December Wildlife

There has been a lot of bait in the bay this year.  The last few days, there's been an incredible amount of activity out on the water.  Gulls, kingfishers, merganzers, scoters, goldeneye, sea lions, and seals have all been busy feeding on large schools of needlefish.  The other day, we went down to the dock to get some Sprite to put in our Christmas tree water and found three harbor seals working a school of needlefish in the crystal clear water between the dock and shore.  We watched them herd and feed on the fish for hours.  All of these photos are made with the seals still beneath the surface, but the water is so clear that you can barely tell.

 The seals would circle the school of needlefish to bunch them up, then swim right through the bait ball grabbing as many as they could.

 Between gulps, they'd rest on the surface.

 The answer to the age-old question, "Does a seal shit in the water?".

   You can also see that our sunflower stars in Warm Springs Bay are still healthy--for the time being, I'm afraid.  Starfish Wasting Disease has already infected the starfish over on the Sitka side of the mountains.  Back to the seals--they are so graceful and acrobatic in the water!

 Reverse somersault.

 This adult seal was actually standing on the bottom!  If you look here, you can see that only the seal's head is above water.  In the summer time we'd only see his head bobbing upon the surface.
 

Now he's floating his entire body for a break.  Then it's back to work!
 

The gulls and other birds got their fair share of the needlefish as well.
 

I've never seen a needlefish that looks like a turkey carcass!
 

 We have a large group of river otters (called a romp, bevy, or family of otters) that live in the bay.  We're on their daily circuit and we often see them swimming and feeding in front of the lodge, romping on or below the dock, or climbing on the rocks along shore.  One winter--when we had a LOT of snow--one otter slid down the snow right outside the lodge window!

 

 

 This Belted Kingfisher hangs around the lodge and has been getting his fair share of needlefish too.

 

 

When Jen showed me this photo she asked, "What actor does this remind you of?" My reaction was immediate.  "Jack Nicholson." Pretty apropos, since "The Shining" is our training video for care taking!