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The Daily Bucket - ebb and flow on the Salish Sea [1]
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Date: 2025-03-08
March 2 and 6, 2025
Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest
Last week we journeyed from our home bay at the south end of the San Juan islands up to the county seat in Friday Harbor to give our boat Elansa a spa treatment, ie a new set of canvas for the aft cabin. The old canvas has been on the boat for decades, much longer than our ownership, and even though we cleaned and mended it periodically, it was a wreck. Between the weather and salt spray, gulls using the boat as a dining table, not to mention otters and mink ripping through the cloth, it was a sorry mess. The only people who can make a new set of canvas locally are in FH, so we needed to take the boat up there and leave it for a few days (coming home and going back by ferry).
The time out on the water was a good chance to see the changes of spring.
Besides seasonal changes, the Salish Sea experiences daily and monthly variations in water movement, and those were a factor for us. Elansa is propelled by the “iron wind” (ie an engine, as opposed to the literal wind) but because she is a solidly built Swedish craft designed for stability in North Sea waters, she doesn’t go very fast. Her top speed is about 6.5 knots. We like that because it makes for leisurely excursions but it can be a problem when transiting Cattle Pass and San Juan Channel, the narrow waterway between the islands. When the tidal current is running at peak, Elansa barely makes headway against it (on a couple of occasions we’ve had to give up and turn around).
So we scheduled our trips up to FH around the tide. Last week was just after a new moon so the high tides were higher and low tides lower than usual, which means a larger volume of water to move. The tidal current races at such times of the month, peaking halfway between the high and low tides. On March 2 northbound we went through San Juan Channel when the flood was just starting, and on March 6 we had a strong ebb tide that reduced our trip time by about a third.
I took the opportunity to see what wildlife was on the water on these trips, and found a big difference in activity between the two days. Maybe the current affected behavior, maybe it was random chance. But there were many signs of spring, a dynamic season in the Salish Sea, and the animals surely knew how to best use the conditions as they ebb and flow themselves.
March 2. Slack into flood tide
Most notable this day were the vast numbers of gulls and Rhinoceros auklets. It sure looked like a sign of arrival for the breeding season (for Rhinoceros auklets) and departure (for Mews).
Whale Rocks surrounded by hundreds of gulls
Most of the gulls were Mew gulls (currently known as Short-billed gulls). Mews winter in our waters and start to depart for northern breeding grounds in March and April, returning in July and August. It is common for birds to congregate before migrating.
Some were using drift logs as a perch
There were the usual numbers of resident Glaucous-winged/Olympics and some mystery gulls that might have been Californias or Ring-bills en route for the season. They head inland.
Rhinoceros auklets breed in these Salish Sea, on small islands. In winter they disperse, and while there are always Rhinos throughout the year, their numbers increase considerably in summer.
In full breeding plumage
There were small groups of them over 5 miles of fairly quiet water this day
Other signs of spring included birds that winter here but will soon be on their way to breeding elsewhere.
Red-necked grebes are molting into breeding colors just before they migrate.
Two drake Harlequin ducks hunt in the rough water by a rocky islet
The numbers of Bald eagles has peaked for the season. Most of the migratory eagles have headed back north to breed. Our year-round resident eagles are beginning their nesting season.
Eagle perched atop a glacially carved rock
The channel marker on approach to Friday Harbor makes for a good perch for birds.
Cormorants dry their wings on the marker
March 6. Ebb tide
Elansa seemed to have enjoyed her stay at the Friday Harbor marina. According to the canvas guy who was working on her during those days, passersby were very complimentary. Elansa is a classic old-fashioned pocket cruiser, with much more character than most modern motor boats.
At FH marina, the big city for Elansa
Looking out the stern as we depart FH. See how tidy and bright the new canvas is, some rolled up for visibility.
It was a bright sunny spring day, with snowy Kulshan visible in the Cascade mountain range to the east.
Interisland ferry Tillikum passes us as we both depart Friday Harbor. The Tilly makes 18 knots so we stayed out of her way. Ferry captains appreciate that.
Around the channel marker, this day there were big riffles with the ebb current. The birds weren’t perched on the marker today, but hunting since the water movement stirs up fish for easy pickings.
Mostly Mew gulls, with some alcids and cormorants
But compared to the few days earlier, there weren’t nearly as many gulls and auklets. No way to know, but it’s a reminder that when you aren’t out there looking, you can completely miss events in nature. I’d never have known about the mass congregations on the 2nd judging by what I saw on the 6th.
Chart plotter shows we picked up 4 knots of extra speed through Cattle Pass, and this wasn’t even the peak of the ebb
Around the corner back on the south side of the islands, it was cormorants who were numerous. Most were too far away to ID but the closer ones were about equal numbers of Brandts and Pelagics, with a few Double crested.
A few Pacific loons in the mix. Seals are hauled out on the rocks beyond.
Brandt’s cormorants are starting to depart about now for breeding on the outer coast
Pelagic cormorants breed widely, including these inland waters
River otters and Buffleheads are common near shore but less so a mile offshore where I saw them this day. Both were hunting in old kelp beds. Typically in winter bull kelp gets torn from its anchorage and washed onto beaches, with fresh baby kelp plants growing from the bottom, invisible at the surface until summer. We did have big windstorms and high tides — one sign is how clean the rocks have been washed of bird guano. This is persistent kelp. Perhaps the beds are doing better now the seastars have returned to eat the urchins.
Otter by Long Island
Buffleheads and Mew gulls by Hall Island kelp bed
Pair of eagles on a clean licheny rock
While there weren’t as many Rhinoceros auklets this day, the Pigeon Guillemots were abundant. Common murres (mid molt) and Marbled murrelets (winter plumage) were around too.
Almost all the guillemots were in breeding plumage. Guillemots breed locally.
Elansa is back home again, moored at the local dock, with her bright clean new canvas.
Back from the big city
Spring is transition season here in the Pacific Northwest, as everywhere. That’s true on the sea as well as on land. Marine birds molt into breeding plumage, our winter birds depart for breeding, summer residents gather, sea lions and other marine mammals pack on calories for the coming summer season, kelp plants start their annual cycle. Lots goes on underwater too, like the spawning of herring. Nudibranchs, snails and other invertebrates are spawning too. Crabs are mating.
The tides ebb and flow, and so do the living creatures of the Salish Sea.
🐟
Mostly cloudy in the PNW islands today with some rain, a change from the “false spring” we enjoyed last week. Quite breezy. Daytime temps in the low 50s, nighttime mid 40s.
What’s up in nature in your neighborhood?
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