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.

As starfish go, the sunflower starfish moves quite quickly.  While we were on the beach it did not move at all, though the small bristles under the starfish were moving and it was definitely still living.  I only hope that the huge numbers of people who were at the beach that day did not disturb it.

Sunflower stars begin their lives with much fewer legs and grow more of them as they age.  Nothing was near this starfish on the beach and I’m sure that was not a coincidence.

They can actually move at one meter per minute – which is blazingly fast by starfish standards!  They also have the ability to shed their own arms in order to escape predators.

Kopachuk is quickly becoming one of my favorite parks, though it is somewhat ruined by the huge numbers of people who come there – some of whom do not care for the life they share the beach with.  Still, if you get to the park early there is a tremendous amount of marine life there waiting for you.

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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.

All over each sand dollar are thousands of miniscule spines.  These spines direct food to the mouth of the sand dollar.

This is what the spines look like close to 5x.  They are constantly moving and give the sand dollar a ‘glistening’ look.

Here you can actually see that the sand dollar actually has water over it – as the spines barely touch above the thin layer of water that covers the sand dollar.  Without this water the sand dollar would likely dry up and die – becoming one of the white sand dollars we know them as.

Finally, we found some smaller sand dollars.  These ones looked like babies and were found hidden near several much larger sand dollars.

Sand dollars are found throughout the world and are very common.  Still, in just a short time at a beach I learned a lot about an animal I ordinarily do not pay much attention to.

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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.

According to the materials I have, these particular woodpeckers actually prefer the ground and only drill in trees around this time of year to nest.  Given the size of the hole it was working on, I suspect it is building a nest.  As this is quite close to my office, I will be easily able to check on it from time to time.

For me, this is a huge achievement – managing to get this close to a bird that is not a duck.  I’m sure some day I will look back at these shots and laugh at how awful they are, but today I am quite proud of them.

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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).

This particular lizard is called a Northern Alligator Lizard.  It is one of the very few lizards that actually doesn’t mind our climate and is specific to the left coast.  It ranges up to parts of BC and is considered Canada’s largest lizard.

Although we didn’t bug it enough, this lizard is capable of removing its tail to distract a predator.  Also, they supposedly like to live in groups, so the next time I see one I will be sure to watch out for friends.

Luckily, when I found this little critter I had my full camera bag with me.  Unluckily, I don’t really have a good macro lens for these types of critters.  I do have an MP-E 65, but the magnification is too much for things this large.  I had to think of something and think fast.

It then occurred to me that my TS-E 24 II has pretty decent magnification.  Would it let me get that close?  I threw the lens on my Canon 7D – in order to benefit from the crop factor, and tried it.

Oops.  I need to remember to watch my aperture!  Actually, I kind of liked this shot so I kept it.  The little lizard was very kind to sit still and allowed me to get very close for the shots above.

All in all it was a nice day, despite the fact that we failed in our original task (to photograph the house).  Sometimes some of the more interesting moments in life come where you’re not expecting them.  You just have to make the best of what you have and once in awhile you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

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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!

I used my 100-400 to get these shots, combined with a fill flash.  The mother was very cautious with the young ducks and it took me a bit of time before she would let me get close without feeling threatened.  Still, she kept a sharp eye on me while I took these shots.  In particular, I wish some of the plants weren’t there and I didn’t get the angles that I would have preferred, but I still think the shots show that the ducklings were indeed cute!

Interestingly, a bit later a crow came near the ducklings and the mother duck went straight at it.  I later read online that crows will eat ducklings.

Other predators that will attack ducklings in our area include owls.  Hopefully the majority of these cute ducklings made it.

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