Freeland Town Park

Quadrat work Quadrat work

Freeland Park Team Photo 2010 Freeland Park Team Photo 2010

Chaco Chaco

Bald eagles Bald eagles

..Mopalia lignosa.. Woody chiton Mopalia lignosa Mopalia lignosa

Profiling the beach Profiling the beach

Michele Johnson brought together a team of eight Beach Watchers and one fluffy little dog named Chaco to monitor Freeland Town Park on May 18th. Team members were delighted to find two mature bald eagles perched on pilings along the pier as they arrived at the site. This beach has a quite a lot of barnacle coated cobble higher up along the profile line, then areas of hard clay and large boulders in the middle intertidal, and soft mud in the lower intertidal zone leading to an interesting mix of organisms. Among the day's finds were flatworms, woody chitons (Mopalia lignosa), barnacle eating nudibranchs (Onchidoris bilamellata), ghost shrimp, hermit crabs, and six species of clams with bivalve sampling digs bringing up many non-native purple varnish clams (Nuttallia obscurata).

..Pagurus hirsutiusculus.. Hairy hermit crab Hermit crab Hermit crab

..Nucella lamellosa.. Frilled dogwinkle Nucella lamellosa Nucella lamellosa

Mussel with drill hole Mussel with drill hole

Frilled dogwinkles (Nucella lamellosa) were abundant and several empty mussel shells had drill marks, evidence that they had become victims of that predatory snail species. It was unusual this year that no moon snails or moon snail egg cases were found. A polychaete nearly a foot long came up when a team member dug into the soft muddy substrate at the -1 foot level. The worm was identified as belonging to the family Nephtyidae and was quite an impressive critter!

Cama Beach State Park

For 2010 the Camano BW gathered data to produce the charts shown at the bottom of this website page. Take a look at what collected data says about our species on our shorelines. Then enjoy the pictures below from this year's monitoring.

Cama Beach intertidal monitoring occurred May 17, 2010
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Double Bluff/Wahl Farm

Looking for organisms Looking for organisms

Double Bluff Wahl Farm team 2010 Double Bluff Wahl Farm team 2010

Checking out quadrat Checking out quadrat

..Nereocystis leutkeana.. Bull kelp Bull kelp Bull kelp

..Anthopleura artemisia.. Moonglow anemone Anthopleura artemisia Anthopleura artemisia

..Mazzaella splendens.. Iridescent seaweed Iridescent seaweed Iridescent seaweed

Double Bluff /Wahl Farm is one of the richest and most diverse beaches on Whidbey Island's annual monitoring schedule. Team captain Kathy Fritts gathered a team of seven to conduct its yearly examination on May 17th . With the tide falling to -2.7 feet, the team was rewarded with some fascinating organisms including 5 species of anemones, 5 species of barnacles, and 3 species of sea stars. Quite a variety of kelps and other seaweeds were also documented including bull kelp, iridescent seaweed (Mazzaella splendens), Sargassum muticum (wireweed), and Ralfsia (sea fungus).

..Cucumaria miniata.. Red sea cucumber Cucumaria miniata Cucumaria miniata

..Zirfaea pilsbryi.. Rough piddock Rough piddock Rough piddock

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

Tanker Tanker

When asked about highlights, team members picked the opalescent nudibranchs, red sea cucumbers, brittle stars, and numerous rough piddocks that were bored into the hard clay substrate. Massive tankers and container ships passed by as the team worked and a young bald eagle watched from the top of a tree snag on a nearby bluff. What a fun day!

