Federation Blog

 

After a year of coping with the effects of three major rain storms, we were thrilled to end 2011 with the otter-ly fantastic news of a return of one of the River’s top predators. Even more exciting than sharing the news, was the response we got from our members! Coming with four reports, Gingerville Creek takes the lead in sightings followed closely by Beards Creek with three. Other sightings were reported in Duvall, near the mouth of the River past Cherrytree Cove, Glebe Bay, Harness Creek, Granville Creek, Flat Creek, and Boyd’s Cove. Below are excerpts from the many stories we received:

-Perhaps the most memorable experience came from a member that was fortunate enough to see an entire family of otters! “I have kayaked on the South River for 6 years and have seen river otters each and every one of those years...in fact, 4 years ago my friend and I were in the headwaters of Beard's Creek and not only did a large male otter swim across the front of our kayaks with a smaller (I assume the female) behind him and they were both hissing at us and not long afterwards, three small younguns swam between our kayaks, it seemed that they were either swimming extraordinarily close behind each other or swimming sort of piggyback and kept looking up at us and chirping...they were close enough that I could have reached down and picked one up. It was one of those special moments that I will never forget.”

– Sandy, Beards Creek -A longtime South River resident and avid fisherman finally got an up-close look at an otter just recently! “I have seen them numerous times over the last few years, but always from a distance. Every morning I run my dog to the river and back. Three days ago, I was down on the neighborhood pier, and out of the skim ice popped this guys head. It is the first time I have seen them up close, and they are a really unique and cool thing to see on our river.” – Nick, Davidsonville

-“I thought it was a seal the way it was swimming and playing until I got a closer look. I couldn't believe my eyes. Hope to see them again!” – Carol, Granville Creek - “It has been spotted a couple of times in the past few weeks as well as last year. We think it may "hide" at my waters edge. It seems to disappear into the underground tunnels.” – Theresa, Harness Creek

-It’s great to know they have been in some areas for so long! “We've had them in Boyd's Cove for years - didn't know it was a big deal!” – Marj, Boyds Cove

-Looks like the otters even appreciate the beauty of Quiet Waters Park! “I have seen otters in Loden Pond, near the South River Overlook at Quiet Waters Park, and in the pond between the Ice Rink and Lighthizer Gazebo” – Michael, Harness Creek

-He may not have seen an otter, but beaver sightings are just as great! While kayaking in Gingerville Creek, one member “discovered a beaver dam in the marsh at the head of the creek. It created a small, tranquil pond filled with ducks.” – Dwight, Gingerville Creek

The South River Federation would like to thank each and every person that took the time to report their sightings. If you see an otter or beaver, please do let us know! We did receive a concern over protecting koi ponds so that issue as well as more information about otters will be addressed in Part 3 of the series. But for now, we hope you enjoyed the stories from our watershed!

Photo Credits: Nick Serio, John Koontz, John Summers, and Erik Michelsen

This morning (Oct 7, 2011) I took my first flight in a small aircraft in 32 years. I rode with my collegue and board member Lynn Buehl over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the Bay Bridge Aiport and the whole drive I was fraught with excitment and trepedation. I always have been nervous about heights and have always been a nervous flyer. Lynn and I meet our pilot that flew down from New Jersey to take us on our adventure over the South River Watershed. Pilot Mr. Mike McNamara is one of many volunteer pilots for a non-profit group called LightHawk. This is a great organization set-up to provide flights to other non-profits or academics for research and advocay. I submitted a proposal to search for SAV, clean-water plumes, and 5 legacy landfills. As I first got in the plane, my thought was "oh my goodness, I am not going to make it". But, as we tore down the runway toward the Chesapeake Bay and delicately lifted off into the air and over the Bay Bridge- I became totally filled with excitement and started taking pictures. Being in a small plane over the Chesapeake Bay and the South River is indescribably amazing. I was horrified at the amounts of debris still in the Bay. Then, as we approach the South River- both Lynn and I became very distressed at how our beatiful South River looked. Sediment plumes and oil plumes everywhere- brown water all over. Then as week approached South River Farm Park, where Pam Wood of the Capitol and I kayaked looking for our Submerged Aquatic Vegetation- the planes wings tipped and there is was. Our SAV survived Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee!! What a blessing that our grasses survived such storms!! I am showing 300 pictures, and although I am not a professional photographer, I hope you enjoy them.----Diana, South Riverkeeper

May 1, 2011

It's official, the marina has disposed of the osprey nest.  Frank and Margaret are now sitting on what used to be their home.

