{"id":6453,"date":"2017-12-19T18:27:10","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T02:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/larryeifert.com\/?page_id=6453"},"modified":"2025-03-23T09:38:22","modified_gmt":"2025-03-23T16:38:22","slug":"salish-sea-stories-48-north-magazine","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/larryeifert.com\/wordpress\/published-writings-and-art\/salish-sea-stories-48-north-magazine\/","title":{"rendered":"Salish Sea Stories 48 North magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For over a decade, I’ve written a monthly page for 48 North sailing magazine in Seattle and Port Townsend, WA.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most current published story was the top one. I made 113 of these sketchbook stories between this first one in 2012. (Menu for all of them is below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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And this ‘almost’ last one in late 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n

2022 – 04 Hermit Crab<\/a><\/h3>\"2022<\/a>
Hermit crabs are found on most beaches, tide pools and rocky shorelines of the Salish Sea \u2013 they\u2019re pretty much everywhere you visit with your boat. They\u2019re not hermits, but live nearby to a many others, sometimes a hundred of their own kind. Hermits crabs have some of the most interesting lives of any sea...<\/div><\/div>

2022 – 03 Pickleweed<\/a><\/h3>\"2022<\/a>
Most good anchorages in the Pacific Northwest are in shallow bays, and many are in front of barrier beaches with salt marshes filling in behind. Salt marshes are simply flat sheltered meadows where fresh and ocean water mix, creating a rich habitat where plants can tolerate a diluted saltwater environment. Most have now been filled...<\/div><\/div>

2022 – 02 Toredo Worm<\/a><\/h3>\"2022<\/a>
Why would you want to write about a worm, my editor once asked? As with all of nature, they\u2019re quite an interesting creature. Every temperate ocean has teredo worms, including the Salish Sea. They\u2019re not a shipworm, not even a worm, but an odd bivalve related to clams that has two shells wrapped around only...<\/div><\/div>

2022 – 01 Common Goldeneye<\/a><\/h3>\"2022<\/a>
Many birds seem to have names that really don\u2019t suit them. Some that come to mind, bald eagle (lots of feathers on that head), sapsucker (doesn\u2019t suck sap), oyster catchers (doesn\u2019t eat oysters) and killdeer (doesn\u2019t even come close to deer). Then, there\u2019s this perfectly named duck. Goldeneye! I see these birds all winter long,...<\/div><\/div>

2021-12 Needle Nose a Great Blue Heron<\/a><\/h3>\"2021-12<\/a>
A powerful bird! I had a chance to personally experience this when I attempted to rescue a great blue heron that had fallen out of a tree during a storm. It had an injured wing, and I tossed a blanket over its head for the trip to the wild animal hospital. Not so fast. In...<\/div><\/div>

2021-11 How Birds Keep Warm in Winter<\/a><\/h3>\"2021-11<\/a>
Baby, it\u2019s cold outside. But compared with some other places, the Arctic, Alaska - the Salish Sea has a fairly balmy winter. So balmy that many thousands of birds migrate here to spend winters in relative comfort. It\u2019s still cold, but birds have adapted and evolved to help them survive our winters. On average, a...<\/div><\/div>

2021 \u2013 10 American Golden Plover<\/a><\/h3>\"2021<\/a>
Last spring, I saw hundreds of American golden-plovers on the western wilderness beaches of Olympic National Park. They were spending their days resting and eating sand flies, then at dusk they would rise in a rush of wings and head north, using the safety of darkness to fly. Migration is a long journey for these...<\/div><\/div>

2021 \u2013 9 Painted Anemone<\/a><\/h3>\"2021<\/a>
Anemones are mostly stationary animals that have stinging tentacles to subdue prey. Their waving arms then transport the hapless creature to a center mouth where it quickly becomes the next meal. The Painted Anemone, also known as Christmas Anemone, is one of the most common anemones around the San Juan Islands. They feed on crabs,...<\/div><\/div>

2021-8 Feather Boa<\/a><\/h3>\"2021-8<\/a>
Saw this feather boa on a low-tide beach walk. There was a sandy beach, solid boulders, a place where currents flow -  and all that equals kelp. There are at least 140 types of brown seaweeds here in the Northwest and they all work in similar ways. The permanent base attaches itself to solid underwater...<\/div><\/div>

2021-7 Stellers Sealion<\/a><\/h3>\"2021-7<\/a>
Being an artist of nature, I often wish I could get more up-close and personal with the critters I paint, especially the big ones. I did this with a Steller Sea Lion a few days ago, and it was a rather amazing experience I\u2019d like to share. I smelled the recently deceased male before I...<\/div><\/div>

2021-6 Solitary Sandpiper<\/a><\/h3>\"2021-6<\/a>
Many species of sandpipers are common during fall, winter and spring as migrants passing through the Salish Sea, but one, the Solitary Sandpiper, stays around to enjoy summer, too. I see these birds in alpine meadows and along the shorelines of creeks and rivers at sea level, going about their business of foraging for dinner....<\/div><\/div>

2021-5 Arrow Goby<\/a><\/h3>\"2021-5<\/a>
Drifting in a small boat over a shallow muddy bay, ahhh. And, often this pleasure reveals arrow gobys darting about, aiming for a nearby safety hole. Look carefully \u2013 you\u2019ll see them only if you\u2019re paying attention. The arrow goby is, simply put, a small fish shaped somewhat like an arrow. A long and skinny...<\/div><\/div>