Maxwelton Tidepools

..Modiolus modiolus.. Northern horsemussel Northern horsemussel Northern horsemussel

..Mytilus californianus.. California mussel California mussel California mussel

..Cucumaria miniata.. Red sea cucumber Red sea cucumber Red sea cucumber

..Sabellid tubeworms.. Sabellid tubeworm tubes Sabellid tubeworm tubes

Maxwelton Tidepool team photo 2010 Maxwelton Tidepool team photo 2010

Bivalve dig Bivalve dig

Maxwelton team profiling Maxwelton team profiling

Team captain Tillie Scruton assembled a team of six to look at the Maxwelton Tidepools on May 16th . Whoever Tillie put in charge of weather did a great job as it was a beautiful day. This beach has a short stretch of cobble followed by a substrate composed mostly of sand along the profile line. A massive erratic is set in the sand about 200 feet from the start point and it is loaded with life. This year its inhabitants included red sea cucumbers (Cucumaria mineata), sabellid tubeworms, and surprisingly, northern horsemussels (Modiolus modiolus), a species rarely encountered on Whidbey Island. Another unusual find on the big rock was that of a large California mussel. Several kelp crabs (Pugettia productus) had taken refuge along the base of the erratic and it also served as an attachment point for a dozen strands of bull kelp.

Pratt's Bluff

..Metridium sp... White plumed anemone Metridium sp. Metridium sp.

..Phoca vitulina.. Harbor seal Harbor seal Harbor seal

..Castilleja sp... Paintbrush Paintbrush Paintbrush

Team photo Pratt's Bluff 2010 Team photo Pratt's Bluff 2010

Finn Gatewood led a team of nine at Pratt's Bluff on May 16th. After a long hike down the beach under beautiful blue skies the team went to work finding flatworms, barnacle eating nudibranchs with egg masses, and a large white plumed anemone (Metridium sp.). In addition to the intertidal invertebrates, they also spotted three great blue herons, a bald eagle, two harbor seals that had hauled out nearby for an afternoon of sunning, and paintbrush blooming along the bluff.

Ala Spit

Charlie gives an explanation Charlie gives an explanation

Taking a profile reading Taking a profile reading

Ala Spit team photo 2010 Ala Spit team photo 2010

..Evasterias troschelii.. Mottled sea star 3-rayed seastar 3-rayed seastar

..Haliplanella lineata.. Striped anemone Haliplanella lineata Haliplanella lineata

..Zostera marina.. Eelgrass Eelgrass Eelgrass

..Abarenicola pacifica.. Lugworm Lugworm fecal spiral Lugworm fecal spiral

Sammye Kempbell's Ala Spit team hit the beach on May 14th when the tide fell back to -2.3 feet. Half of the team was made up of brand new Beach Watchers from the class of 2010 working on their very first monitoring project. They were eager to learn and bursting with enthusiasm. Highlights for the day included digging up a lugworm after finding a hole in the sand marked with the characteristic "cake decorator" fecal spiral, the discovery of a crescent gunnel that had taken refuge under an empty clam shell, and a mottled sea star (Evasterias troschelli) with only three full rays and 2 buds that marked the emergence of replacements for the two that were missing. A polychaete from the family Glyceridae entertained the team everting its massive proboscis and one of the new folks surprised even herself with the utterance that "Worms are fun!" The tiny anemone Haliplanella lineata was also found as were pickleweed and the native eelgrass, Zostera marina. A Skagit County Beach Watcher came by and said hello as he hiked along the spit working on his COAST bird survey. It was a fun day of sunshine and discovery!

Crescent Harbor

Crescent Harbor monitoring team photo 2010 Crescent Harbor monitoring team photo 2010

Young bald eagle at Crescent Harbor Young bald eagle at Crescent Harbor

Jim records data Jim records data

..Evasterias troschelii.. Mottled sea star Evasterias troschelii Evasterias troschelii

..Onchidoris bilamellata.. Barnacle eating nudibranch Onchidoris with eggs Onchidoris with eggs

..Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis.. Green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

The tide level fell to -2 feet on May 1st as a small but dedicated veteran team checked out Crescent Harbor. Three Beach Watchers took part and one high school student was recruited to help as he hiked along the beach near the start point. More than 50 species were identified including opalescent, barnacle eating (Onchidoris bilamellata), and shaggy mouse nudibranchs, mottled sea stars (Evasterias troschelli), and green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis). The high school student quickly caught on to the profiling procedure and appeared surprised by the diversity of the beach. A bald eagle kept a stern eye on the proceedings while perched in a tree on a nearby bluff while two Canada geese and a great blue heron did flybys.