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**Deana and Peter Gadd
recently spent a week in the Vancouver area visiting family. This past Sunday
they were walking along the waterfront of North Vancouver when Deana heard
squawking noises and noticed on a floating dock below what turned out to be a
tug-of-war between an adult glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens)
and presumably a juvenile of that species. They were arguing over an ochre
sea star (Pisaster ochraceus, tentatively identified through
iNaturalist). The adult won. It went off with its prize into the water, and
then flew off. Peter and Deana then came across the adult a few minutes later,
standing unbothered on the pier's ledge, mouth full, and seemingly not sure
what to do next with its stolen prize. Both these species are common
along the west coast of North America.
(Editor’s note: to my
knowledge, the glaucous-winged gull, which Peter has pointed out, is a western
gull that has not appeared as an accidental in New Brunswick as many other western
species of birds have. It is definitely one to watch for, but it could easily
go unnoticed because of its similarity to our herring gull.)
**Another update on the
monitoring of Edmund Redfield and his group, who are monitoring fish movement
in the Petitcodiac River at Salisbury.
This river once had a very
significant Atlantic Salmon run but dwindled to zero in the years after the
causeway was erected in 1968. Atlantic Salmon are now reared in pens that are
genetically related to that former stock in an area secluded from farmed stock
at Dark Harbor, Grand Manan, where several people got photos in the evening
after a pelagic day outing recently.
I am quoting Edmund’s
report from a few days ago on what they tallied at the trap in the Salisbury area. When
they reach mature size, they are released into the upper branches of the river
in an effort to restore the original stock.
“Today we had one salmon, nine striped bass, two suckers, and 23 tomcod. An Atlantic salmon recorded was a 65 cm grilse, PIT tag# 900228000763728,
with a blue floy tag. Looks to be a sexually mature male. Like the
one we caught yesterday, he was released last week, upstream on the Pollett
River. Since then, he dropped down in the system, may have checked out
the lower Little River, and last night appears to have been headed back
upstream towards the Pollett when intercepted by the trap. The tide still hadn't reached the gauge on the railway bridge downstream of the mouth of Little
River- so probably played no part in him being caught in the net. The
striped bass were a mix of young-of-the-year (8.9 cm, 9.7 cm, 10.6, 10.7, and
11.9) and two-year-olds (19.8 cm, 19,8 cm, 20.5 cm, and 22.6 cm).”
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