2021-4 Little Brown Barnacle<\/a><\/h3>\"2021-4<\/a>
Little and brown, exciting, don\u2019t you think? Well, I think so, but then I\u2019ve been known to just pick up something messy and examine it for days. When I land a shore boat near a rocky headland for some intertidal exploring, one of the most common animals I find there are \u201clittle brown barnacles\u201d \u2013...<\/div><\/div>

2021-3 Sea Gooseberry<\/a><\/h3>\"2021-3<\/a>
Imagine, if you will (the way Outer Limits always started), it\u2019s a spring evening and you glance over the rail. A small round and luminous clear orb of jelly the size of a marble seems to swim by your boat. It\u2019s underwater and goes by in a determined way. On closer look, you realize there...<\/div><\/div>

2021-2 Green Anemone<\/a><\/h3>\"2021-2<\/a>
Sea anemones are animals, carnivores that can move around after their prey. Most stay fairly stationary, but they can actually walk about on suction-cup platforms. There are many anemones in the Salish Sea, but this one is one of the most impressive. Mostly solitary creatures, they still spend their lives congregating in prime locations such...<\/div><\/div>

2021-1 Pied-billed Grebe<\/a><\/h3>\"2021-1<\/a>
A winter\u2019s walk around the marina and there, all by itself, was a pied-billed grebe. Diving, floating a moment, diving, floating. These birds are here until spring, so take a walk and have a look for them yourself. About the size of a man\u2019s shoe, these diving birds nest in eastern Washington and British Columbia\u2019s...<\/div><\/div>

2020-12 Humpback Whales<\/a><\/h3>\"2020-12<\/a>
This art and the story at the bottom were published as my page in 48 North magazine a few months ago, December 2020. I just haven't found time to publish it here, too. I tend to put together real-life experiences with my art, and this was a perfect example. It means I get to experience...<\/div><\/div>

2020-11 Striped Sun Star<\/a><\/h3>\"2020-11<\/a>
Starfish are not fish, of course, but animals. There are many here, from the tiny blood star that can fit in the palm of your hand, to some that would easily fill a bailing bucket. This one, the striped sun star, might look attractive, but it is anything but - it\u2019s actually a fearsome predator....<\/div><\/div>

2020-10 Stubby Rose Anemone<\/a><\/h3>\"2020-10<\/a>
This is another page from my 48 North magazine monthly story series and I'm getting these on my website so there's a record. This was published last fall. These little efforts aren't big wall murals or carefully thought out paintings, but more like the art I like to do on backcountry hikes - quick and...<\/div><\/div>

2020 – 9 Northern Fulmar<\/a><\/h3>\"2020<\/a>
You won\u2019t see these gull-sized birds in Elliot Bay, or as you pass Port Townsend on your way to the big sail to Mexico, but once you take the turn at Neah Bay, you\u2019ll see plenty. They vary in color from white to gray or brown, like gulls, but their behavior is very different with...<\/div><\/div>

2020 – 8 Canary Rockfish<\/a><\/h3>\"2020<\/a>
Just as their name suggests, these guys prefer to live around rocks. 28 species of rockfish live in the Salish Sea, from 3-inch tide pool dwellers to 3-foot lunkers that live in deeper water and weigh in at 25 pounds. Most are slow-growing and long-lived, some live to be more than a century old. They...<\/div><\/div>

2020 – 7 Tracks in the Sand<\/a><\/h3>\"2020<\/a>
Land your boat on a sandy beach and you\u2019ll probably soon see animal tracks in the sand. The most common are dog, bobcat, mountain lion, river otter and people. If you\u2019re lucky, it\u2019s a mix of all four. River otters remind me of an extremely hairy dachshund, same size (to 30 pounds and 3 to...<\/div><\/div>

2020 – 6 Tube-dwelling Anemone<\/a><\/h3>\"2020<\/a>
A delicate flower-like anemone that is actually an animal. Yes, an animal that you\u2019ll find just beneath your keel in sheltered mud-bottomed bays. While it looks more like a tube worm, this creature is actually related to jellyfish. Confusing, but to me it just shows the complexity of the underwater world we rarely see, and...<\/div><\/div>

2020 – 5 Sooty Shearwater<\/a><\/h3>\"2020<\/a>
I hear you\u2019re voyaging to Barkley Sound or Down-the-Outside this summer! When you\u2019re out there, keep a sharp watch for this little crow-sized bird soaring past, sailing along like a miniature albatross. If you see one, you\u2019ll getting to know a REAL voyager. These small birds fly with quick stiff wingbeats and soar low over...<\/div><\/div>

2020 – 4 Yellow-billed Loon<\/a><\/h3>\"2020<\/a>
Growing up deep in \u2018civilization\u2019, I spent much time wishing to be in a wilderness somewhere, anywhere, and hearing the sounds of loons, owls and ravens. I still do that, but at least now I can get out there on a regular schedule. It\u2019s important to me, and as life continues, the thrill of immersing...<\/div><\/div>

2020 \u2013 3 Eared Grebe<\/a><\/h3>\"2020<\/a>
Eared grebes visit the Salish Sea in fall and spring as they transit between summer nesting and wintering areas. They nest in the Canadian prairie lakes east of the Rocky Mountains, then head south to California and Mexico for the winter months. You can find individuals or pairs in most shallow bays through spring as...<\/div><\/div>

