New York Harbor to the Headwaters of the Hudson...
HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
August 17 - 23, 2010 Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation
<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>
Steady rain -
lots of it - finally gave us a break from the dry weather experienced by
much of the Hudson Valley in recent weeks. Young-of-the-year [YOY] fish
- those born of this year's spawning activity - are taking full
advantage of the food and shelter available in the Hudson now as the
estuary fulfills one of its important ecological functions as a nursery
for such youngsters.
<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>
8/23 - Catskill,
HRM 114: An eastern phoebe landed on my clothesline this morning and
was instantly dive-bombed by the resident female ruby-throated
hummingbird who "owns" the last third of the line. The phoebe could not
take the assault and left. I have also seen the hummer bother a monarch
on a butterfly bush until the monarch left. This hummer is very
aggressive and fun to watch.
- Barry Wolven
<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>
Note: Last week
we commented that the falls at Cohoes are the second highest waterfall
east of the Mississippi. That was incorrect. In addition to Niagra,
Taughannock Falls near Ithaca and the two-tiered Kaaterskill Falls in
the Catskills, while not wider, are certainly higher.
8/17 - Town of
Athens, HRM 116: On a very still August day a group of teacher and
educators gathered on the waterfront at Cohotate Preserve to prep for "A
Day in the Life of the Hudson River" on October 14. Two great blue
herons stood frozen in the plant beds while an osprey and a bald eagle
flew by early in the day. The nets in this freshwater setting yielded an
assortment of large male blue crabs, white perch, YOY striped bass,
banded killifish, and a couple of sunfish. However, what caught our
attention the most was a hogchoker measuring about the size of a
quarter! It almost slipped by unnoticed in the net.
- Margie Turrin, Steve Stanne, Chris
Bowser, Sarah Mount
[Hogchokers are
delightful little soles, ranging in size from a penny to the palm of
your hand. They can be found anywhere in the estuary from freshwater to
salt. Closely resembling a flounder, hogchoker have an intricate pattern
of black squiggles on a brown background that gives each one a unique
look. It has been observed that like snowflakes and fingerprints, no two
hogchokers are ever the same. Tom Lake.]
8/17 -
Germantown, HRM 105: Monarchs were on the move in my backyard. Unlike
last year when I counted four, at most, this time they were regularly
streaming through. I noticed real numbers starting two days ago and they
just kept on coming. I'm sure big, blooming butterfly bushes help; but I
do see a distinct difference from last year. Last night there were
still at least half a dozen at dusk. The numbers and variety of
butterflies seems greater this year than I've noticed in a long time.
- Mimi Brauch
8/17 - Iona
Island, HRM 45.5: While on a public canoe trip a couple of days ago with
the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, I retrieved a
floating tennis ball. To my surprise, eight water chestnut seeds were
stuck to the fuzzy ball. Since water chestnut (Trapa natans) is a
freshwater invasive plant, I wondered where that ball originated before
it made it under the railroad trestle into Iona Marsh.
- Emilie Hauser
[It is true that
we do not see many water chestnuts (plants for sure, seeds as well)
much south of Bear Mountain. Their preference seems to be fresh to
mildly brackish water shallows. However, a shaggy tennis ball with a
Velcro-like surface could easy pick up seeds above the Hudson Highlands
and then be carried seaward by the tide, wind and currents. Water
chestnuts seeds have a number of surprising ways to distribute
themselves inland as well as up and down river, such as on the paddle
feet of geese and ducks, even wading birds. Tom Lake.]
8/17 - Croton
Point, HRM 35: My first seining attempt of the season did not produce
much: 150 Atlantic silversides and a half dozen killifish. It was not
what I had hoped for. The riverbed was densely vegetated with wild
celery to the point where the progress of the net was impeded. That
there was more out there than we caught was evident in the dozen moulted
blue crab shells lying in the shallows. Schools of "peanut bunker" were
rippling the surface offshore, and periodically the water would explode
as they were ambushed by small bluefish. The salinity was 7.0
parts-per-thousand [ppt].
- Christopher Letts
["Peanut bunker"
or penny bunker are colloquial names for YOY Atlantic menhaden, a
species of herring that spawn in salt to brackish water. They are found
by the millions in the estuary in summer and fall. Along with the adult,
also known regionally as bunker, mossbunker or pogies, they provide
forage for striped bass, bluefish, harriers, osprey, eagles and seals.
