Photos / Sounds

What

Orca (Orcinus orca)

Observer

alexlamoreaux

Date

September 15, 2022 02:29 PM PDT

Description

Group of 6 to 8; just finished eating a dead mammal. One particularly large and with curved dorsal. One with scars on right side of dorsal. One showing off a Pacific Sea-Nettle.

Bigg’s type transient Orcas: T-38 group (the matriarch is T-38, born in 1980). T38 (F 1980) T38B (F 2003), T38B1 (U 2018), T38C (U 2018), T38D (M 2012), T38E (U 2017)
T38A (F 2000)

Photos / Sounds

What

Orca (Orcinus orca)

Observer

angelpalomera1

Date

September 16, 2023 11:00 PM PDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Orca (Orcinus orca)

Observer

sarabeebird

Date

May 2022

Photos / Sounds

What

Orca (Orcinus orca)

Observer

davidwinters

Date

May 2022

Photos / Sounds

What

Orca (Orcinus orca)

Observer

skirkvold

Date

August 4, 2022 06:43 PM PDT

Description

Killer Whale Breaching

Photos / Sounds

What

Orca (Orcinus orca)

Observer

paul_norwood

Date

June 11, 2023 07:51 AM AKDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Northwestern Salamander (Ambystoma gracile)

Observer

natureguy

Date

July 8, 2023 09:55 AM PDT

Description

Heron with long salamander in bill shaking before it eats. I'm assuming either a very large NW Salamander (Ambystoma gracile) or one of the Pacific Giant Salamanders (Dicamptodon).

It appears to me the salamander is around or just beyond the length of the salamander's bill (5-7").

Head appears to small to be an Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum).

As additional information in estimating length of the salamander, note the following heron dimensions as provided by ChatCPT 4.0:

Head Length from the back of the skull to the tip of the bill, can range from around 9 to 11 inches (23 to 28 centimeters).

Bill Length: The length of the bill, from the base to the tip, is typically about 5 to 7 inches (13 to 18 centimeters)

Bill Width: The width of the bill, measured at the widest point, can be roughly around 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 centimeters)

I realize this is likely inadequate to better ID the salamander given the images are screen captures from a. video taken at some distance.

NOTE: The heron captured this salamander right at the shoreline of a small island (20' across) in the middle of a large local pond.