2020 \u2013 2 Brants Cormorant<\/a><\/h3>\"2020<\/a>
Brant\u2019s cormorants are common throughout the Salish Sea in winter, not so much in summer when they\u2019re focused on nesting and raising a family. For this part of their lives, look for them along the outer coast around offshore rocks where they nest or roost together, or mixed with other seabirds diving for a meal...<\/div><\/div>

2020 \u2013 1 Starry Flounder<\/a><\/h3>\"2020<\/a>
A face only a mother could love. Starry flounders are just one species of 23 local \u2018flatfish\u2019. Flat because they tend to spend their time lying flat on the bottom, on either their right or left sides. Beginning life, they\u2019re just a \u2018normal\u2019 fish that swim upright, an eye on each side of a vertical...<\/div><\/div>

2019 \u2013 12 Bald Eagle<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
Bald Eagle December 2019 I\u2019ve now painted over 100 stories about the Salish Sea. One species has been lurking in my bin - I\u2019ve been saving it for a special time, so this one is about bald eagles. You\u2019d think eagles would have been somewhere in the first dozen, but I got side-tracked by a...<\/div><\/div>

2019 \u2013 11 White-winged Scoter<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
With eye swoosh that reminds one of Amy Winehouse, white-winged scoters are large and mostly black sea ducks. The white-winged scoter, pronounced sc\u2018oh\u2019ter, is the largest of the three that are here during the cold months. The white feathers near the male\u2019s eye and on the wing can be seen from a fair distance and...<\/div><\/div>

2019 \u2013 10 Red Irish Lord Sculpin<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
No other Northwest fish can match the amazing color changes of the Irish Lord. This bottomfish simply (well, simplw for them, evidently) looks at their surroundings and immediately changes their skin color AND pattern to match. Red coral, no problem - gray mud, they\u2019ll turn gray \u2013 green seaweed and it\u2019s a blotchy green fish....<\/div><\/div>

2019 \u2013 9 Herrmanns Gull<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
Most of Salish Sea gulls are only one species, the glaucous-winged gull, a big gray to brown bird. Glaucous means dull gray. There are many other types of gulls, and in late summer and fall, we commonly see Heermann\u2019s gulls \u2013 and they\u2019re worth watching with dramatic white or gray clothes. It\u2019s unlikely to be...<\/div><\/div>

2019 \u2013 8 Sailors By The Wind<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
During spring and summer in the Salish Sea, we often encounter thousands of these little floating hydroids. Commonly known as \u2018by-the-wind sailor\u2019, \u2018sea raft\u2019 or by their scientific name, \u2018Velella velella\u2019, each little \u2018boat\u2019 is actually thousands of individual polyps that are the preliminary stage of a small jellyfish. Each raft has a rigid \u2018sail\u2019...<\/div><\/div>

2019 \u2013 7 Blood Star<\/a><\/h3>
First, these aren\u2019t STARFISH! Fish swim. There are about 2,000 different species of sea stars in the world\u2019s oceans! About 30 live in our part of the North Pacific. One, the blood star is a very long-legged and graceful sea star, but it\u2019s not that \u2013 it\u2019s their color! Painters foment for models like this....<\/div><\/div>

2019 \u2013 6 Midshipman<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
Please allow me to introduce to you, a little fish that lights up and sings! I first heard the singing midshipman while anchored in Glorietta Bay, San Diego - right off the 18th tee. Each night we\u2019d heard a droning hum that went on for hours. It wasn\u2019t a hummmm, but more a popm, popm,...<\/div><\/div>

2019 \u2013 5 Eel Grass<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
Like most terrestrial plants, spring is the time for growing, flowering and having lots of sex. Same thing goes on with the underwater plants you sail over. Eelgrass is a flowering plant adapted to live underwater in shallow shoreline gardens \u2013 and it\u2019s a major indicator plant in the Salish Sea. It makes seeds like...<\/div><\/div>

2019 \u2013 4 Pacific Loon<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
How can I miss you if you don\u2019t go away \u2013 or so the song goes. And for the Pacific loons in the Salish Sea, this is the time of year they actually do go away, far away to the Arctic to nest and make families. In summer, Pacific loons are anything but Pacific, staying...<\/div><\/div>

2019 – 3 Surf Scoter<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
Imagine, if you will, a glance in the morning mirror and you\u2019re greeted with this face. It\u2019s bad enough as you really is, but this guy is truly remarkable, don\u2019t you think? Surf scoters (sounds like \u2018boaters\u2019) are large birds, bill tip to tail almost 24\u201d and one of three scoters here in the Salish...<\/div><\/div>

2019 – 2 Pinto Abalone<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
We all are aware of the threats to Salish Sea orca populations and the probable future extinction of that iconic animal, but there\u2019s another creature in trouble around here, the Pinto abalone. The Pinto is also called the northern abalone because it\u2019s the only abalone in the northwest. This large sea snail roams rocky reefs...<\/div><\/div>

2019 – 1 Sanderlings<\/a><\/h3>\"2019<\/a>
Peep, peep, peep. And then more peeps. That\u2019s actually what many call these little birds, and others like them \u2013 \u2018peeps\u2019. Migrating sanderlings (their real name) show up beginning in late summer and by winter they are very common here. Most adults stay on the outer coast, but wintering birds in the Salish Sea are...<\/div><\/div>

2018 – 12 Killdeer<\/a><\/h3>\"2018<\/a>
Run, pause, bob \u2013 run, pause, bob \u2013 and down the water\u2019s edge it goes. That\u2019s easy to remember. Also, look for that red circle around the eye and two black breast bands against brown and white feathers, another easy identification. I say if you can remember two things about a critter, you can remember...<\/div><\/div>

