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.

North Hastie Lake-June 24, 2009

North Hastie Lake team photo 2009 North Hastie Lake team photo 2009

..Histrionicus histrionicus.. Harliquin duck Harlequin ducks Harlequin ducks

Team crossing pool Team crossing pool

..Gobiesox meandricus.. Clingfish Gobiesox meandricus Gobiesox meandricus

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

..Haliclystus sp... Stalked jelly Stalked jelly Stalked jelly

The North Hastie Lake team was not deterred by a little wind and rain on June 24th. Team captain Sue Howard put together a team of eleven and they stuck with it even after the skies opened up. With a -3.5 foot tide, the monitoring crew had a lot of beach to explore and they made some great finds. One exciting highlight was turning over a rock to discover a purple ribbon worm (Paranemertes peregrina) devouring a large polychaete. The team also encountered

..Caprellid amphipod..
Skeleton shrimp

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caprellid amphipods

caprellid amphipods, quite a number of stalked jellies, and a northern clingfish (Gobiesox maeandricus). The little clingfish is well named. Its pelvic fins have adapted to form a suction cup-like disk that helps it adhere to the rocks that it takes refuge under. Several color spattered harlequin ducks were spotted riding the swells just out from the beach as the team worked.

Maxwelton Tide Pools-June 23, 2009

Maxwelton Tidepool team along profile line Maxwelton Tidepool team along profile line

Team photo Maxwelton Tidepools 2009 Team photo Maxwelton Tidepools 2009

Maxwelton Tidepool team looks under chunk of peat Maxwelton Tidepool team looks under chunk of peat

Sand lance Sand lance

..Pycnopodia helianthoides.. Sunflower star Pycnapodia Pycnapodia

Maxwelton Tidepools beach was not monitored last year but Linda and Mac LaMay stepped up to serve as team captains there this year and did a terrific job in their new role. The weather cooperated with beautiful sunny skies and the tide fell to the -3.8 feet mark resulting in a profile line that stretched out over 800 feet. The team of seven encountered a massive chunk of peat and pried one side of it up to discover the mother lode of hermit crabs hiding beneath it along with several colorful gunnel eels. They also found a

..Pycnopodia helianthoides..
Sunflower star

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sunflower star (Pycnapodia helianthoides)

sunflower star (Pycnapodia helianthoides), a pygmy rock crab (Cancer oregonensis), and hundreds of sand lances (Ammodytes hexapterus) sand lances (Ammodytes hexapterus) that had emerged from their hiding places in the sand only to be faced with a dry beach and hordes of very hungry (and also very lucky) sea gulls. One additional highlight was the preformance of some spectacular aerobatics during a flyover by two juvenile bald eagles.

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 Hayward 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