Boston Harbor Marina
www.pugetsoundsealife.com
Crystal Jelly
Hybrid Gull
Larus glaucescens x occidentalis
Lion’s Mane Jelly
Aequorea victoria
Cyanea capillata
Fried Egg Jelly
Phocellophora camtschatica
Giant Plumous Anemone
Metridium farcimen
Harbor Seal
Phoca vitulina
PILING
Great Blue Heron
Obelia Hydroid
Ardea herodias
Obelia sp.
FLOAT
Dock Shrimp
Pandalus danae
Purple Sea Star
Sugar Kelp
Laminaria saccharina
Northern Feather-duster Worm
OPEN SEA WATER
Pisaster ochraceus
Eudistylia vancouveri
SEA BOTTOM
Bay Mussel
Northern Kelp Crab
Mytilus trossulus
Pugettia producta
Acorn Barnacle
Balanus glandula
Shiner Surfperch
Cymatogaster aggregata
Three-spine Stickleback
Gasterosteus aculeatus
Water level is at +7.5 feet above mean sea level (extreme high water level is +8.8 feet).
Sunflower Sea Star
Pycnopodia helianthoides
Graceful Crab
Cancer gracilis
Red Rock Crab
Cancer productus
Common Animals and Plants
found on the PILING
Acorn Barnacle: To 1”, white shell, kin to shrimp, eats
plankton.
Dock Shrimp: To 7”, seasonal, eyes glow at night.
Hybrid Gull: To 25”, common, cross between Western and
Glaucous-winged gulls.
Northern Kelp Crab: Body to 4”, eats plants, small animals.
Giant Plumose Anemone: To 39”, eats plankton, does not
sting.
Purple Sea Star: To 20”, common, eats barnacles.
found on the FLOATS
Sugar Kelp: To 10’, brown seaweed, sweet.
Giant Plumose Anemone: To 39”, eats plankton, does not
sting.
Obelia Hydroid: To 12”, kin to anemone, tree shape, eats
plankton.
Northern Feather Duster Worm: To 15”, leathery tube,
eats plankton.
Bay Mussel: To 4”, kin to clam, eats plankton.
Great Blue Heron: To 46”, common, shoreline hunter.
Harbor Seal: To 6’, rests on floats, eats fish and squid.
found in OPEN SEA WATER
Crystal Jelly: To 7”, glows when disturbed, does not sting.
Fried Egg Jelly: To 12”, stings.
Lion’s Mane Jelly: To 36”, stings.
Shiner Surfperch: To 8”, live bearer.
Three-spine Stickleback: To 4”, male builds nest, attracts
Directions
North on East Bay Drive which becomes Boston Harbor
Road, seven miles to 73rd Ave N.E., turn left to marina.
Parking is available across street.
The marina is privately owned. The public is allowed
to visit the dock and beach. Non-swimmers and small
children MUST wear a life jacket (loaners are available)
on the dock. No running on dock or boarding private
boats. Watch, but please don’t touch the creatures. Do
not trespass on adjacent private beaches.
Beach Habitats
Pilings, like a rocky intertidal beach, are exposed to
air (low tide) or covered by water (high tide) so hardy
species live at the top and delicate species at the bottom.
The underside of Floats support deep water organisms
that don’t tolerate drying or sunshine.
Open Water provides a home to young and adults of a
variety of organisms.
The Sea Bottom below the floats is home to many
animals and plants.
Protect marine organisms by
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Picking up and putting pet waste in the trash
Using organic lawn care products
Annual septic tank inspection
Keeping pollutants out of storm drains
found on the SEA BOTTOM
Eaten by people. Washington State Department of Fish and
Wildlife license is required to harvest shellfish and sea weed.
Find out how you can protect aquatic habitats at:
www.streamteam.info
at BOSTON HARBOR MARINA
Good Beach Behavior
female to lay.
Graceful Crab: To 5”, common, predator.
Red Rock Crab: To 8”, common, predator.
Sunflower Sea Star: To 3’, common, predator.
Puget Sound Sea Life
www.streamteam.info
Photographs and text by David W Jamison. Seal photograph
by Jim Anderson. Brochure printed by Stream Team, a
program of the local stormwater utilities.
Remember —
all water and pollution flow downhill to estuaries.
Located
North of Olympia on the east side of the mouth of
Budd Inlet.
What to See
Low Tide: Look for burrowing shrimp and clams
in beach around boat launch and marina. Walk
the dock at the marina looking for animals on the
pilings, floats or on the sea bottom. Watch for sea
birds, Harbor seals and River otters.
High Tide: Watch gull and other sea birds feed.
Walk along the dock looking at the animals and
plants that live on the sides of the floats. Wade in
shallow water on the beach looking for small fish
and shrimp.
Boston Harbor Marina is privately owned.
312 73rd Ave. N.E., 360-357-5670
Find out more about local
marine animals and plants at
www.pugetsoundsealife.com