2018 – 11 European Green Crab<\/a><\/h3>
Summer 2018 saw a new and expanding threat to the Salish Sea from what is listed as one of the world's 100 worst alien invasive species. About the size of your fist with an adult shell 3.5\u201d wide, European green crabs probably came to our neighborhood on a freighter, and once established, they could become...<\/div><\/div>

2018 – 10 Red-necked Grebe<\/a><\/h3>\"2018<\/a>
Fall in the Salish Sea means lots of wildlife coming in to escape winter. Many come from the far north, but also from the east where freshwater lakes and rivers freeze early. The Salish Sea might be cold, but compared with Alberta or eastern Washington, this place is balmy. Red-necked grebes are coming in now,...<\/div><\/div>

2018 \u2013 9 Tidepool Sculpin<\/a><\/h3>
Go ashore \u2013 poke around tidepools, and chances are good you\u2019ll find this little sculpin. It might take a bit of looking, because their habit of secrecy means staying put, not moving a fin and waiting for you to pass by. Superbly camouflaged, these small 3.5\u201d fish settle to the tide pool bottom and blend...<\/div><\/div>

2018-8 Plumose Anemones<\/a><\/h3>
Plumose Anemone Look down the closest piling at low tide and chances are good you\u2019ll see these animals. Yes, they animals, animals that look like flowers. Animals with deadly stinging tentacles that can move around and even grab, kill and eat small fish. There are many species of anemones in the Salish Sea, some tiny...<\/div><\/div>

2018 – 7 Water Ballet – Forage Fish<\/a><\/h3>
We\u2019re all connected to nature, connected to the web of life. Sure, we all know that, but can you explain it to your mates? Here\u2019s a story you can use. There are many types of small foraging fish in the Salish Sea, surf smelt, herring, candlefish, herring and others. All swim together, \u201cschool,\u201d for safety,...<\/div><\/div>

2018 – 6 Electric Ray<\/a><\/h3>
Pacific electric ray, a fish that everyone knows about, but few actually see. Yes, this is THE electric ray, and they live here in the Salish Sea. Electric it certainly is, as it uses powerful electric jolts to subdue prey and drive off predators. A solitary and nocturnal fish, it\u2019s electric blast can knock a...<\/div><\/div>

2018 – 5 Sunflower Star<\/a><\/h3>
If I were a Dungeness crab and saw this thing coming at me, I\u2019d make a run for it. Sea stars are varied and common in the Salish Sea, but this giant predator, the sunflower star, is the largest star in the world. Unlike a common ochre star that seems rigid because of a linked...<\/div><\/div>

2018 – 4 Rhinoceros Auklet<\/a><\/h3>
Tolkien began his tale, \u201cIn a hole in the ground there lived an auklet\u201d. Well, that\u2019s almost what he said. You get the idea - I like the comparison. Salish Sea rhinoceros auklets are usually seen diving around tidal currents, and in some places they\u2019re fairly common. So, you\u2019re off Point Wilson on the way...<\/div><\/div>

2018 – 3 A Very Good Place to Live<\/a><\/h3>
We all agree - this is a very good place to live. This is true in or out of the Salish Sea, it quickly gets complicated. Like us, underwater plants and animals need a place to call home, some solid bit of rock to take hold of and set up shop. Rocks are best because...<\/div><\/div>

2018 – 2 Dead Man’s Fingers<\/a><\/h3>
Dead man\u2019s fingers, green sea fingers, felty fingers, forked felt alga, oyster thief and various other interesting and folky names have been given to this simple but invasive alga as thick as a pencil. There are lots of alga \u2013 giant kelp is one. This one is a simple nonflowering plant and each \u2018finger\u2019 contains...<\/div><\/div>

2018 – 1 Western Grebes<\/a><\/h3>
If I were Mother Nature, designer of all things wild, I would have felt proud completing the western grebe \u2013 a job well-done. First, it\u2019s just a beautiful creature, but parts are combined to make an amazing machine. That bright red eye helps see underwater and bulbous feet allow it to move faster than fish...<\/div><\/div>

2018 \u2013 12 Black Brant<\/a><\/h3>
With winter brings flocks of black brant to the Salish Sea. While it\u2019s not a big deal for us, this is a major event for these interesting birds. This time of year, I see flocks pretty much anywhere eel grass grows, probably right out in front of your marina along sheltered shorelines. These are not...<\/div><\/div>

2017-11 Red-throated Loons<\/a><\/h3>
This is my\u00a048 North magazine\u00a0story for November. I thought t he subtle colors of this beautiful winter bird came out fairly well. Here's the story: \"On the Port Townsend ferry, we crossed those notorious tide rips out in Admiralty Inlet and I spied quite a group of large striking birds, all milling about and diving...<\/div><\/div>

2017 – 10 American Widgeons<\/a><\/h3>
American Wigeons are back in the Salish Sea. These are some of my favorite ducks. They seem, well, a proper well-mannered and friendly bird. A duck I\u2019d like to know personally. In summer, they nest in the far northern marshes on the edge of the Arctic Sea where they raise a family. Short summers mean...<\/div><\/div>

2017 – 9 Black Turnstones<\/a><\/h3>
They\u2019re back! From a summer making babies on the wet tundra lands of coastal Alaska and Canada, I spotted a group of black turnstones on the dark rocks of our marina breakwater. Perfectly camouflaged against the Mats Mats quarry rock, I didn\u2019t see any of them until one moved. Then I realized there were more,...<\/div><\/div>