April 26, 2011

I'm 99% sure that over the weekend Margaret laid eggs.  Since I can't see into their nest, I can't be 100% sure, but she hasn't left her nest all day.  It seems to me, she is keeping those eggs warm.  We shall see what happens in 5 to six weeks.

April 23rd, 2011

This week Margaret has been acting very strange.  She’s been doing this “dance” in and around the nest.  She’ll walk around, like she is trying to flatten the inside of the nest, while fluffing her feathers.  Then, she will sit in the nest for long periods of time.  Then, she’ll get up again and repeat the process.  Nowadays, Frank and Margaret spend a lot of time around the nest.  They don’t go very far, only leaving to catch a fish or to sit in the tree by our office.  I’m not sure if this means she is close to laying eggs, but it looks like we are headed in that direction. 

In general, osprey will lay an average of three eggs.  They are buff-colored eggs with dark speckles.  The eggs are laid one to two days apart and incubation will last five to six weeks.  During this time, it is predominately the female who will sit on the eggs.  The male takes little part in incubation, or warming the eggs until after they hatch.  The male will be the “bread” winner for the family during incubation and after the chicks have hatched.  While the chicks are growing, they can demand more than six fish per day!  Frank will be very busy keeping up with the demand of the family.  They will have to keep a careful eye out for predators such as crows, ravens, owls, gulls, and raccoons to make sure the chicks stay safe during the early weeks.  It will be interesting to see what happens over the weekend.

From the mouth of the South River all the way to Bacon Ridge Branch, over 40 South River Federation volunteers participated in the 7^th Annual South River Snapshot.  Volunteers spread out across the entire South River watershed on the morning of Saturday, April 9^th and conducted water quality tests to assess the River’s health.   Although the data represents just a “snapshot” in time, collecting the data from over 40 sites around the River simultaneously, and doing it at about the same time each year, gives a good general barometer of the relative health of our streams and creeks.  While most of the sites had safe or normal bacteria levels, a few sites did have high levels.  You can see the bacteria results on Diana’s blog. 
Patch.com wrote a nice article on the Snapshot!  Click here to read it.

April 13, 2011

After the first blog, I realized these osprey needed names—they have a lot of personality!  After watching them, the names Frank and Margaret popped into my head.  I looked outside again and watched her meticulously place a stick in the nest, while he sat perched high on the boat; on full alert for any predators.  So, it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Frank & Margaret!

Frank and Margaret have been very busy with nest building.  Their nest has grown significantly over the weekend and this week.  After doing some research, I found that average nests are 1 to 2 feet deep, and can range from 3 to 6 feet in diameter!  From my window, it looks like they have built two nests—one on top of each other.  Ospreys are known to build more than one nest in their territory, but this seems a little close.  I’m thinking Frank has given Margaret a selection of twigs to choose from for building their nest.  During the nesting season, they will continuously repair the nest with these extra twigs and branches.

Since Frank and Margaret have taken up residence in the flying bridge of one of the boats, I was curious to know more about the rules & regulations of osprey nest building.  Can you remove a nest?  What happens to the property after the nest becomes “active”, meaning eggs are present in the nest.  After a slight mishap with human interference with the ospreys, I was even more curious to know the rules.    

I talked to Diana, South RIVERKEEPER®, who talked to Peter, our local osprey connection, and this is what they had to say about nest rules & regulations.   

