Page 1
Spring is a burst of color on land and in the
sea as plants spread their soft, new growth.
Page 2
Urchins munch on kelp in shallow Pacific waters. But hungry sea otters eat their share of the urchins, helping the plants grow into an undersea forest of many colors.
Page 3
Many fish, crabs, and shrimp hide and feast in the kelp forest. Diving birds and swimming seals dine on the young fish that live in the dense tangles of kelp.
Page 4
The humpback whales dive and circle under schools of fish. Looking up, they blow bubbles that form a net to trap their helpless prey.
Page 5
Summer is a calm, blue sea.
Seals sleep in the warm sun.
Baby puffins hatch in burrows on a rocky island.
Page 6
Fish grow bigger and stronger through the summer; but
they are still food for many birds, bigger fish, and the
humpback whales. Mouths open wide, the whales lunge
to the surface, straining the water to trap fish using the
comb-like baleen that lines their huge mouths.
The whales put on layers of fat as they feast.
Page 7
Fish dine on the plankton that bloom in great numbers
and in many kinds. Lights shine from within some of the
plankton. As the whales swim through the swarms, the
night sea glows like streams of headlights on a freeway.
Page 8
Autumn winds blow strongly across the sea.
The summer lights soon grow dark as the
tiny plankton die and fall to the ocean floor.
Page 9
Fall is a time of change on the ocean.
Salmon feed in the kelp forests as they return
to rivers from distant ocean waters.
Seals, sea lions, and humans hunt the salmon.
Page 10
Some orca whales hunt the salmon too.
Other orcas hunt seals,
sea lions, and even humpback whales.
Page 11
As winter seas grow colder and colder,
northern waters become quiet and clear.
Atlantic and Pacific humpback whales turn
south as icy winds blow.
Page 12
Winter whales leap and sing in the southern
waters. Just like baby chicks hatch on land in
the spring, baby whales are born in this warm
ocean during the tropical winter.
Page 13
When winter turns to spring, the whales return
to their northern waters as sea plants begin to
spread their sparkling growth once again.