2017 – 8 Belted Kingfisher<\/a><\/h3>
Looking top-heavy with an oversized head and tiny feet, the Belted Kingfisher is all about adaptation. It is very good at what it does but can\u2019t do much else. I see these animated birds in marinas and quiet anchorages, flying back and forth defending prime fishing areas and yelling a piercing rattle at competitors. This...<\/div><\/div>

2017 – 7 Kelp Crab<\/a><\/h3>\"2017<\/a>
Walk the beach in your favorite anchorage and you\u2019re likely to come across these little pointy-shelled crabs. Poke around in washed up kelp or around rocks at low tide, they\u2019re easy to spot. Handle them carefully \u2013 nipper claws await your fingers. At four inches across, they\u2019re not large compared to our Dungeness or red...<\/div><\/div>

2017 – 6 Pelagic Cormorant<\/a><\/h3>
Three cormorant species live in the Salish Sea. A year ago, I wrote about the largest, the double-crested cormorant and now here\u2019s number two. At first, the pelagic cormorant seems jet black, but that\u2019s certainly not true. I like these birds very much because, as the light changes, their iridescent colors change from purple to...<\/div><\/div>

2017 \u2013 5 Canada Goose<\/a><\/h3>
  For Salish Sea sailors, Canada geese are commonly-seen birds around marinas, quiet bays and anchorages. No, they\u2019re not Canadian geese. They\u2019ve learned how to keep their space, herd their kids away from dangerous motors and royally mess up marina lawns where there is good grass to eat - but there is much more to...<\/div><\/div>

2017 \u2013 4 Marbled Murrelet<\/a><\/h3>
I\u2019ve watched marbled murrelets for decades, learned their recognizable upturned heads as they slipped past the boat. I also remember the \u201cbig mystery\u201d over 40 years ago; no one knew where the murrelet nested. Sure, there were birds seen in the ocean from California to Alaska and throughout the Salish Sea, but no nests were...<\/div><\/div>

2017 \u2013 3 Common Merganser<\/a><\/h3>
Teeth, that\u2019s what these birds are all about. We have no notion of this when watching a pair swim by in the marina, but check out the toothy smile on these critters. Birds, of course, don\u2019t have teeth! Instead, the bill has been modified to really look as if they have very formidable teeth. It\u2019s...<\/div><\/div>

2017 \u2013 2 Purple Shore Crab<\/a><\/h3>
Not \u201cThe Blue Lagoon\u201d with Brooke Shield for sure. Still, in mid-winter it\u2019s sex on the beach but with little purple shore crabs. This time of year, your beach walk might include watching for these little crabs. They can reach high densities if you look in the right places \u2013 large boulders, lots of cobbles...<\/div><\/div>

2017 \u2013 1 Flying or Sailing – It’s all the same!<\/a><\/h3>
You might think wind just blows you across the water, and while this might be partially correct, there are other forces at work \u2013 the same forces that allow birds to fly. Both bird\u2019s wings and your sails are built to the same design. There\u2019s a leading edge where the wind first hits it, then...<\/div><\/div>

2016 \u2013 12 Harbor Porpoise<\/a><\/h3>
Harbor Porpoises   Can we think of this smart, inquisitive marine mammal as the mermaid of the Salish Sea? I\u2019d like to think so. Appropriately, harbor porpoises are about the size of a woman, 5 feet and 120 lbs. - the smallest of the six species of porpoises. This little beauty is probably the most...<\/div><\/div>

2016 \u2013 11 Vermilion Star<\/a><\/h3>
Vermillion Star Tide pooling recently, I spotted a flash of color. It was wedged into a rock crack and at first I thought I had spotted a tossed away Coke can \u2013 same size, color. Then I realized it was moving and a closer look showed a little vermillion sea star just waiting out the...<\/div><\/div>

2016 \u2013 10 Bonapartes Gull<\/a><\/h3>
Seagulls. Sorry, but there is no such thing. Gulls are found in the desert, high mountains, northern Canada in the spruce forests \u2013 so how could that bird be a SEAgull? Got it? Now \u2013onward. Our most common GULL in the Salish Sea is the glaucous-winged gull, a big, brash and aggressive yeller that will...<\/div><\/div>

2016 \u2013 9 687 Sea Otters<\/a><\/h3>
\u201c687 sea otters rafted up together off Hoh Head!\u201d Now THAT caught my attention! I realize no one in their right mind would pilot their boat into that pretty little cove north of the Hoh Estuary and spend the night \u2013but this seemed like a story just waiting to tell. Sea otters are currently endangered...<\/div><\/div>

2016 \u2013 8 Bull Kelp<\/a><\/h3>
Bull kelp creates an ocean forest, and it does this all in a single season. Growing from a tiny spore, a kelp stalk can become 200 feet long, held up by a ball-like bulb that is filled with carbon monoxide. The stalks a pulled up because of the bulb, and long leaf-like blades stream out...<\/div><\/div>

2016 \u2013 7 Bay Pipefish<\/a><\/h3>
Leaning over the boat\u2019s side I peered into the eelgrass \u2013 and saw a red rock crab, a couple of perch \u2013 wait a minute, one eelgrass blade is leaving! A little closer look and I realized it was a bay pipefish, standing straight up as if it, too, was eelgrass. What amazing camouflage this...<\/div><\/div>

