Spartina, Salish Suckers and Other Surprises

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog! It's been even longer since I wrote a blog about some of the conservation work I've been getting up to. So here it goes! A few weeks ago the conservation team partnered with Ducks Unlimited (yes that is their name) to help with surveying of Spartina anglica, an invasive grass species from the UK (surprise surprise!) in Mud Bay. The study is trying to work out what effects a particular herbicide has on the Spartina grass and surrounding native species, to see whether the herbicide can be used to eradicate Spartina without damaging the other plant species.

Mud Bay... What an imaginative name...

Mud mud glorious mud!

Everyone watches the Spartina

 I don't know what the results of the survey have concluded yet, but we all had a pretty hilarious time out on the mud flats in thick fog. Having spent a fair bit of time scrambling around on the Norfolk mud flats during my undergraduate degree I felt fairly at home. But that was during the summer months and I'd been in bare feet most of the time because it makes it a lot easier to walk through the mud without getting stuck. I forgot this as I plunged merrily into the mud in my wellies in winter and became rapidly embroiled. Try as I might I couldn't break the suction of the mud on my boots, nor could my dear colleagues once they'd stopped taking photos of me and tried to help. In the end I took the initiative and climbed out of my boots, leaving the others to dig them out for me while I walked round to find a better route through the marsh in my bare feet. We still haven't stopped laughing about this incident.

Stuck in the mud!

Free from the mud!!

Much of my time over the past couple of weeks has been taken up with setting fish traps in the Little Campbell River in order to survey for the Salish Sucker. This is a fish species thought to have been locally exctinct for the past 30 years. That was until an A Rocha study stumbled across a lone Salish Sucker in the watershed a few years ago. Since then, regular surveys have taken place to monitor the situation.

Setting forth to survey: two Brits and a left-hand drive automatic. What could possibly go wrong?

Collecting the traps in...

A canoe adventure...

What do we have in here?

More Traps

A North-western Salamander!

My new favourite fish: the Prickly Sculpin

Such a cheerful face!

Last week we had the best ever week of surveying for the Sucker. We caught seven in one trap and three more in seperate locations! This is really good news! Hopefully the ongoing restoration of the watershed will only improve matters for this highly endangered species.

The beautiful and elusive Salish Sucker

There have been some other lovely surprises over the past weeks. These include coming home late from the field and finding delicious food waiting for us. Literally with out names on it!

For Steph and Emily!

Finding some interesting faerie houses in a nearby park:

Bilbo's Hobbit Hole

What front door is complete without a toothbrush?

A very antisocial Gnome's door!

Finding a brilliants playground, with no kids playing on it, at least until we arrived!

Such Fun!

Not my usual early morning bird-walk behaviour...

And last but not least, the slightly suspicious, but wonderful, bag of free candy left out for the interns following Halloween! Such a lot of good surprises. I wonder what will happen next!

An intern trap?