Author Topic: Seattle sea lions  (Read 975 times)

beryllium10

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Seattle sea lions
« on: February 26, 2021, 05:52:33 »
We often hear sea lions calling from out in Puget Sound, and in late summer a few usually show up around the Locks and fish ladder that connect Seattle's lakes to the ocean, to catch returning salmon.  This morning on the way to work I stopped at the Locks to check for herons.  Instead, I found an enormous gathering of sea lions - 60-80 at a rough count - floating in a couple of "rafts".  They were mostly lolling lazily about, looking mindful, and striking very photogenic yoga poses.  The pictures below were all taken with a D850, the 300 mm f/4 AF-D, and 1.4 TC.  The last, in which they're all scattering in a frenzy, was about 10 minutes after a test of Seattle's cellphone earthquake warning "shake-alert".  Maybe their cell carrier was slow, or they had bad reception.
Cheers,  John

Lars Hansen

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Re: Seattle sea lions
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2021, 10:13:29 »
Great series and background - sea lions practicing yoga!  ;D
Thanks for sharing.

ColinM

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Re: Seattle sea lions
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2021, 22:16:37 »
What a lovely find John.

... striking very photogenic yoga poses. 

I dont think I've ever seen sea lions looking as chilled as this!

beryllium10

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Re: Seattle sea lions
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2021, 04:14:10 »
Thanks Lars and Colin! I just read that holding their fins out of the water is their way of regulating body temperature.  In this case, I don't know if they were warming or chilling ...
Cheers again,  John

Randy Stout

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Re: Seattle sea lions
« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2021, 23:11:27 »
John:

Really fun.  I esp. like #3 because of the heads.  I would trade a heron for a sea lion every time , and that comes from a dedicated bird photographer!

Cheers

Randy

Øivind Tøien

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Re: Seattle sea lions
« Reply #5 on: March 03, 2021, 04:27:44 »
+1 for # 3, with the eye contact with one of the sea lions. The splashing in the last one is also very nice.
Øivind Tøien

beryllium10

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Re: Seattle sea lions
« Reply #6 on: March 03, 2021, 17:41:21 »
Randy and Øivind,  Thanks for your kind comments.  I like the sideways look in #3, but I also like the expressions of blissed out inner calm that they seem to have in some of the others.  Randy - I will trade you a heron for a sea lion at some point.  There's a rookery in the trees right above where I took the sea lion photos, and they are beginning to gather for the Spring.  Lots of scrapping over who gets which nest, fetching sticks for renovations, and panicking over eagles.  I'll try to post some photos of them.
Cheers again,  John

Randy Stout

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Re: Seattle sea lions
« Reply #7 on: March 03, 2021, 19:08:40 »
John:

Look forward to the Herons!

Randy