I can get a helicopter here in ten minutes

[Bill Peckham]

I was Jack Block park today checking out the Sea lions when I decided to call the King5 news tip line. They had a helicopter overhead in less than 10 minutes check it out:
http://www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=207332&shu=1
the attached photo is what it looks like from shore.  They've been there every day for the last week. You can see a blog post I had on Sunday, http://www.billpeckham.com/from_the_sharp_end_of_the/2008/01/sunday-me-blog.html
I first saw them doing this late last week.

I never knew I had the power to call in air support.


EDIT: Re-sized picture - Sluff/ Admin

[angela515]

Very kewl!!

[goofynina]

That was cool, what would make them come into a group like that?  i sure hope they werent planning a rumble against the sharks or something    You are one powerful man Bill   Thanks for sharing that with us 

[Bill Peckham]

There are pups around this time of year so I don't think they're mating. In another part of the park there was a pup left on a gravel beach while the mama went out fishing today - looked very bored.  This is adjacent to the port of seattle cargo container yard.  Here is a google video I shot that shows the relationship - I have a low res camera but when the wind isn't howling over the mic you can hear the barking.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7719155830391117703

[okarol]

Looks like they were feeding on something good. Next time get your handy pocket "signal mirror" out so we can spot you on the helicopter video Bill!

[boxman55]

Not to take away from Bill's post here but we use to go crabbing at Dillons Beach in Northern CA. One time I was pulling one of the traps back into the boat and all of a sudden I couldn't pull it anymore. After a short tug of war, a sea otter surfaced yelling at me. It was pretty cool. I eventually got the trap with some crabs intact, back to the boat...Mark

[Wattle]

Awww cute but don't go swimming. Sharks love to snack on seals.   

[Bill Peckham]

Awww cute but don't go swimming. Sharks love to snack on seals.   

If you look at the other videos on the King5 TV site you'll see video of Orcas too. The video was shot down sound from Seattle so they had to go by here on there way to Gig Harbor . That's what would eat the sea lions around here. I think that they're huddling like that close to shore for protection from the Orcas. Safety in numbers? I don't see how they could be feeding lying on the surface that close in to shore. 

That would be something to see a pod of Orcas in Elliott Bay (Seattle is on Elliott Bay) feeding on sea lions.

[okarol]

From the Monterey Bay Aquarium:
Social behavior: You often see sea lions resting quietly on the surface of the water in "rafts" (a small mass of sea lions on the surface in very close proximity), heads and flippers poking above the water. By waving a flipper in the air, they absorb heat from the sun and avoid losing heat to the water.
Groups of sea lions can be very noisy; their constant, piercing barking can be heard from a quite a distance.

[Bill Peckham]

Thanks Karol - it must be force of habit because the sun has not been shinning up here. The air is colder then the Sound this time of year.
I tried to count how many there are from the helicopter shot - over 50 I believe. From shore it is hard to get a sense for how many there are.

[Joe Paul]

Thats cool