2016 \u2013 6 Lions Mane Jelly<\/a><\/h3>
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2016 \u2013 5 Double-crested Cormorant<\/a><\/h3>
A bird of highly refined abilities, we often see double-crested cormorants standing on pilings or rocks with wings out-stretched like they\u2019re drying out. They are! These large diving birds are year-round residents of the Salish Sea, although many more visit during winter. coming from the east as \u2018snowbirds\u2019. Cormorants nest in colonies, usually on remote...<\/div><\/div>

2016 \u2013 4 Orange Cup Coral<\/a><\/h3>
I asked a few friends if they thought there was coral growing in the Salish Sea and got some resounding laughs and some jokes about Climate Change. Rocky areas of the Salish Sea can be interesting and colorful places just brimming with sea life, but one of the most colorful creatures here is the orange...<\/div><\/div>

2016 \u2013 3 Pile Perch<\/a><\/h3>
If I get down on my stomach beside the boat, stick my head between to dock and hull where it\u2019s shaded, I can often see fish. And not just a couple of them, either, but often an entire school. In winter, perch frantically spawn for a while, then casually return to their normal milling about...<\/div><\/div>

2016 – 2 Harlequin Duck<\/a><\/h3>
Want a blast of color on a drab winter\u2019s day? A cold walk along most Salish Sea beaches, boardwalks or marinas will give you a good chance to see some of these astonishingly beautiful birds \u2013 but only in winter. Harlequin ducks have unmistakable colors and can\u2019t be confused with any other bird. Summers find...<\/div><\/div>

2016-1 Squat Lobster<\/a><\/h3>
Squat Lobster   More closely related to crabs than lobsters, these colorful palm-sized crustaceans really do look like lobsters. In fact, typical of food marketers that like to switch names for finicky American eaters, squat lobsters have recently become Langostino Lobsters. You can buy Langostinos in better grocers or fish-throwers in Pike Place Market, a...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 12 Common Loon<\/a><\/h3>
Common loons have this yodel, a call we all know even if we don\u2019t realize it. It\u2019s so, well, \u2018wild.\u2019 Hearing their lonely call in a film or on TV immediately transports my mind to a distant Alaskan anchorage or northern lake. Ahhh! They\u2019re here in winter and we often see them fishing the Salish...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 11 Dabbling Gulls<\/a><\/h3>
A recent beach walk showed us something we\u2019d never seen. Meandering along a sandy stretch that had just a gentle bit of wave action, we joined a glaucous-winged gull (the most common gull in the Salish Sea) who was walking here too. It seemed to know exactly what it was doing \u2013 looking for something...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 10 Fin Whales<\/a><\/h3>
In early September, the Puget Sound Express whale-watching boat crew spied a rare fin whale off Whidbey Island, the first one spotted in the Salish Sea in decades. The Fin is the second largest mammal on the planet and named for its slender, fin-backed shape. I honestly didn\u2019t know much about them, so I did...<\/div><\/div>

2015 – 9 Rhinoceros Auklet<\/a><\/h3>
Closely related to the Tufted Puffin, another interesting but fairly rare seabird here, the more numerous Rhinoceros Auklet is fun to watch as it swims about with a mouth full of forage fish. That crazy horn grows during breeding season, but drops off in winter. With two light feather tuffs streaming along the head, it\u2019s...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 8 Caspian Tern<\/a><\/h3>
August 2015 - Caspian TernThis is a sound I hear often on quiet summer sails. Kaaaaarr \u2013 like a smoker attempting to clear a raspy throat. I instantly know that sound, and always turn and look up to find the hacker. Then, here it comes, flying fast and high, head down studying the water for...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 7 Northwestern Crow<\/a><\/h3>
And just why is this guy doing a crow page in a sailing magazine? Because they\u2019re not just crows, a common bird that everyone knows, but a Northwestern crow. Yes, we have our own crow species! Looks exactly the same but smaller, \u2018KAWWW\u2019 sounds the same but deeper and hoarser voiced. If you\u2019re on or...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 6 Pigeon Guillemot<\/a><\/h3>
On quiet sailing days, I often hear these birds before I see them. High-pitched twittering like chickadees, wrens or other forest birds, they seem to be yammering on just to keep in contact with each other as they dive for fish and small invertebrates. Guillemots are about a foot long, have red mouths and feet,...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 5 Gray Whales<\/a><\/h3>
  May 2015 Gray Whales Gray whales were once nearly hunted to extinction - but that nonsense has stopped and they are now back to a healthy population of around 22,000, probably almost as many as before we discovered they were giant bags of lamp oil. Grays are born in Mexican lagoons and are 15-16...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 4 Sea Pen<\/a><\/h3>\"2015<\/a>
If I told you the Sea Pen is a soft coral made up of hundreds of creatures, that it can swim, burrow and clone itself possibly forever and lives here in the Salish Sea, would you believe me? Sea Pens begin life as a single polyp from a fertilized egg. As it grows, it clones...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 3 Hooded Merganser<\/a><\/h3>\"2015<\/a>
Walking through the marina, we spied three pairs of Hooded Mergansers, and since, for me, art mirrors life, this is a page for them. You see, they\u2019re here for their annual winter romance and courting. This features that flashy pompadour which the little male spreads and fans while water-prancing around \u2018sweetie.\u2019 Whipped into a frenzy,...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 2 Fish-eating Anemone<\/a><\/h3>\"2015<\/a>
Like a scene straight out of \u2018Little Shop of Horrors,\u2019 the brilliant red and yellow flower unfolds, over 100 petals waving in the current, a strawberry red delight for a passing perch to nibble on. A young perch moves closer, then closer still, and suddenly receives a stunning jolt that renders it useless. Through the...<\/div><\/div>

