Federation Blog

Driving up Muddy Creek Road this morning, stopped, waiting for the light at 214 to turn green, I noticed a healthy stand of trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) in bloom.  Its bright orange flowers are showy are hard to miss, but looking a little more closely, I saw two hummingbirds (I think they were ruby-throated (Archilochus colubris)) flitting in and out of the blossoms, sipping their nectar.

It's rare enough to see one hummingbird, but to see two together is quite a treat.  If you've got trumpet vine growing up a nearby trellis or tree, keep your eyes peeled and you may spy one of these little marvels yourself.

 

 

Earlier today, out taking photos for a grant application, I spied a monstrous snapping turtle paddling just below the surface.  Its carapace was probably about  12-14" wide.  Did you know that a female snapping turtle generally has to reach about 19 years of age before it starts nesting and laying eggs? That's one of the reason it's so important that we prevent the harvest of these creatures by commercial watermen.

 Later, the turtle, or one of its cohorts, came up for a bask on a log.  You can see how large it is in comparison the the painted turtle in the foreground.

 The trip also including sitings of a brown water snake, green frogs, a school of sunfish, a kingfisher, and a great blue heron, as well as an upset red-winged blackbird.

In the State of Maryland there are no regulations on size or limit on the catch of Snapping Turtles.  Today I received a call about a trapper in Big Pond, Mayo Peninsula - the trapper had about 10 pots and was filling his John boat with as many Snappers as he could, I could not believe what I was witnessing.  We need to get regulations on Snapping Turtles before another species starts to disappear.  The growth rate on these reptiles is extremely slow, and trapping them until they are gone is not responsible!  These great creatures are a vital link to our ecosystem, please call DNR and ask them to put regulations on their harvest!! --Diana

I think it's important that before people get too wrapped up in the media hype about a crab population explosion that we have a good understanding of exactly how crab populations in the Chesapeake are measured.  Each winter since 1988, MD DNR and other natural resource organizations have conducted a winter dredge survey where they sample 1500 sites bay-wide by dredging crabs up from the bottom and measuring their sex and the maturity of females.

 In 2009, the density (number of crabs per square kilometer) of young crabs (<2.4" across) was basically equal to 2008.  The density of harvestable crabs (>2.4" across) was greater than 2008 and better than any year since 1996.   The density of large males (>5" across) was considerably greater than 2008 and better than it had been since 2003.  The density of females capable of spawning was significantly greater than 2008, and better than it has been since the early 1990s.   The density of all crabs was better than 2008 and as high as it has been since 2005.  

None of this is a particular surprise, least of all the huge growth in spawning females, given the fact that the Bay states have finally gotten somewhat serious about restricting the harvest of female crabs.

It's important to keep in mind though, that DNR also does a summer trawl for crabs in six river systems in Maryland.   Interestingly, at the end of the summer of 2009,  young crab numbers were up quite a bit higher than they had been in 2008 (which wasn't reflected in the dredge survey).  And, the numbers for mid-size and mature crabs were very similar to 2008 (which also wasn't borne out by the survey).

I'm hopeful that the blue crab is coming back, and I certainly hope that neither Maryland or Virginia will loosen regulations on the harvest of crabs -  the population can swing very dramatically from year-to-year - but I also think we need to watch the 2010 trawl and winter survey data very carefully before we presumptively declare success. 

Temperatures are rising, the osprey are back, and frogs, turtles, and snakes are out of hibernation.  On a walk through a tributary to Church Creek yesterday, I spotted at least 10 eastern painted turtles (Chrysemys picta picta) basking on a log, soaking up the warmth of the sun.   We also spotted a brown water snake, and more green frogs (Rana clamitans) than we could count.

 

With the days warming up, it was time to get out in the woods one last time before everything greens up.  This year, we're participating in the Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas (MARA) project and as part of that are keeping track of the amphibians and reptiles we see this spring.

 Yesterday, exploring the streams that feed Flat Creek, we came across these two critters: a red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) & an eastern snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina), laying in wait (or basking, depending on your point of view).  The latter's carapace was bigger than a dinner plate.

Photos by Shannon Lee Zirkle

The Federation is working with a local landowner to undertake a massive restoration effort on the headwaters of Church Creek, just about Route 665 (Aris T. Allen Blvd).  As part of that effort, we have hired an environmental consulting firm to design and permit plans for the project.   Earlier this morning, I met out at the site with the consultant to walk the property and get a sense of the lay of the land.

Currently, the property is at the confluence of two streams (below), one coming from Route 2 and one from Old Forest Dr. (by the Allen Apartments) than drain some of the most heavily urbanized and paved portions of the South River watershed.  The restoration plan is to create a stream and wetland system that will trap and process sediment and nutrients from upstream and provide high quality habitat for fish, birds, and amphibians.

As was the case yesterday with Flat Creek, because the marsh was frozen much more solidly than usual, we were able to get down to tidewater where we found a pleasant surprise: Beavers!  This beaver lodge had clear signs of recent activity. 

 Not far downstream, I came across the biggest of several dams.  It's approximately 40' long by about 18" high, and is probably close to underwater at high tide.  Right now, you can see that it is impounding quite a bit of water in an area that would normally be dry.

 There are historic signs that beaver have been present further up the system, but the thinking is that perhaps, carrying the stormwater from Parole, Harbor Center, the Festival at Riva, and Old Forest Drive, the stream is too "flashy" and high energy  for their dams to remain stable in that location.  The hope is that through restoration we will have a stream and wetland complex that encourages beaver and other wildlife to once again inhabit this green corridor.

Spurred on by the comments of a colleague, "you've got to see the water clarity on Flat Creek where the beavers are.  It's crystal clear."   I couldn't keep myself away.  I took the rare opportunity, with the leaves down and the marsh frozen enough to support the weight of an adult, to hike down Flat Creek, through the inundated/frozen marsh towards tidewater.   Not far down from Governor Bridge Road, I came across the first of several beaver dams, clearly very actively maintained.

Further down the system, there is still submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) ( I think it may be one of the Sparganium species) alive.  I even caught glimpse of a small, black fish.  The water clarity in the system is incredible.  Below, you can see straight through to the bottom of about 3 feet of water (the novelty of that sounds more depressing than it should).

A little further down, a well-buttressed dam holds back what must be several acre-feet of water and emergent wetland.  Really something to behold.

Several hundred feet down from the road crossing, the marsh opened up as I approached tidewater.  The white house in the photo below is actually on the other side of the South River.

 

Well, not really.   It's just that the combination of a low tide and strong wind blowing out towards the Bay have de-watered the river and its creeks substantially, leaving water level several feet below the usual low tide mark.

Diana and I were out at the Wilelinor restoration project taking water quality samples and stumbled upon a beautiful, bushy red fox (Vulpes vulpes) who quickly scattered as soon as we came along (below).  Perhaps he was scavenging for small fish or shellfish that had been exposed by the low tide.   We've seen quite a bit of evidence of fox throughout the watershed recently.

Most of the aquatic beds at Wilelinor are frozen over several inches thick, but at each of the stone grade controls, where water is still running through the system, spectacular stalagmites of ice form where spray hits the cold, winter air.

Member of the Anne Arundel Bird Club and local musician, Dan Haas, reports having seen a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) perched on the Route 2 bridge over the South River twice in the last two weeks.

 This species seems to be attracted to these sorts of locations around the water.  A couple of years ago, The Capital reported on a pair of peregrines nesting on the Severn River bridge.