One of the unique species of nudibranchs I wanted to see while in the Pacific Northwest, I was happy to find Hooded Nudibranchs (Melibe leonina). They are special in that while most nudibranchs feed on stationary prey like sponges, hydroids, and corals, the Hooded Nudi…
A somewhat common family of fish in the PNW, gunnels tend to stay along the bottom, so while they might be easy to find, getting a good photo of them was sometimes a challenge.
Found on one of my last dives in the Pacific Northwest, this Mosshead Warbonnet (Chirolophis nugator) started out pretty shy, but after leaving it to go check out another subject and then returning it let me get a couple nice photos…
A somewhat common goby found in Puget Sound, these Blackeye Gobies (Rhinogobiops nicholsii) were sometimes very abundant on certain dives.
Unlike all the other squat lobsters I’ve photographed in warm tropical waters, the squat lobsters (Munida quadrispina) in the Pacific Northwest can grow quite large – with their main body sections being up to almost three inches long. Which makes for some amusingly long claw…
I only managed to spend an part of a day in Olympic National Park and I eventually want to revisit it to explore some more – including I’d like to join my Washington friends for an annual weekend of diving they do at Lake Crescent.…
One snowy morning on Whidbey Island was a very good day for spotting Bald Eagles…
On two consecutive dives in Washington, I happened up a somewhat uncommon site of fish trying to bite off more than they could chew (or swallow since most fish don’t chew)…
While in Washington I got the opportunity to see multiple fish guarding eggs. These first couple are all Greenling eggs (most likely White-spotted Greenling) and the later ones are a Lingcod and a Wolf Eel.
Today’s jay – the Canada or Grey Jay – was found during a hike in Olympic National Park. I decided to do a relatively short hike up Mount Storm King. Once at the top I was greeted with a bit of a crowd (I think…
Another giant fish of the PNW, Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) can grow to about 5 feet long and weigh up to 120 pounds! When they swim through the water they move like torpedoes – only needing a few thrusts of their tails to get some incredible…
The Wolf Eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus) is another hallmark Pacific Northwest site while diving, and my friends there made sure to get me to some dive sites that had them. I only once saw one out swimming which is not super common, but even seeing them…
I only saw a couple of these during my entire time diving in the PNW, but the baby Red Rock Crabs look very different from the adults…
Though I never managed to get a photo I was truly happy with, any time I saw a Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker (Eumicrotremus orbis) it was a treat. These little fish (about 1-3 inches long) are just so cute even though they are armoured with those…