Tom Lake.]
8/18 - Dutchess
County, HRM 71: There were many big, black fuzzy bumble bees in the
yellow pumpkin vine flowers in my vegetable garden in Poughquag. I just
saw my first monarch of the summer feeding on red clover. It reminded me
of the fall of 1971. I was at Mamaroneck High School (Westchester
County) football practice on the track field when a monarch butterfly
migration in the thousands came past in a thick stream. I estimate that
it was 100 yards wide and 15 feet or more high. The team stopped
practice and just stared in silence at this once-in-a-lifetime event.
- B. Herbst
8/18 - Kowawese,
HRM 59: Since we were alone on the beach three spotted sandpipers felt
secure in sampling the tideline and tiderows of wild celery. The inshore
shallows were like a sauna at 85 degrees Fahrenheit and the salinity
still hovered around 3.0 ppt. We expected some exotic fish but none
appeared in the net with the YOY American shad and striped bass. There
was one increasingly more common species: a YOY smallmouth bass 75
millimeters [mm] long.
- Tom Lake, Phyllis Lake
8/18 - Croton
Point, HRM 35-34: It was high summer for us, but migration time for some
animals. Monarch butterflies were moving through in increasing numbers
and the kestrels have appeared. Down in the marsh, waders and shorebirds
were moving through.
- Christopher Letts
8/18 - Harlem
River, HRM 13.5: As our Metro North commuter train headed north from
Manhattan we saw two graceful great blue herons flying south at Spuyten
Duyvil.
- Dianne Picciano
8/19 - Newcomb,
HRM 302: It was such a beautiful morning that I had to abandon the
office and get out on the trails. I headed for the Sucker Brook Trail,
always a good choice. The water level of the lake was quite low. We've
barely had a half-inch of rain this month and July was also quite dry
(about 3 inches). So I was able to walk along a shoreline that is
usually underwater. The gentians were pretty much past their prime, but
oh, the cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) were really glorious this
year!
- Ellen Rathbone
8/19 - North
River, HRM 263: There are sections of the upper Hudson River that few
people get to see. Ten of us journeyed to the wilderness area at North
River for a Hudson River rafting adventure. The river was very low;
usually a class 4 river, it was now more like a class 3. We saw osprey,
hawks, gulls, and herons. The smell of white cedar - the most abundant
tree, towering over us - and the site of cardinal flowers everywhere
along the shore made us not want to leave this beautiful river.
- Rebecca Houser
8/19 -Yonkers,
HRM 18: While holding our "Catch of the Day" program at the Beczak
Environmental Center we caught an oyster toadfish in our seine. It was
about an inch long and blended in well with our net. It was the first
time we had ever caught an oyster toadfish so we were quite excited.
- Susan Juggernauth
[Oyster
toadfish, known colloquially as "oyster crackers," are common along the
Atlantic Coast as well as in New York Harbor. They have strong, sharp
teeth that they use to crush shellfish and are a good indicator of
salinity. Bones of oyster toadfish dating to 4,000 years ago were found
by archaeologists at Dogan Point (HRM 39.5) in Westchester County. It is
believed that the river was saltier in prehistoric times and certainly
supported a robust oyster population, prime forage for the oyster toad.
Tom Lake.]
8/19 -
Manhattan, HRM 7: I live in a Manhattan high rise where I have a terrace
with two small deciduous trees, plants, and a birdbath. For years
robins have consistently visited - less frequently finches. Two weeks
ago when the heat was in the 90s they all disappeared and have not
returned. This has never happened before in August. Do your readers have
a hypothesis as to why this occurred?
- Melinda Mousouris
8/19 -
Manhattan, HRM 0: Our second "Day in the Life" workshop this week was
held at South Street Seaport aboard the beautiful Peking, a four-masted
barque sailing vessel. Salinity levels in the East River read 24.0 ppt
(more than 70 percent of seawater salinity) and the nets scooped up an
abundance of Atlantic silversides along with a smaller assortment of
northern pipefish, a YOY bluefish, striped bass and comb jellies. The
water was a warm 77 degrees Fahrenheit but dissolved oxygen levels read a
poor 4.0 milligrams per liter (mg/l).
