American pika [WDFW] American pika Ochotona princeps American pika habitat is restricted to rocky talus slopes, primarily the talus-me...

Gumboot chiton [Wikipedia]   Gumboot chiton Cryptochiton stelleri The gumboot chiton is a creature of the low intertidal and subtidal wo...

Recently compiled data from the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor shows a shift in the presence of two ecotypes of killer whales in the Puget Sound. Sitting on a bench at Marine Park along Bellingham Bay, local photographer Nate Bolton photographed one of his most memorable encounters with an orca. Jack, one of the most famous Bigg's killer whales in the Salish Sea, dove underneath a boat and emerged on the other side.

Lingcod [NOAA]   Lingcod Ophiodon elongatus Lingcod range from Kodiak Island to northern Baja, California and possibly to the Bering Sea...

Brooding anemone [Sound Water Stewards]   Brooding anemone Epiactis sp. This is a small anemone, with the crown up to 2 inches in diameter...

Western Larch [Wikipedia] Western Larch Larix occidentalis Unlike most conifers, Larches are deciduous; the needles turn a golden color...

Check out the artwork auction and come support Salish Current and local news next Wednesday at  "America at ...

Decorator crab [Vic High Marine Biology] Decorator crab Oregonia gracilis Oregonia gracilis, commonly known as the graceful decor...

Check out the artwork auction and come support Salish Current and local news next Wednesday at  "America ...

Creeping woodsorrel [Richard Old] Creeping woodsorrel Oxalis corniculata  This non-native plant has small, yellow, five-petalled flowers ...

Big Brown Bat [Northwest Trek]   Big Brown Bat Eptesicus fuscus Washington state is home to 15 species of bats. The big brown bat is one o...

Mountain Huckleberry [Native Plants PNW]   Mountain Huckleberry Vaccinium membranaceum There are about 450 species of Vaccinium worldwid...

"America at 250"  features eminent historian and Western Washington University scholar Johann Neem and journalist Ron ...

Green sea urchin [Ask Nature]   Sea urchin The red sea urchin ( Mesocentrotus franciscanus ) and the green sea urchin ( Strongylocentrotus...

Killdeer [Brad Imhoff] Killdeer Charadrius vociferus Killdeer are graceful plovers common to lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and...

Sweetgum [John M. Hagstrom] Sweetgum Liquidambar Styraciflua The American sweetgum — with its star-shaped leaves, neatly compact crown,...

"America at 250"  features eminent historian and Western Washington University scholar Johann Neem and journalist...

Surf Scoter [All About Birds] Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata The black-and-white patches on the heads of male Surf Scoters prompte...

Crane fly   Crane flies  Crane flies are known as mosquito hawks or "skeeter-eaters", though they do not actually prey on...

Crane fly   Crane flies  Crane flies are known as mosquito hawks or "skeeter-eaters", though they do not actually prey on...

Crane fly   Crane flies  Crane flies are known as mosquito hawks or "skeeter-eaters", though they do not actually prey on...

Puget Sound rockfish [Race Rocks Ecological Reserve] Puget Sound rockfish Sebastes emphaeus The Puget Sound rockfish is one of the smalle...

Opalescent nudibranch Opalescent nudibranch Hermissenda crassicornis Also known as the thick-horned nudibranch, Herm...

Vine Maple Vine Maple Acer circinatum There are nearly 150 species of maples worldwide.  Most are from eastern Asia.  North America is...

Sea squirt   Sea squirt Pyura haustor Sea squirts live in coastal waters in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean, attached to rocks or artifici...

Ocean Spray Ocean Spray Holodiscus discolor There are seven to ten species of Holodiscus , all native to the Americas; from British Col...

Orange sea pen  Orange sea pen Ptilosarcus gurneyi  The orange sea pen, also called the fleshy sea pen or Gurney’s sea pen, resembles ...

Bracken Fern   Bracken Fern Pteridium aquilinum  Bracken ferns can be found nearly worldwide (they are considered to be the most widespr...

[ABC News] Good-bye, Dolly. Thank you! Dolly Parton, the beloved music and film star known for her vibrant personality and poignant song...

Seaside plantain     Seaside plantain Plantago maritima This common native plant can be found on beaches, salt marshes, and rocky shor...

Fall Field Cricket   Fall Field Cricket Gryllus pennsylvanicus Crickets don’t actually sing. Instead their song is played by moving ...

Brittani VanDyken uses the skill of whip handling to challenge herself and lead team-building workshops During warm summer evenings in front of Bellingham’s El Sueñito Brewing Company, it’s common to hear the crispness of a sonic boom. The source of the noise isn’t from a gunshot or jet breaking the sound barrier, however: It’s from the crack of a 10-foot whip held by Brittani VanDyken.

Anglerfish   Anglerfish The anglerfish are ray-finned fish in the order Lophiiformes . Both the order's common and scientific n...

Hydrothermal vents In 1977 near the Galápagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador at a depth of 2,500 meters (8,250 feet), ocean explorers ...

Bathysphere   Bathysphere The Bathysphere was a unique spherical deep-sea submersible which was unpowered and lowered into the ocean on ...

Devil's Club Devil's Club Oplopanax horridus Devil's club or Devil's walking stick is a large understory shrub native to the rainfor...

Stinging nettle [Oregon Flora] Stinging nettle Urtica dioica Stinging nettles prick us with tiny hollow hairs called trichomes that ...

Western water hemlock [R.D. Ness] Water hemlock  Ethnobotanist H.D. Harrington once wrote that Water hemlock “has gained the re...

Leopard shark [Aquarium of the Pacific] Leopard shark Triakis semifasciata The leopard shark is a species of houndshark, in the famil...

Salmon shark [Brooke Olson]   Salmon shark Lamna ditropis The salmon shark ranges from Korea and Japan to the Okhotsk and Beri...

Brown cat shark [NOAA] Brown catshark Apristurus brunneus The brown catshark is commonly found in the Pacific Ocean, ranging from the n...

Pacific spiny dogfish shark [NOAA] Pacific spiny dogfish shark Squalus suckleyi Pacific Spiny Dogfish are frequently encountered in s...

Bluntnose sixgill shark [MaST Center Aquarium] Bluntnose sixgill shark [MaST Center Aquarium] Bluntnose sixgill shark Hexanchus gri...

Red elderberry [David A. Hofmann] Red elderberry Sambucus racemosa Red elderberry does best in moist, well-drained soil. Occasionally it...