2015 \u2013 1 Oystercatcher<\/a><\/h3>
With orange eye, darker eye-ring and astonishing red-orange bill, black oystercatchers might be described as a bird in a Halloween outfit. And then there are those fleshy legs and feet. When we recently saw two on beach rocks, we both stopped and said the same thing: whowee! There are around 400 oystercatchers in the Puget...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 12 Great Blue Heron<\/a><\/h3>
We all know what a great blue heron looks like, what it does for a living and where it lives \u2013 so I won\u2019t rehash that here. Looking like a graceful and meditative tai chi expert, these elegant birds often walk shorelines or docks searching for small fish. They are a study of refinement and...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 11 Sand Dollar<\/a><\/h3>
Anchored off a calm sandy beach, I rowed ashore and found many beautiful white shells or \u2018tests\u2019 of once-living sand dollars scattered about. Shells, sure, but I wondered where these creatures lived. On a minus tide, I returned and was surprised to find thousands of these off-center reddishbrown creatures that are close relatives of sea...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 10 Common Murre<\/a><\/h3>
While sailing during the fall, I often see and hear dozens of pairs of these beautiful birds - always pairs. They're this year's young trailing after a parent and pleading \"karrr, karrrrr\" - which probably means \"where's the fish? I'm dying here\". Nesting in tightly-packed island colonies along the outer coast, they don't build actual...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 9 Puget Sound Rockfish<\/a><\/h3>
Rockfish on ice in the market? It probably won't be a Puget Sound rockfish. Local and much larger bottom-dwellers such as Bacaccio, Yelloweye and Canary rockfish are now listed as endangered or threatened under the Federally Endangered Species Act, and they didn't get on that list by not being caught. Rockfish are ancient residents of...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 8 Belted Kingfisher<\/a><\/h3>
Appearing top-heavy with an over-sized bill and head, belted kingfishers are common around the Salish Sea. Three reasons for this are the abundance of sandy banks suitable for nesting burrows, small fish for them to catch and overhanging trees and boat masts upon which to perch while looking for number two. One of the few...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 7 Starfish Wasting – Top Dog in Trouble<\/a><\/h3>
Ochre stars are a keystone species, meaning they are on top of the nearshore tidepool food chain, and their presence indicates a healthy ecosystem. Ochre stars may be orange, purple or brown, but they're the same species, and appear to vary in color geographically or possible because of what they eat. And they eat a...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 6 Harbor Seal Pups<\/a><\/h3>
Harbor seals produce a new generation of pups between spring and fall. Born almost helpless, these suckling pups follow their mothers around - but this makes it difficult for the nursing parent to catch a fast-swimming meal. So, what to do? Stick the little guy on a beach while the groceries are a'gettin', and usually...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 5 Spotted Ratfish – Space Aliens<\/a><\/h3>
Have you ever seen a ratfish? Odds are you haven't, and yet these odd-looking creatures make up fully 70% of all the fish mass in the Puget Sound main basin. Their family name, Chimera, was a mythological monster with a lion's head, goat's body and serpent's tail - pretty close if you toss in a...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 4 Red-breasted Merganser<\/a><\/h3>
Three species of mergansers are here. Red-breasted, hooded and common mergansers all spend winters and springs here, but they nest much farther north beside freshwater rivers and ponds. These birds are divers. With legs far back on their bodies and large paddles for feet, they dive and fly underwater in search of fish and other...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 3 Sea Hawks<\/a><\/h3>
Sea Hawks! If I were a football team owner, I'd pay some guy a boatload of money to come up with exactly this for a team name. Sea hawks really are living here around the Salish Sea, and they're quiet some bird. In fact, if I were a bird, I'd want to be one. Sea...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 2 Bufflehead<\/a><\/h3>
Bufflehead   The smallest diving duck in North America, bufflehead males are about one pound, females a third smaller. These ducks dive for aquatic insects, crustaceans and mollusks, while dabbling ducks such as mallards upend in shallower water and munch aquatic plants. The name refers to their bulbous buffalo-shaped head. Buffleheads are here in winter,...<\/div><\/div>