- Margie Turrin, Steve Stanne, Chris
Bowser, Sarah Mount
8/20 - Crugers, HRM 39:As
we looked out the window this morning, we spotted a large bird, a
beautiful northern flicker, pecking at the lawn. We had never seen one
here before. The bright red patch on its neck and the black chest band
were very evident. Soon it was joined by another flicker that had been
hiding behind the forsythia bushes. Later we noticed a large bird flying
overhead that we expected was a turkey vulture since there are so many
around. However, as it came closer, we recognized that is was an
immature bald eagle. Enthralled, we watched as it floated and dipped
with the blue and white sky as a backdrop and then flew off to the
south. We had not seen a bald eagle in the area since winter, so it was
an exciting sighting.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson
8/20 - Haverstraw Bay, HRM 35: Concerning the Almanac's observations
and comments on comb jellies (8/11), trying running
a boat through a large "school" of them at night; the blue luminescence
of your wake for hundreds of feet behind is amazing. Thirty plus years
ago, when I worked on the river for a fisheries consultant, we would
pull our otter trawl aboard and the entire cod-end would be filled with
thousands of them. As we dumped our catch into a holding tub to identify
the fish, we would be up to our elbows in what could only be described
as cool, bluish, luminescent jell-O. On a hot summer night, not unlike a
few we've seen lately, this was an unexpected and unforgettable treat.
- Don Pizzuto
[While all comb
jellies can be luminescent, those described by Don Pizzuto may have been
Leidy's comb jellies (Mnemiopsis leidyi). When "agitated" by a ships
wake’s they flash luminescent green (or greenish-blue). Frank Margiotta
recalls surf fishing along the north shore beaches of Long Island Sound
and encountering Leidy's comb jellies: "The water would glow blue-white
as I reeled in my lure." Like a firefly's flash, this is best seen at
night. During our fall night seining programs at Croton Point (this year
October 9), our 250 foot-long haul seine often creates a greenish swath
through the shallows. Our other comb jelly, generally more common, is
Beroe's comb jelly (Beroe sp.). Tom Lake.]
8/21 - Tappan
Zee, HRM 34-33: The drought continued - such a sad, crisped, landscape.
Local anglers are taking striped bass to 20 lb. and bluefish to 10 lb.
on a variety of lures and baits. "Snapper" bluefish had doubled their
size in the past few weeks. I received a call from the Boyz at the
Bridge (Midgie Taube and Big John): "We've got a weird fish for you!" I
hurried to the river, and found a foot-long oyster toadfish swimming
around in a bucket. I do not recall finding this ocean species north of
the Tappan Zee Bridge, another reminder that the salt front has moved
far up the river. The oyster toad went into my freezer, scheduled to
reappear in April for the edification and delight of school children.
- Christopher Letts
8/22 - Milan,
HRM 90: A pair of bluebirds had three broods in one of my nesting boxes.
The first brood was in May during a cold stretch of weather. I decided
to help the pair with the first brood because they had "their beaks
full" raising 5 hatchlings. I placed some mealworms a mealworm feeder
that I mounted on the unoccupied bird box adjacent to the nest. It
didn't take the pair long to figure the system out; they removed the
worms as I walked away from the box and quickly fed them to the young
birds. The hatchlings did very well and all 5 fledged. The second brood
of 5 hatchlings was during a hot spell and again all successfully
fledged. I thought the pair was finished but was pleasantly surprised to
see a third brood in August. Four fledged last week and there are many
juvenile bluebirds eating the insects around my property. This is one of
the benefits of never using any chemicals to control insects.
- Frank Margiotta
8/22 - Tappan
Zee, HRM 34-33: Local anglers are using a variety of methods to catch
bluefish to 8 lb, and striped bass to 18 lb. An increasingly frequent
by-catch are channel catfish up to 4 lb, unheard of here just a couple
of years ago.
- Christopher Letts
8/23 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Finally - we received 2.25 inches of rain
this weekend.
- Ellen Rathbone
8/23 - Town of
Wappinger, HRM 67: After more than four inches of rain (4.4) in less
than two days, the deluge had slackened off to a drizzle. During the
heaviest downpours, the skies were empty. Now with just intermittent
sprinkles monarchs butterflies were back in the air. I counted five
during a half-mile hike.
