So this video was approved to air on the new local channel (Comcast 28) and tree-planting Mitchell Maisel received his Eagle scout Badge for the work he did on Alhambra Creek. There’s a nice article about it here in the Martinez News Gazette. I guess it takes a while for the paperwork to get processed and clear because this project took place in 2009 and the badge was awarded last weekend. Never mind, we’re excited for you, and happy for our creek.
A friend whose home is along Alhambra Creek above Brown Street sends these photos of his backyard visitors.
Hooded Mergansers in Alhambra Creek: William Mechling
Regular readers of this blog will recognize the showy plumage of Hooded mergansers. This remarkable fish-eating duck nests in tree cavities in the east and comes out here to enjoy shallow waters during the winter. The excellent Cornell birding site tells me that sometimes several females will lay eggs in a single nest and adds
The Hooded Merganser finds its prey underwater by sight. The merganser can actually change the refractive properties of its eyes to enhance its underwater vision.
How cool is that? A bird with water-vision goggles? What does it mean that Hooded Mergansers are in upper Alhambra Creek? It means there are little fish for them to eat, which is always a good sign. it has been documented that our watershed, like most, gets less healthy and robust as it flows down to the mouth. Increased runoff from streets and drains introduce more toxins and pollutants. In fact the location of the beaver dams is historically the least healthy section of the entire creek.
I like to think that the beavers are changing that one pond at a time.
So I sent Cheryl’s lovely photo to Lisa Ownes Viani yesterday and she sent it around to her fish buddies, Bruce Herbold, Ph.D. and Robert Leidy. Ph.D. of the EPA. They got out their detective skills and set about counting fins.
well, Rob Leidy and I both think that it is probably a tule perch. We both also first thought that it was probably some sunfish, but magnification clearly shows the line of scales along the dorsal fin that make it an Embiotocid rather than a Centrarchid and the absence of barring on teh body and the fact that it is in or near fresh water would make it most likely the tule perch Hysterocarpus traskii.
Bruce went onto say that a tule perch was his favorite because of its unique reproduction. Mom bears all the young live! That sounded pretty wild to me, but after learning that our snipe engage in joint custody arrangements, anything was possible. The UCB California Fish Website had this to say about tule motherhood:
Young perch then begin to develop within her, slowly at first, and more rapidly in the final two months. In around May or June the female bears 10-60 live fish. The number of young produced increases with body size and may vary from one environment to another.
It also pointed out that these perch require “cool well-oxgenated water”, a description that many beaver-phobic biologists have warned would never happen because of the beaver dams. But my favorite message came from Robert Leidy, who added this little tidbit:
By the way, I think this is the first record for tule perch from Alhambra Creek, as I am not aware of any historical collections or records!
The keystone beaver strikes again! Let’s just take a moment to enjoy the series of connections necessary for this to happen. Cheryl took the photo because she was out watching for the beavers. I sent the photo to Lisa because I met her through the beavers. Lisa sent the photo on to the top fish biologists in the state who worked to agree on its identification. Robert recognized it was a first sighting. And our wikipedia friend immediately recorded the find on the Alhambra Creek pages.
That’s what I call successful cooperation! And the beavers get the credit for it, which they genuinely deserve. Keep your eyes out for new species down at the dam! A team of experts is standing by….
Every now and then in my beaver forays I encounter the character of the stalwart outdoorsman who has used Alhambra Creek for fishing, or for catching crawdads, or to launch his Kayak, and feels fairly familiar with the landscape. Some of these greet our keystone species discussion with suspicion.
“I know this creek. There are no (fill in the blank: beaver, otter, muskrat, mink) on this creek”
This always surprises me because it seems to suggest creeks have the static populations of prisons with familiar residents that you know by name like a predictable 70’s sitcom. It ignores the fact that creeks are really water highways, and animals use them to pass from one destination to another. Beavers alone have been known to go some 30 miles to find good habitat for dispersal, with females going farther distances to locate better feeding. Who would expect to know everything that passes through a corridor?
I wonder if the same man would stand on the freeway and say,
“I know 680. There are no porsche on 680.”
[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=tzKTwJEjpac]
Check out today’s Mark Trail for some advice from very familiar faces. This year he did an entire series about a landowner attempting to remove a pesky beaver dam and failing, only to find that when a fire started on his property the pond provided the only standing water available to put it out. Hmmm. The Earthday message is an excellent reminder that this Saturday is the Friend’s of Alhambra Creek cleanup and any friend of the beavers should naturally be a friend of the creek. At least some members of the council usually make an appearance at these events. Wouldn’t it be very convincing if turnout was double this year, because of the increased interest in the creek? Put on your old sneakers and head down to the Martinez Adult School staging area where you can be put to very good use. The link is to last years clean up but the rules are the same:
9 AM to Noon , Staging at Martinez Adult Education Campus (Alhambra & F Street) – need volunteers to go in teams to drag dumped things out of creeks for City crews to pick up and haul away. Be prepared to get wet & muddy and to have the satisfaction of working with others to clean the creeks. Eligible for community service hours.
Tempted? While we were working on the Birthday-Earthday celebration, I had an excellent conversation with Mark Westwind who organized the Kayak Regatta event. We talked about putting together a volunteer schedule for paddlers to regularly clean the downtown creek. The idea would be to have volunteers sign up for one or two weekends a year, and kayak the creek area picking up trash. Mark had the excellent idea of using a child’s float ring as a trash bin to pull along behind the boat, and storing a skim net somewhere it can be used as well. Bottles, cans and light trash can be easily removed, although heavier items can just be noted for city staff. Although the creek is far too small for sea kayakers, white water boats fit easily in the channel. It might be possible to arrange a loaned boat from some of our local supporters as well.
Details to be worked out would be the exact put-in and take-out sites, and the necessary volunteer waiver with the city, but if the idea of helping out from the water (beavers’-eye-view) interests you, shoot me an email and give some idea of your availability. We should have all the manpower necessary to keep this creek area clean.
