Expired True's Beaked Whale

On the last day of this blog and 2013, I went out to look at and photograph an expired Trues Beaked Whale that washed ashore on Easton's Beach in Newport. I conducted hundreds of whale watches in the 1990's and have spent many more hundreds and hundreds of days at sea, and I have never had such an opportunity to see a beaked whale of any species. (Although I do believe I saw one in the Indian Ocean 1984).  Sad that I would have to see one under this circumstance.    

 

About 16-feet long

The two teeth were missing

Male

Veination in the flukes

Where two world collide- a dead whale and graffiti.

HAPPY NEW YEAR
 

Expired Trues Beaked Whale

On the last day of this blog and 2013, I went out to look at and photograph an expired Trues Beaked Whale that washed ashore on Easton's Beach in Newport. I conducted hundreds of whale watches in the 1990's and have spent many more hundreds and hundreds of days at sea, and I have never had such an opportunity to see a beaked whale of any species. (Although I do believe I saw one in the Indian Ocean 1984).  Sad that I would have to see one under this circumstance.   

It doesn't look like I'll be able to get photos out today. Standby...
  

Arctic Visitor

As it dosen't look like I'm going to getting out on the water in these last couple of weeks before the end of the year, I thought for my potential last post for this blog, that I would have to break ranks from marine to terrestial and post this photo of a Snowy Owl taken by Paul L'Etoile during last weekend's Newport-Westport Annual Christmas Bird Count. It was a bone-chilling cold day that ended up in a snow storm, so the birds were hunkered down- with the exception being these Snowy Owls, of which we counted at least four, possibly five in our sector.

                                                            Merry Christmas all.

Exotic Destination

Some seemingly unremarkable animals...

 

 

....but it's not so much what, but rather where...

...mangroves...

...and the beach at Praia Grande, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. 

 

The gulls are Kelp Gulls, and here are some Black-horned Capuchins for good measure. 

 

 

What is it?

Washed ashore last month on Third Beach. Any clue?

Growth along the  side. Indicating that it had been floating offshore for awhile.

Shrimp City

 

Full moon low tide, Newport docks.

Just astern of my friend's skiff in the photo above...

...was a congregation of  these shrimp swimming and clinging to the bulkhead.

 I caught some...

...and while I haven't ID them to species level- I think perhaps they were sand shrimp.  

Breeding? Feeding?

 

 

Cornetfish and Many-ribbed Jellyfish

Don't see these many-ribbed jellyfish all year, and then today, Second Beach is littered with them washed ashore.

 

Then, two weekends ago, during the last Norman Bird Sanctuary public seine of the year at Third Beach, Tess and I were able to pull up this wild fish- a blue-spotted cornetfish. We got it over to Salve Regina University's biology lab fish tank straightaway.

 

Notice the scup and the Northern kingfish in the background. We seined them as well.

 

 

. Sorry about the poor photography.

Goodbye Old Friend

Well, it's over.

The third summer of the Minnow Aquarium on Third Beach is now concluded. This year was notable as the Norman Bird Sanctuary's Coastal Camp operated for six weeks this summer, up from two weeks last year. With this small army, we were able to witness some notable finds, nothing along the lines of last year's Night Sergeant, but exciting nonetheless.

Once I complete the tallies of fish and inverts I will post them.

So sad to get back to civilian life and bid those halycon days on the beach farewell. 

Salp Soup

 

Newport harbour is awash with these salps (Thalia democratica I think)

Plus there are the usual swarms of comb jellies and a hydromedusaae I can not identify.

 

 

Third Beach Coastal Camp Enemy #1

Lady Crab

   

Waterscorpion-should it be in saltwater?

Hello,

A Norman Bird Sanctuary Summer Camp counselor asked me what this animal was, found at "Crab Town" on Third Beach, Middletown. Wasn't sure, looked it up, and it turns out to be a waterscorpion (Ranatra sp.) Rare sight clearly, however the question is, should it have been in salt water? I think not.

 

 

Aquarium in Full Stride

The Minnow Aquarium is in full swing. Of the three years I have been operating it, this is by far and above the best season so far. There is way too much to cover in this post, however here are some photos.

Yours truly

Monthly DEM visit

Barrelfish

Banded rudderfish

Atlantic needlefish

Presumably a crevalle jack

Comb jelly

Any ideas? White perch perhaps?

Newport's Largest Electric Ray

My friend Nicole called me last night and told me to hoof down to the docks at the bottom of my street to check out this floating expired fish.

 

    About four feet long, and over 100-pounds, this was an Atlantic torpedo- Rhode Island's largest electric ray capable of delivering a charge of all of 220-volts.

Interesting Marine Animals a and Trip to Berlin, NH

The winter and early-spring are long gone. I spent the recent colder months investigating planktonic life down on the docks in Newport, RI. 

These were some of the bizarre creatures that I was able to see in only a few feet of water.  My largest hindrance is the poor camera work.

These are arrow worms- they have their own phylum Chaetognatha.

These two are of a Cumacean shrimp

These are American eel elvers. The eyes glowed in the dark. Friends in Maine made a lot on money off these animals this past spring- up to $1,500lb. They sell to the Chinese who grow them and sell them to the Japanese who eat them like we eat hot dogs.

Black-eyed hydromedusa

                  

                               Sea gooseberries. You can just make out the iridescence.

                                                             Lion's mane jellyfish

                                                           Isopod Idotea bathica
                                            

 _______________________________________________________________________________

As spring is radily turning into summer, my marine focus has changed from planktonic life to the operation of the aquarium on Third Beach that will open late-June. In the meantime, I did go far inland north to Berlin, New Hampshire; the state’s northernmost city. I climbed four mountains and explored along two river systems. Not much marine life, however along the Androscoggin and Dead Rivers, I did see five species of freshwater fish.

View overlooking Berlin, New Hampshire

Porcupine

Fuzzy image of  hungry bear. I didn't linger

Incredibly, it was 25-degrees Fahrenheit one morning and the Presidential Mountains had tons on snow on them.

Brook trout. Androscoggin River. The fishermen who caught these told me they were brown trout.

           

                                                                White sucker juvenile                                                               

Northern redbelly dace

                                                                   Blacknosed shiner

                                           

Bridled shiner

Water boatman