- Tom Lake
8/23 - Furnace
Woods, HRM 38.5: Rain began 24 hours ago, just before dawn, and
continued since then. Happily it started with several hours of drizzle
and light rain that allowed the ground to soften and open up. As a
consequence we had very little in the way of runoff or erosion. When I
stepped outdoors this morning it was still raining. The rain gauge
recorded 4.5 inches, the heaviest one-day rain since Hurricane Floyd
dumped eleven inches on us in 1996. I can already see the landscape
greening.
- Christopher Letts
8/23 -
Palisades, Rockland County, HRM 23: I woke up early this morning (4:00
AM) to the sounds of coyotes carrying on in the woods behind my house.
Could there be a connection between them and the dwindling number of
turkey poults who have been regularly wandering through my backyard with
their mother? At the beginning of the summer there were four chicks,
then three about 2 weeks ago, and then only two yesterday. I have also
seen a red fox, another candidate, traipse through my yard once earlier
this summer.
- Diane Langmuir
<<<<< SUMMER/FALL 2010 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS
>>>>>
Thursday, September 2, 2010, 7:30-8:30 PM Tivoli Bays Talks: Rondout, Port of Kingston, John
Miller of the Hudson River Maritime Museum. Tivoli Bays Visitor Center, Tivoli [Dutchess County]. Free. Information: 845-889-4745
x105
Saturday, September 11, 2010, 2:00-5:00 PM "Science
on the River": All new! Live animals, interactive displays and demos
for young and old; meet scientists, canoe a tidal marsh. Norrie Point
Environmental Center, Staatsburg [Dutchess County]. Portions wheelchair
accessible. Free. For information: 845-889-4745 x105
September 11-12, 18-19, 25-26
The eleventh annual "Hudson River Valley Ramble!" For information
and to view a copy of this year's guide, click on www.hudsonrivervalleyramble.com
Saturday, September 18, 2010, 2:00 PM Hudson
River Ramble Seining: We will haul our 85-foot seine in the warm and
brackish river to see who is home. Expect some surprises! Bathing suits,
shorts, and sneakers are appropriate. Kowawese Park (Unique Area), Town
of New Windsor [Orange County, off Route 9W]. For information: trlake7@aol.com
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The eighth
annual "Day in the Life of the Hudson River" (formerly known as Hudson
River Snapshot Day): Students from approximately sixty schools will
sample and compare the river’s chemistry and life at 60 sites, from
river mile 186 in Saratoga County to the sea at Breezy Point (24 of the
sites are in the five boroughs of New York City). Interested in participating, volunteering, or finding out more? Contact
Chris Bowser at chbowser@gw.dec.state.ny.us .
<<<<< HUDSON RIVER MILES >>>>>
The
Hudson is measured north from Hudson River Mile 0 at the Battery at the
southern tip of Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge is at HRM 12,
the Tappan Zee 28, Bear Mountain 47, Beacon-Newburgh 62, Mid-Hudson 75,
Kingston-Rhinecliff 95, Rip Van Winkle 114, and the Federal Dam at Troy,
the head of tidewater, at 153. The tidal section of the Hudson
constitutes a bit less than half the total distance – 315 miles – from
Lake Tear of the Clouds to the Battery. Entries from points east and
west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the
mainstem.
<<<<< TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OR TO SUBSCRIBE
>>>>>
Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com by 9:00 pm on the Monday previous to publication. See something really special? Give us a call
at (845)297-8935.
The
Hudson River E-Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed
weekly by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. To sign up to receive the
E-Almanac (or to unsubscribe), send an email message to hrep@gw.dec.state.ny.us and write E-Almanac in the subject line.
Weekly issues are archived at http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/25611.html . The DEC website's search engine can find species, locations, and other data in the archives.
Conservationist
magazine brings nature to your door. Discover New York State
Conservationist - the award-winning, advertisement-free magazine
focusing on New York State's great outdoors and natural resources.
Conservationist features stunning photography, informative articles and
around-the-state coverage. For a free, no-obligation issue go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/conservationist.html
For
real-time information on Hudson River weather and water conditions from
eight monitoring stations, visit the Hudson River Environmental
Conditions Observing System website at http://www.hrecos.org ( http://www.hrecos.org/ ) .
Copies of past issues
of the Hudson River Almanac, Volumes II-VIII, are available for purchase
from the publisher, Purple Mountain Press, (800) 325-2665, or email purple@catskill.net .
