All about the West Seattle neighborhood around Beach Drive
The other day, a bald eagle apparently decided it did not want to share it’s small fish. (At least, I think it was a small fish).
I watched as these two flew back and forth, landing on rocks and post off Beach Drive by Emma Schmitz View Point.
I have a couple more photos of the eagles posted at Beach Drive Bungalow.
Want to learn more about the marine plants and animals off the shores of Beach Drive? Meet trained volunteers with the Seattle Aquarium this summer for their “Meet Beach Naturalist” program. “South Alki” is off Beach Drive south the light house – just watch for the signs. Here are the dates.
I was just telling my hubby that in the years we’ve lived here, we have seen a lonely Loon singing but not a pair.
We were thrilled this afternoon to be able to watch two Common Loons.
What a treat to be able to watch Orcas from your back yard! I don’t recall ever seeing them this close to the shore.
It was a real show stopper this afternoon at Emma Schmitz View Point as cars and people lined Beach Drive to catch a view of the whales.
Several onlookers lined the sidewalk along Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook watching a nearby Orca pod. The whales have been spotted all over the area for the last couple of days according to West Seattle Blog reports. The Orca are most likely chasing the large fall chum salmon run which contains nearly 90% of the entire annual chum numbers that migrate down to central & south Puget Sound.
It was also reported that The Whale Trail organization has spotted other aquatic species in the area as well.
Well, maybe not ALL of them…
Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog
…barking Sea Lion! This morning around 5:30 am, our household was jolted awake by the song of very loud sea lion. As I write this post, he (or she) is currently barking it up in front of Emma Schmitz View Point – enjoy!
We just received this notice of a seal pup along with a reminder of what to do when you spot a seal pup.
Hi, Rhonda.
I was hoping you might be able to get the word out that Seal Sitters is on the lookout for a very thin harbor seal pup who is using private shoreline along Beach Drive to rest. Yesterday, the pup was in the 5900 block. With such a high tide last evening the pup likely was forced back into the Sound, however, may have sought shelter on a cement ramp or stairs along there.
If you see a pup, please stay well back and contact our hotline immediately at 206-905-SEAL (7325). It may be this pup, Tigger, who was first sighted and protected at Lincoln Park on Sunday morning (you can read our blubberblog post here: http://blubberblog.org/files/c9829896053c3c3c0807550ce5eb1f43-606.html).
Yesterday evening, we rescued a different terribly thin pup along Beach Drive who had numerous bite wounds to the head, neck and body. This is the SECOND bite wound pup we have had in the past few weeks along the stretch of beach from Lincoln Park to Emma Schmitz, all notorious for off-leash dogs. While we do not know for sure yet what animal inflicted the wounds, it is a fact that dogs maul seal pups – sometimes resulting in death – every year in Puget Sound. We are pleading with dog owners to please refrain from letting their dog onto the beach – especially unleashed and unaccompanied by owner.
This is the height of harbor seal pupping season in our area and newly-weaned (along with a few still nursing-age) pups will be trying to rest on West Seattle beaches for the upcoming months. These weaners are most always quite thin and vulnerable. Each day is truly a life and death struggle for them. Please report any harbor seal you see resting on the beach, private or public – dead or alive.
And please remember it is against Federal law (Marine Mammal Protection Act) to touch, move or feed a seal pup. Yesterday evening, a well-intentioned soul wrapped the second Beach Drive pup in a towel, which can cause brain damage and death to a pup as he tries to regulate his body temperature and overheats. The pup was taken to rehab last night and we will keep you posted on the pup’s condition.
If you see a pup on your beach, always stay back, keep dogs away and call our hotline and a trained – and NOAA-authorized – first responder will be there shortly.
Thanks so much to all of you for your help!
There’s a very young seal pup that is currently swimming around the 4700-4800 block of Beach Drive. Right now you can hear the youngster calling for (I imagine) their mother. Earlier this morning the youngster was beached on the shores when the tide was down. Seal Sitters did photo graph and document the pup and remind everyone to leave this cute pup alone and contact Seal Sitters should he/she wind up on the beach again.
We’ve been watching a large sea lion floating off the shores of Beach Drive for the last couple hours. You may not even notice him as he looks like a log for a majority of the time…until he lifts his big head for some air.
We did contact Seal Sitters, as I’m told others have as well, and were told that he is probably “sailing” (also referred to as “logging”) to reserve energy during this cold weather. If he does come to shore or seems in distress, the person at Seal Sitters asked that they be called again.
A neighbor from the 4700 block contacted us yesterday regarding large dead jellyfish that were revealed during low tide.
From our Beach Drive neighbor, who also provided this photo: “About 20 huge, dead jellyfish washed up on our beach today. Anyone know what’s happening?”
According to the Seattle Aquarium, the Puget Sound is home to over 340 different types of jellyfish and even when dead, they still have the potential to sting.
I’m not finding information as to why so many would be dead. Do any of our readers know?
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