Decorated Warbonnets

[JackConnick]

We've been spotting these guys now again this summer. They are rare to see and very shy, usually hiding away deep in a nook or cranny. They seem to like the wood pilings at Seacrest Park, our local after work divesite here in Seattle and do tend to come out a bit at night. A few weeks ago, while testing my drysuit (and without camera, of course) we found 5 of them on one log!

I had to go back with my camera and see if I could hunt them down. There is one very large Warbonnet, maybe 12-15' (and they are only supposed to get to 10") at the end of the log. I call him "Big Daddy". Then there are usually a few smaller ones around. I found Big Daddy ok, and he was playing his usual games of diving into the interior of the log. But as I was swimming away, I saw another freely swimming down the log. But quickly lost it (her?) in the growth. I swam around for a while hoping they'd poke out again and searching the log I found it amongst the tunicates, sponge and anemones. Having a clear go, I cranked off a huge amount of shots, as the D80 and z240 strobes can shoot very quickly. Shot with/without my 60mm with/without a Woody diopter and between f/14-f/16 at 100th sec.

I was quite pleased with the results and on the way back almost missed one of the largest octopus I've ever seen. Apparently there are 3 of them hanging around, keeping the crab population in check. Macro to wide angle; Seacrest is an amazing site.

Enjoy,
Jack

 

[xariatay]

Very Nice! Especially the 1st photo. Also like the story behind the photos - gave a sense of participation...

 

[Deefstes]

Agreed. Great pics and great story. Thanks.

 

[Larry C]

Great shots Jack. Only one I've seen down here was about two inches long and deep in a hole. Pics were barely OK. Where's the Octo?!!!!

 

[parabolic]

Very nice Jack. Where is Seacrest Park?
++Ken++

 

[JackConnick]

I was rigged for macro. Snapped a couple but the octo was under a log and the viz was bad.

Ken, a lot of people call it Alki, but that's incorrect:

ExperienceWA - Seacrest

 

[danclem]

Hi Jack:

Nice shots! We have been photographing two large octos below the north end of the Honey Bear for several weeks. Tough shooting. They look to be 12' or so across. I wonder what is attracting the Decorated Warbonnets?

Dan

 

[TSandM]

Very nice shots!

I have only been diving for three years, but all three summers, there have been warbonnets in the jackstraw pilings. They're one of the thing that I figure I can almost always find to show new divers on a tour, although sometimes they don't recognize what they're looking at! They are such cute little guys. I wonder where they go in the wintertime?

 

[seattle_don]

Jack, great shots. I'm new to SCUBA but not to "photos". Photos are my job and those are great. Good job.

Don.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Yup ... during the warmer months, they're not rare at Seacrest Park if you know where to look. I've had good success over the past few years finding them and getting a decent picture now and then ...

Some of the largest decorated warbonnets I've ever seen were on the walls up on Port Hardy (northern Vancouver Island) ... but then, everything seems to grow on steroids up there ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)