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The largest starfish in the world

Among the prime wildlife destinations in the world, the Pacific Northwest is probably not among them.  Sure, we have some interesting critters – but we have nowhere near the diversity of other locations in the world.  Nevertheless, one thing we can lay claim to is having the largest and one of the coolest starfish in the world.

The sunflower starfish is the largest starfish in the world and one of the most feared predators of the ocean.  I remember watching them on Planet Earth one night and thinking how cool it would be to actually see one.  I later learned that one can find them in the Pacific Northwest but figured that my chances of actually seeing one were slim.

While walking on the beach at Kopachuck State Park, someone mentioned that there was a starfish with many legs.  Excited, I walked over and sure enough it was the starfish I suspected.

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The wonderful sand dollar

I think almost everyone in the world is familiar with the sand dollar so often found on the beach.  Until recently, I always believed that all sand dollars were white.  I must admit that I thought that the actual animal lived inside of the white shell and that birds would open it up to eat it.

In truth, sand dollars look quite a bit different when they are still alive.

These two sand dollars were found at Kopachuk State Park, where it’s literally impossible to not find a sand dollar.  They can be found in the thousands there and in places it is difficult to walk without stepping on one.

This one appears to be Echinarachnius parma, or the Common Sand Dollar.  Interestingly, sand dollars are either female or male – just like other animals and insects.  Even more interestingly, sand dollars are one of the first creatures found to use cloning as a means for self defense.  The sand dollar will deliberately break of parts of itself that are small enough for predators to not bother them.

Taking a look at the sand dollars on the beach, it was very clear upon looking at them that they are truly living – as it appeared something was moving on them.  Of course I had to take a closer look.

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The Northern Flicker – aka my first success in birding

After last weekend’s disastrous effort in birding, I decided to get back to my good old macro shots when I went for a stroll by several ponds near my office.  The day’s efforts were OK – as I found several flies mating that I will need to later identify.  After getting some decent shots, I packed up my camera and started to head back.

Not far from being back in my office I suddenly heard several loud knocks as a I passed a tree.  I’m not a birder, but neither am I an idiot.  I immediately knew what that could be.  After several moments, I located the culprit.

I must admit that I had to look up what type of woodpecker this is, and it is a Northern Flicker.  It is actually quite common everywhere in the US and I’m sure for many birders this is a rather ordinary bird – but for me at least this is the best look I have had of a woodpecker.

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Lizards invade Seattle!

Well, not quite.  However, consider the common perception that a) lizards most like places that are hot and sunny and b) Seattle is pretty much the exact opposite of hot and sunny – and you can picture my surprise when one of my kids picked up a rock and out popped a lizard!

This particular lizard was found in the backyard of a property Nelya was listing.  We all travelled to a small town called Olalla in Kitsap County to take pictures of the listing.  The weather was great, but unfortunately the property was not clean enough to take pictures.  Bummer.

However, since it was a nice day we decided to take photos of the outside at least, and my kids were playing in the backyard when they happened across this little guy (or gal).

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Time for some ducklings!

I have the great fortune that right next to the building where I work in, there are some interesting ponds with a great number of things to photograph.  In particular, ducks are very common there.

I have learned quite a bit about ducks just from watching them each week.  Several months ago, I noticed the ducks pairing together and suspected that eventually I would see some ducklings.  I looked online and noted that the males usually leave the females when the eggs are laid.  When I noticed that the males were no longer with the females, I suspected that ducklings would soon be there.

Sure enough, several weeks later there were ducklings!

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