Dusky Camp Is Ready

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        Dusky Camp is ready to go after setup last week and some of the weeks prior. This week will be spent monitoring every nest island in the program, looking for signs of any avian activity. By monitoring islands this week, it will help us better gauge what islands need maintenance once August, the nest island maintenance period, rolls around. Some variables that are recorded when we visit islands in our monitoring period are things like avian activity signs (hopefully some Dusky egg shells from a successful hatch), pond depth at island, percent of shrub cover, height of shrub, free board (how far the island protrudes the waters surface), distance to shore, and any suggested maintenance (new anchors, more shrubs, move to a new location, etc). We'll also collect any island cameras we put out to help us determine outcomes of those islands that had them, and eliminate any human error in determining the fate of that nest. I also took some time last week to help the Forest Service Fish Crew out by joining them for several days to PIT tag Coho Salmon, as well as finish up reporting some Red Knot flags from Controller Bay. 

View from Dusky Camp.

Cygnets hiding in their parents shadow. Five cygnets that just emerged last week, and are one of three swan broods along the Copper River Highway so far. 

Egg shells from a successful Dusky hatch, the first one of the year. Hope to find more like this during our monitoring this week. 

Newly hatched goslings leaving a natural nest during a previous year. 

Dusky Camp "cook tent." 

Setting up for an afternoon of PIT tagging Coho Salmon. 

Coho Salmon, with a few Spike Stickleback mixed in. Most of our fyke net and minnow trap catch was Stickleback, but this particular day we tagged 51 Coho's. 

Fyke net. 

While tagging, we also took weight and length measurements. 

A few Cutthroat Trout were also caught. 

Elodea is an invasive species. A species that is somewhat problematic for Coho Salmon, but also Duskies. Though it is only present in several ponds on the delta, it can alter aquatic habitats that might negatively impact waterfowl and their food sources.

Certificate of Appreciation from the USGS Bird Banding Lab you can receive after reporting a federal band or flag. 3XJ was the first flag we encountered at Controller Bay. Some of the collared Duskies I have seen this spring have also been reported. 

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