Crows

July 21, 2022 by Leave a Comment

This morning, neighbors (via Nextdoor) are reporting several sightings of dead crows. This has been reported to the Department of Health and Animal Control and it’s possible it could be a West Nile outbreak.

Should you come across a dead crow, it should be reported to the Department of Fish & Wildlife at Report Wildlife Observations (arcgis.com)

West Nile Virus can be passed to humans and birds by mosquitos. It’s a good time to make sure there is no standing water where mosquitos can hatch….and who likes to try sleeping on a warm summer night with the sweet hum of a mosquito circling above.

Another neighbor reminds us that it’s crow fledgling season and they’re just learning to fly. Fledglings are about the size of a full-grown crow right now. She asks that drivers give them extra space and don’t assume that they’ll be able to fly away as your car approaches.

 

Filed Under: Safety, Wildlife Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Wind Storm Round 2

October 25, 2021 by Leave a Comment

There have been two water rescues for kite-surfers off of Beach Drive today. One was rescued by Me Kwa Mooks Park. The other call out is south on the 5200 block of Beach Drive and may have just been called off. We hope everyone is okay!

We also spied what appears to be a humpback whale and caught some video at Constellation Park near Alki Point.

The whale is still amazing viewers along Beach Drive… as I write this (3:00 pm on Oct 25, 21), its heading south near Lincoln Park.

Puget Sound Marine Forecast was just updated with a small craft advisory through tomorrow afternoon.

TONIGHT  S wind 20 to 30 kt easing to 15 to 25 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. Rain in the evening then a chance  of rain after midnight.  

TUE  S wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. Rain.  

TUE NIGHT  S wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. Rain.

 WED  S wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SW 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft.

Looks like we have a few more days of this windy weather!

 

Filed Under: Weather, Wildlife Tagged With: , ,

Bald Eagle rescued from fishing line near Lowman Beach

October 1, 2021 by Leave a Comment


This photo and report is compliments of Lezlie Jane. She shared on FB last night, “a stunning eagle was so tangled up in fishing line this morning it couldn’t fly. John, a Falconer, came from Kent to rescue the eagle. It was able to fly away. Careful with those fishing lines.”

Thank you, Lezlie for allowing us to share this great story!

Filed Under: Wildlife Tagged With: ,

Caramel Crow spied in Alki

February 12, 2021 by Leave a Comment

While walking our dog this morning by Bar S park, our intrepid reporter Scupper, spied a rare caramel crow.

A week earlier, he met a bird watcher who was admiring this special crow.

Pretty cool!

Filed Under: Wildlife Tagged With: ,

Eggcellent Biomass

April 22, 2020 by Leave a Comment
A Fish & Wildlife worker was seen wading into Beach Drive waters yesterday following the movements from the huge flock of Bonaparte’s gulls. He was using a small rake to sample the extent of the rare herring spawn we experienced along the shoreline a few days back. According to an excellent article from the Kitsap Sun, this type of sampling is used to measure the metric tons of biomass (herring eggs) left behind.
Some long term Beach Drive residents that have fished these local water for over 40 years could not recall ever seeing a herring spawn here. From a wider Puget Sound perspective, 2020 may prove to be the largest spawning season on record. Observers north of Bainbridge in Agate Passage spoke to some old timers for their insights
Oleyar said he’s spoken to tribal members who haven’t seen an event of this size: “Some of them have lived here for 60 years or more and they haven’t seen this before. This is pretty historic.”
For the remaining eggs that survive, let’s cross our fingers for a return visit in about 3 years or so.
Scupper, reporting for the BDB
Filed Under: Puget Sound, Scupper, Wildlife Tagged With: , , , ,

Flock of Seagulls

April 21, 2020 by 1 Comment

Right now there are hundreds (well, a lot) of small seagulls off the shores of Emma Schmitz Viewpoint Memorial Park. One of our friends tells us they are Bonaparte’s gulls. They kind of look like a cross between a tern and a gull. Apparently they like herring eggs too!

Hat tip to Michele!

 

Filed Under: Wildlife

What’s with all the Seals and Sea Lions?

April 19, 2020 by 2 Comments

Did you get an early wake up call from the barking seals and sea lions this morning? There is a massive herring spawn taking place right now causing the light, milky patches in the sound and attracting a lot of wildlife, including seals, sea lions and eagles.


We captured this photo at Emma Schmitz Memorial Viewpoint where onlookers watched the packs of seals and sea lions take breaks from their feast. The lighter colored water is not typical. The PT Leader has a great description of what’s taking place:

“The CWI’s Anne Shaffer explained that “white water” is the colloquial term for the milt sprayed by males to fertilize the newly laid eggs.

“Scores of marine mammals and thousands of birds congregate to feed on the thick carpets of eggs laid on eelgrass and Sargassum seaweed along the shore,” Shaffer said. “The eggs are still developing but will soon hatch, marking the beginning the 2020 spring plankton season that, in turn, supports the rest of our Salish Sea food chain.”


It’s an amazing sight and I WISH my better camera was working right now.

We’ve noticed a few paddle boarders trying to get a close look at the sea lions and seals.

 

Filed Under: Puget Sound, Wildlife Tagged With: , , ,

Pair of Bald Eagles

July 28, 2018 by Leave a Comment


These two beautiful birds were sharing a rock in front of Emma Schmitz View Point until a pesky seagull decided to try chasing one away.

Filed Under: Wildlife

Buddhist ritual helps crabbing in Area 10

June 6, 2018 by 1 Comment

Although I’m not quite sure what the karma penalties would be for catching one of the dungy’s, it was a great sight to see this Taiwanese family repatriating 30 large crabs into Puget Sound.

The grandfather and father of the newborn (on left with mother) carefully remove bands from the claws before releasing the 30 crabs purchased from a local market.

This Buddhist ritual is meant to give good health and wellbeing to the newly born child and create harmony with nature. Pretty cool!

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Misc., Parks, People, Puget Sound, Scupper, Wildlife Tagged With: ,

What the duck?!?

March 6, 2018 by 2 Comments

We spied this lone duck swimming off of Beach Drive this morning. Any idea what type it is?

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