Worth repeating for the new year... NOAA's full report, "Atlantic Coast Habitat Conservation Plan for River Herring," can be read under Resources.
While we have focused on protecting and preserving the herring migration into Slough Pond, we have always advocated, as well, for the entire ecosystem the fish are an essential part of, as any decision, large or small, effects the whole.
January 8
This month and next, while we enjoy our winter break, I thought I might reflect here and there on this quiet season and on fish in general. I was reminded today of this favorite poem of mine by Elizabeth Bishop. I shared it last spring but it is worthy of revisiting, often. The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop.
Meanwhile below, a dust of snow blankets the fish passage and crowns its entrance.
January 13 Finally discovered the elusive herring passage from Slough Pond to Pine Pond. The heavy rain storms and the lack of vegetation on the trees provided a clear view of the wetland today, making the passage visible as the sun set. I wondered how I missed it before. By the looks of it, it appears to have been another cranberry bog with accompanying irrigation ditches. Apparently road work beyond the curve on Slough Road, just past the landing (many years ago now) had blocked the passage. The section that connects to Slough on the other, east side of the road was not quite so visible as dusk settled. It is on Brewster Conservation Trust land however, which was purchased several years ago, and there were some flags in the woods. We will explore the area again and see what we can find. It is doubtful that the culvert pipe which runs under the road could be reopened without major effort by the Town but who knows...
January 14 Went back to investigate the fish passage connection between Slough and Pine Ponds today now that we know where it is. The passageway was quite clear to see on both sides of the road. It is located on the west side of Slough, accessible from the road just beyond the landing at Slough Pond. There is a culvert pipe under the road which is fairly open on the Slough side but overgrown on the Pine side. Channels are evident in the Pine Pond wetland, probably an old cranberry bog, (possibly owned by Nathan Black,* a neighbor of John Hay's, as recounted in Nature's Year) or perhaps Mosquito Control drainage. (* According to historical records, Nathan Black sold acreage on Slough Pond to the Tubman family who donated it eventually to the BCT. Known as "Slough Swamp" it was part of his cranberry bog.)
Below you can see the entrance to the passage from Slough Pond which runs through the woods for a short distance up to the culvert pipe under the road.
The images below show what appears to be the primary channel that leads directly through the wetlands into Pine Pond, on the west side of the road. It is distinctive among several side and overgrown channels and flows into a second, good-sized culvert pipe. It is evident that it had been well maintained at one time. It is unclear whether this is still private property or acreage recently purchased by the BCT. One can't help but wonder if this migratory fish passage, part of the original seven connected ponds in the Stony Brook Watershed, could be restored.
January 15 A friend of ours (and the alewives), Leslie Kramer, shared a video with me this weekend. She was able to record alewife fry departing Slough Pond in December! Note: the imagery is shot from the north side of the passageway, just below the culvert, whereas I usually walk on the south side's heavily eroded path. This is the final stretch before Walker's. We are so grateful to have this footage having only been able to assume the last of the fry had managed to emigrate. We now have proof. This is clear evidence of successful management of the herring run, averting a looming crisis in late fall, and saving the lives of hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of juveniles- the next generation.
The video was recorded on December 12.
Dec. 1: The AmeriCorps crew cleared the passage and sandbags were installed. Dec. 4: Rain. The bucket was re-inserted in the culvert. Dec. 8: The sandbags and bucket were removed. Dec. 9-11: Rain. Dec. 12: Alewives depart.
January 21 Winter is hard on wildlife. Yet isn't it the way of Nature to weed out the most vulnerable, who might be suffering, providing nourishment for others. Only the strong (or lucky) survive. It is hard for us mere mortals to watch. I am rooting for some vulnerable waterfowl during these frigid days, grateful the pond did not freeze in its entirety.
As usual, during hunting season, the ever practical Mallards take refuge here, where no hunting is allowed. There has been a dramatic increase in their numbers among our regulars: the stately Great Blue Heron, companionable Buffleheads and Mergansers, two exuberant Kingfishers, Herring Gulls, and a family of five Canada Geese (80 more flew in this morning). Of late, other visitors have arrived: a flock of bright Ring-necked Ducks, a very small female Wood Duck, delicate even, and the most unusual, an immature Cormorant who landed yesterday. Cormorants usually migrate but this one has taken up with our residents for protection and companionship, and safety no doubt. I watched him regurgitate a live crab on our dock yesterday, fight with it, then swallow it whole again. He seems lost and uncertain of himself.
Among our Mallards, one drake has a broken leg. One of the Geese, a juvenile, does as well. (I have spoken with WildCare.) They manage admirably but I am watchful. This morning, two Bald Eagles, who live in the adjoining woods, circled and circled, looking for openings. They are magnificent birds but on a day like this one terrifying to see. The dark Crows, guardians of the pond, out on their daily patrol, called in reinforcements, as they do, which seem to materialize out of thin air, and herded them off. We all kept our eyes to the sky. It is a blue sky today and luminous in its beauty, made even more vibrant by the cloud white snow on ice that curves into lace-edged continents on the blue pond.
January 22 A second night of subzero temperatures brought the deep freeze to the pond I was concerned about. By noon there was enough moderation to begin a thaw, here and there, but the sustained cold, lack of sustenance, and thin patchy ice is treacherous for the vulnerable. The Eagle got the Cormorant today. Young and inexperienced, nevertheless, he put up a good fight and was eventually dropped onto the ice at the far side of the pond. He struggled there for some time, and I thought he might make it, but before long he had disappeared below the surface in a small open pool. It seemed so unfair and unnecessary and it is hard to like Eagles today. Though he had been with the Mallards most of the morning, the last time I saw him, before being swept up into the air, he was standing by himself on an ice floe, napping, with his head nestled into his back feathers. Standing alone is never a good strategy in these circumstances. RIP dear Cormorant, in the circle of life... (My apologies for the poor quality of the photograph.)