Washington coast | My Everyday Photos

Tag Archives: Washington coast

Birds on the Beach

December 19, 2014 – 10:06 am
Posted in Washington coast
Tagged bald eagle, beach, shorebirds, Washington coast
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I’ve never been very good at identifying shorebirds. It used to be that I birded with some experienced birders and I could muddle my way through the peeps and such but not anymore. And this time of year, the birds are in winter plumage so very few clear ID marks stand out for me. Someday I’d like to go to Alaska in the late spring and see the breeding shorebirds decked out in all their fine feathered plumage. But for now I will have to settle for wintering birds on the Washington coast once in a while.

This Bald Eagle didn’t seem to bother the shorebirds.

He finally moved on.

Two gulls.

Beautiful patterns when they fly.

Razor Clams

April 9, 2013 – 7:27 am
Posted in Razor clams
Tagged beach, photography, razor clams, Washington coast
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A lucky thing happened last month. There was a razor clam season during our vacation! Razor clams on the Washington Coast are carefully managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. If you want to know how they manage the seasons – read this. As far as I know razor clams are limited to the Pacific Northwest up through Alaska. They are considered a delicacy – a delicious clam for frying, baking at high heat and chowder. Unlike a traditional clam, they are rectangular – long and kind of flat looking. They are also strong diggers so when you are digging for razor clams you are also chasing them as they dig down into the watery sand. It’s quite fun! The seasons are limited to the lowest tides of the month and often times those tides are at night. The only other time we got to dig for them was in December a few years ago, after dark and the temperature hovered near freezing. It was quite the adventure but we were able to get our limits (fifteen per person per day) and our taste for them was whetted.

Razor clam digging seems to be tradition passed down from generation to generation. We noted many families with grandparents, parents and kids all digging and having fun. Dogs too!

The view from our room as the dig got started before the tide was all the way out

Heading to their spot on the beach

It can be a dirty job and proper clothing is important. Some people like this fellow, use shovels.

Even with hundreds of people on the beach, it doesn’t seem crowded and there were lots of clams for everyone

Dogs like it

This dog looks like he wants to help

This young man was clamming for the first time

He was happy to show me his biggest clam

Some people work alone

A couple of clam guns. To use this device, you look for a clam show – a small dimple in the wet sand – and then carefully angling towards the ocean you center the cylinder around the ‘show’ and then push it into the sand. There is a tiny hole that you cover with your finger as you pull the gun, now loaded with wet heavy sand, out and with any luck, the clam will be in that sand. Or not. You may have to repeat. Or you may have to reach down in the hole and grab the clam as it tries to dig away from you.

Classic digging style

The tide will come in and all traces of the digging will disappear.

They are using the team approach

This dog was wet and dirty

Family fun

Another group heads out

Now that we have our limit, what do we do?

Cleaning clams is the hard part

The clam and fish cleaning shack

Fun Times on the Beach

April 8, 2013 – 9:10 am
Posted in beach
Tagged beach, dogs, kites, photos, sand shrimp, sunset, surf perch, Washington coast
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How much fun can you have at the beach? Since we rarely get to go, we managed to have LOTS of fun and even more fun when our friends and their dog joined us from Olympia!

Here’s Ken outfitted to catch sand shrimp

There’s one!

Up close with a sand shrimp

Gulls are always close by, hoping something good to eat will be left behind

Betty and Gregg join Ken in his quest for sand shrimp. The tire tracks are from people digging razor clams earlier in the day.

Dixie wants to be part of it

Sand shrimp are used for bait to fish for surf perch. Dixie is making sure Ken is doing it right

Fishing

An intrepid angler!

Crows also wait on the beach

Dixie is looking for one of her peeps

Dune grass

These volcano-like depressions are from sand shrimp

Sand dollar

Razor clam shell

One of many creeks

Another great day at the beach

Lots of kites

This one was attached to a log and flew by itself all afternoon

We had fun with this kite

At sunset, it’s time to put it away

Gregg painted

Betty danced

Good times with good friends

The end of another beautiful day!

Second Beach

April 7, 2013 – 6:51 am
Posted in beach
Tagged beach photography, Olympic National Park, sea anemeones, sea stars, Second Beach, trillium, Washington coast
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There are a series of numbered beaches in the Olympic National Park. I have always wondered why they did not have proper names. The beach at LaPush is First Beach. The next one to the south is Second Beach. And then there is Third Beach. Imagine that. Getting to Second and Third Beaches requires a hike through the coastal rain forest; about 3/4 of a mile to Second Beach. The great thing about that is that fewer people visit these beaches and it’s possible to have a level of solitude not available at the beaches with parking lots right next to them. And fewer distractions like litter and ATV’s.

Trail through the forest

Trillium

On the beach

Erosion from centuries of waves

Sea weed growing on the rocks

Sea star and anemone

Sometimes the sea stars are in clusters

Sea anemones

Mussels attached to rocks

Ruby sands

It’s hard to leave such a beautiful place

Road Trip

April 4, 2013 – 2:55 pm
Posted in road trip
Tagged beach, Crescent Lake, Elwha Dam, Marymere Falls, photography, Port Angeles, shells, sunset, surf perch, Washington coast, wildflowers
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Ken and I enjoy road trips. We tend to travel with lots of stuff and this trip we took the truck so we could get all that stuff packed. What kind of stuff? Photo gear. Fishing gear. Clamming gear. Birding gear. Guitar. Books. Various clothes for various activities in a variety of weather conditions. Food – lots of food along with beer and wine. It was a good tour of a big part of the state starting here in the Methow where winter was loosening its grip, across the Cascades where 40″ of snow had fallen in the previous week, to the urban world north of Seattle where we were surprised to see new snow on the ground, and then across Puget Sound where it was sunny and dare I say it, warm. We reached Port Angeles that first night.

Sunset from our hotel in Port Angeles

From PA we drove up the Elwha River to the overlook of one of the now-removed Elwha Dams.

This sign graphic shows how it looked before, during and after the dam removal. Salmon have already returned to this river above the former dam site.

Part of Lake Crescent is in the Olympic National Park. It is cold and deep.

Old Storm King Ranger Station at Lake Crescent

Marymere Falls – a short popular hike from Lake Crescent

We saw these pretty blossoms in several places. I think they are a berry – maybe salmonberry?

The Dickey River – slow moving and flat and more reminiscent of Florida than Washington

We saw a river otter

This algae covered shoe had mussels growing inside of it. I wonder how long it was in the water and where it came from. Japan? It was on Rialto Beach.