Ospreys, as with most birds found in the United States, are protected by both state and federal laws. The arrival of spring in the Chesapeake Bay also means the arrival of ospreys, who are seeking suitable nesting sites for the remainder of spring and summer. Once almost an extirpated species in the Chesapeake Bay region, ospreys are now a commonly observed species, with approximately 3,600 nesting pairs in the region. Unfortunately, ospreys that nest in the Chesapeake Bay region nest mostly on man-made structures such as duck blinds, power poles, navigational markers, nest platforms, and, in this case, a flying bridge of a boat. 

Such nesting sites can be frustrating to property owners. Under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), osprey are a protected species. Protection includes their nests, eggs, and young. Under federal law, osprey nests can be removed from private property before any eggs or young are present in the nest, however, once eggs or young are present in the nest (early April through July/August), the nest can no longer be removed or disturbed. If a property owner has an osprey nesting on their property, and the nest contains eggs or young, then the property owner must apply for a federal MBTA permit to remove the nest.  They can do this by contacting the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Migratory Birds at 413-253-8577.  If someone sees human disturbance to an active osprey nest they should report activities to the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Enforcement Coalition Hotline (CBEEC) at 1-800-377-5879, a 24 hour manned hotline.  CBEEC is a coalition of state and federal law enforcement agencies responsible for enforcing environmental regulations in the Chesapeake Bay region.

I enjoy watching Frank and Margaret build their nest piece by piece.  I never realized the intricate process they take in building their home.  I look forward to seeing what happens next in “As the World Turns—Osprey Style.”  

The Enterococci data is now ready from this last Saturday's South River Federation's 7th Annual Snapshot.

On Friday the short rain event was only 0.38 inches of rain, but even with that small amount there were some spikes of bacteria in our watershed.  For a single sampling event the criteria is 104 cfu/100ml (colony forming units/100milliliters).  Therefore in the map above, anything in orange or red is higher than the State of Maryland's limit.

Thanks to our great volunteers I am now going back through the past 7 years of data and preparing a 'trend" analysis to find why our hot spot are HOT.  One stations is HIL 1, this is located in the Hillsmere community and is consistently high every year- now that we have the data to prove that there is a problem (thanks to our volunteers)- We can see what we can do to fix the issues.---Diana

April 8, 2011

Ever since we’ve moved to our new office, I’ve been watching the wildlife that is in and around Gingerville Creek.  I’ve been especially watching the two ospreys that have taken up residence in one of the flying bridges of a boat.    

Growing up in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, I have seen my fair share of ospreys, but this is different.  From my office window, I get the opportunity to observe their daily behavior and it is fascinating!  Since not everyone gets the chance to watch ospreys at such a close distance, I thought it would be fun to write a blog about their activities.  Frankly, I’ve grown quite fond of them. 

I started observing when the male showed up in Gingerville Creek.  He was perched in one of the trees outside of Erik’s office.  He would sit there for most of the day, leaving to take a quick trip around the river or to catch a fish, but for the most part it looked like he was waiting for someone.  And he was!  A few days later his lady friend showed up and they have begun building their nest. 

Being an osprey cannot be easy; every day brings a different challenge..  They have been building their nest little bit at a time.  Each day the male bird brings back branches of all sizes for her to use in their nest.  It’s fun to watch her decide what branches are best.  For example, if she likes it, then they will work the branch into their nest.  If she doesn’t like it, she will push it off their perch as if to say, “I don’t like it, go find me a new one!” 

They face other challenges, from eagles and crows encroaching in on their territory to human disturbances, such as boat traffic, construction, or human interference.  I can tell when activity is going on outside because they will begin to “talk” at loud volumes.  Now I’m not expert at osprey language, but there is a difference between their calls.  You can tell when they are calling to each other or when they are upset.  The almost hysterical chirping means something is going on that doesn’t make them happy! 

He has just brought back another branch, and we will see if she likes it or not.  I will be blogging about their status so check back soon for recent activity. 

For more background information on ospreys, check out these websites:

http://newyorkwild.org/osprey/osprey_info.htm

http://www.pandionhaliaetus.com/

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/irc/docs/00000260_20.pdf