2014 \u2013 1 Dungeness Crab – Beady Eyes<\/a><\/h3>
Each year, over a million pounds of Dungeness crab is caught and consumed here in the Salish Sea. Most everyone knows how to catch, cook and eat this tasty crustacean \u2013 we use the third and fourth feet for the meat picks - no metal, please. Yet few know the details of a crab's life...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 12 American Coots<\/a><\/h3>
You may think coots are ducks! They hang out around marinas, ponds, and shorelines of calm waters like ducks, sort of look like ducks and flock like ducks \u2013 but ducks they are not. One look at that weird foot in my sketch and it\u2019s clearly not a duck - but in the rail family...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 11 Orca Whale<\/a><\/h3>
First things first: the orca or killer whale is actually in the dolphin and porpoise family. Like us, it\u2019s a mammal with a spine, some hair and is the only other species in which females go through menopause, sometimes living decades after they\u2019ve finished breeding. Unlike us, they have highly developed eyesight, great hearing and...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 10 Black Turnstone<\/a><\/h3>
The Blacks are Back! Black Turnstones, that is. After summering in the western Alaskan arctic where they nest near coastal rivers and estuaries, Black and Ruddy Turnstones (two separate species) migrate south. These are 8\u201d shorebirds that weight about the same as 4 AA batteries, and some birds amazingly short-cut across the Gulf of Alaska...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 9 Hermit Crab<\/a><\/h3>
Walking a beach, I picked up a nice shell to take home, a bright orange and blue topsnail \u2013 oops, something had already taken it and the little crab inside peered out at me angrily. I quickly put it back. Hermit crabs have soft shells and spirally curved abdomens so they can fit into empty...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 8 Chum Salmon<\/a><\/h3>
Chum salmon, the second largest of our five local species of salmon, is just beginning to return for its every other year spawning event. In from the Pacific Ocean after two years of maturing, these fish are now coming back to the stream of their birth, where they will hopefully find a mate and then...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 7 Osprey<\/a><\/h3>
Ospreys Swiveling toes, that\u2019s the adaptation that helps make the osprey a very successful fisher-bird. Bald eagles are reportedly only successful on about 10% of their dives for dinner, but ospreys catch a meal 90% of the time, that\u2019s 9 in 10 dives! Outer toes swivel around to grasp and hold a struggling fish, and...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 6 Piling Community<\/a><\/h3>
Sketchbook in hand, I found a good Northwest scene for a painting \u2014 a dock, some wooden boats. Someone saw what I was doing and ignored my presence as usual, but later I felt someone really was watching me. You know that feeling? It turned out to be a hermit crab next to me on...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 5 Sea Lion<\/a><\/h3>
THE GOOD: We\u2019re talking about California Sea Lions here, not the smaller harbor seals - or the much larger Steller\u2019s Sea Lions from the north. While most of these guys were born in the Channel Islands of California and migrated to the Salish Sea for the same reasons we did: seafood and an easy life....<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 4 The Secret Garden<\/a><\/h3>
I\u2019ve said this before, I know, but I think it\u2019s a place of wonder. I call it The Secret Garden because so few people know of its complex and intricate beauty. Below your keel, your spinning prop and the dock you walk on grows a remarkable nature garden. And that slick of water you sail...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 3 It’s a GULL, Not a Seagull<\/a><\/h3>
Why are gulls called \u2018seagulls?\u2019 It\u2019s just an education-thing we somehow got in the habit of saying. Imagine similar misnaming, such as landdeer, oceanwhales or backyardraccoons and you\u2019ll get the idea. There are lots of different types of gulls, like herring, Thayer, Herrmann\u2019s or ring billed \u2013 but they\u2019re all still just gulls. Of them...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 2 Feather Duster Worm<\/a><\/h3>
Look under docks or on low tide pilings, and I\u2019ll bet you\u2019ll see what looks to be tan soda straws sticking up at all angles. These are homes of feather duster worms. The flexible, parchment-like tubes are made of secretions of calcium carbonate mixed with sand grains, the same material that clam shells are made...<\/div><\/div>

2013 \u2013 1 The Amazing Giant Octopus<\/a><\/h3>
Largest in the world, our giant Pacific octopus is also a pretty smart animal. Living only 3-5 years, they grow to 33lbs, an arm span of 14 feet and live in rocky dens from shallow waters down to 4500 feet in depth. Middens of consumed carcasses near dens show they eat pretty much anything they...<\/div><\/div>

2012 \u2013 12 Harlequin Ducks Return<\/a><\/h3>
Harlequin ducks spend their summers along our mountain rivers. I\u2019ve seen them there, diving straight into rapids where they search for small insects. These birds have dense feathers that trap a layer of insulating air - just like a down coat. This helps warm their small bodies against icy waters, an important adaption for a...<\/div><\/div>

2012 \u2013 11 Moon Snail<\/a><\/h3>
I walked a sandy beach recently and ran across what appeared to be a little gray inner tube. What the heck? Then I found a few shells with perfectly rounded holes in them, like someone with a countersink bit had spent time trying it out. Moon snails are responsible for both. These big predatory mollusks...<\/div><\/div>

2012 \u2013 10 People-sized Porpoises<\/a><\/h3>
Oh look, there\u2019s a dolphin! Just as pigs have wings, it\u2019s not likely a dolphin in the Salish Sea. But there are two porpoise species here, and maybe that\u2019s even better. If you spot a momentary dolphin-like fin, or even a group of them surfacing and then quickly diving, it\u2019s either a Dall\u2019s porpoise or...<\/div><\/div>

2012 \u2013 9 A Loon’s Story<\/a><\/h3>
A Loon\u2019s Story   Hair-raising, bloodcurdling, magical have been used to describe the loon\u2019s call. Often heard at dusk or dawn echoing across wild mountain lakes, I think a loon\u2019s cry is one of true wilderness. This loon spent the summer with his mate on a big lake in British Columbia, helping to raise their...<\/div><\/div>

2012 \u2013 8 Plumose Anemone – Flowers of the Sea<\/a><\/h3>
Next time you\u2019re down on the docks at low tide take a peek down a piling into the water below. See any big white flowers attached to it that are waving in the current? Those are plumose anemones, and flowers they are definitely not! They\u2019re actually animals, predators on the prowl for small larvae and...<\/div><\/div>

2012 – 7 River Otters – Lucky Fisherman<\/a><\/h3>
Love\u2019m or hate\u2019m \u2013 some of us wish otters grief for the mess they make under boat covers, but otters are the perfect design of both form and function. Evolution has really worked things out for this critter. An otter\u2019s head is flat so it goes through the water without pushing a wake and inconspicuous...<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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