranch Melibe leonina Melibe leonina

Three dedicated Beach Watchers took on Possesion Point on August 9th with Kathy Fritz heading up the team. Kathy reports that the beach had a lush growth of eelgrass and they made some interesting finds including Melibe, the lion nudibranch. This is a strange gelatenous looking organism that makes its home in kelp and eelgrass where it employs a hoodlike apparatus to capture amphipods and other small organisms, the hood functioning somewhat like a Venus flytrap. Another great find was that of a mud shrimp. Team members were rather startled when one of them was dive bombed by a sea gull that dropped a large butter clam on her!