Thursday, July 7, 2011

Summer 2011 at least I hope it is summer as at this writing in June we are not sure whether it is summer or more spring like weather but I hope we are well into summer as you read this. In fact yesterday on the solstice it was the warmest day yet with a nice warm South Easterly wind blowing. All the Wild Coho smolts have gone to sea over the past two months from all our streams. The pond in the estuary, which holds smolts leaving Bonnel Creek, has been drained with all the fish leaving under their own steam. We can only hope that enough Wild Chum fry were able to incubate and leave over the spring, as Chum leave almost immediately after emerging we have no way to tell how many there are in the streams. Last fall it seemed that the adults returning were very low for the Chum and with all the big washouts over the winter we hope that not all the eggs were buried too deep for them to emerge or worse still washed out of the gravel and lost before they could hatch, only time will tell. Many years ago the Chum were so plentiful residents made trips to the streams to watch the Chum return in large numbers. Something went wrong, of which we can only speculate, over fishing, possible due to the gillnet fishery which used to be right up to the mouth of the bay and was based on the escapement into the Nanaimo River. When they decided the Nanaimo River had enough Chums returning they allowed an opening to so call clean up the remainder, which also cleaned up all the other smaller, streams returning Chum.

July and August is a busy time for stream keepers as we continue with our rescue of trapped fry in drying pools as the streams dry up for the summer. Walking the streams now in June we see lots of fry so things look good for at least the Wild Coho.

On June the 9th we took a grade one class from Aspengrove School for a nature walk into the estuary. During the walk the kids picked up garbage along the foreshore and the estuary. This day was organized with the help of the Royal Banks Blue Water project, which promotes the stewardship, and protection of our most valuable resource Water. The children learned about how important the whole watershed is to the continued quality of water and how it affects all life within. We had a kindergarten of around 80 to 100 goslings wandering around while their adult chaperones kept a close eye on our whereabouts at all times. The children observed the few smolts remaining in the pond and help pull an extra board out of the outlet to encourage the remainder to leave as the flows increased. Redwing blackbirds singing away all under the watchful eye of a big Bald Eagle who was probably scorning us out over disturbing his gosling hunt. On the way back they helped me pick some Sea Asparagus and by the time we left the estuary some of them were snacking on the Asparagus, which was a good introduction to wild food along with a quick talk on mushrooms when observing some Puffballs growing along the way. After a lunch on the beach they all had some time to play along the foreshore and all left exhausted. This was a great day with all the children enjoying their day out. We would like to thank the manager and staff of the Woodgrove branch of the Royal Bank for their involvement in this event and a special thanks to the children from Aspengrove School and their teacher Miss Moss. [See attached picture]

Oh and of course the parents who also came along making this great event for all concerned. A thank you to the RDN for waiving the dumping fees for the garbage that was collected.

With the coming of spring to our watersheds, [hopefully not premature with that statement even though you will be reading this in June] the fish have started to move downstream on their migration to the sea. Over the past month we have seen an increasing number of smolts as the days go by even though water temperatures have been in the single digit range [5c to 8c]. Last week we saw the largest Wild Coho smolts yet to exit the Beaver pond, over 8 inches, closer 10 if we had time to measure it. As with all fish the most important thing we can do is not have them out of the water more than necessary, a quick dip with the net then count and release. Ever heard of a salmon that could hold its breath? It should have left last year or the year before and now will go out to sea for the rest of this year then return in the fall as an adult. Many years ago we had Coho fry in our box before we had done any fry salvage for that year. At the time we speculated that their was the possibility that some fish had remained in the lake and spawned in the upper reaches of the stream above the lake, now finding this one we think that was the case. Once the Beaver begins to repair the dam around the end of May [or earlier if the weather is dry] the smolts no longer have free passage through the dam and have to wiggle through where they can or jump over the top. If they remain then they become two year olds the next year when they leave and if not as in this ones case they can stay or leave as a three year old. We do have a pipe buried in the dam for fish passage but since our boat was stolen we now have no way to check the pipe without a very cold swim and believe me the water is cold at 5 centigrade, even the short time your hands are in the water they begin to go numb if you have to fish out the net from the bottom of the box. This is a very beautiful time of the year to be out and about in the watersheds, all the trees are sending out new growth, plants are beginning to bloom, birds of all kinds are nesting and rearing their young. The Bears are starting to wander around feeding on new shoots and grasses and their are even some spring mushrooms, we had a feed of Shaggymane two weeks ago from the same spot right in the middle of the old logging road where they grow in the fall. Yesterday I picked Puffballs in the estuary, which made a fine addition to lunch. Next time I go to the estuary I will be picking some Sea asparagus, which will be placed, in a shallow baking dish with olive oil and a nice fillet of Sockeye placed on top then baked in the oven, I told you spring is a fine time of the year. Speaking of Sockeye make sure you get over to Port Alberni over the next few months to see the run of Sockeye one of the largest in years to return. Now the first nations have the rights, which they never really lost in the first place to trade their catch you will be able acquire some to bring home if you are not a fisherperson. June is the month that should bring warmer weather but do not quote me on that as May has felt like April or even March. Remember that when out and about try to leave only footprints and take time to really appreciate the magnificent natural world all around us. Take time to sit beside a stream and watch nature unfold before your very eyes, you may be lucky to have a close encounter with the creatures that live there. There is nothing finer than to watch a Water Ouzel swimming around in a riffle or pool in search of food and if you are really still it may come right up to you.