Basha Kill 10-13-08

[MattC]

Coldfeet and I got out at Basha Kill for a few hours Monday, putting in at the access a couple miles south of Haven Road. Great fall foliage and some wildlife sightings. As I was about to put in, I noticed a dragonfly in my canoe. Dave got a pic, then I tried to shoo the fly out of the boat by dangling my painter near it. The dragonfly grabbed the rope and hung on for dear life! After another pic or two, I was able to shake the thing off and we set off on the water. We paddled south around an island, and Dave spotted a mature Bald Eagle! It remained perched in an oak tree for a minute or two, long enough for him to get a couple pics. We then paddled on. All of a sudden we started paddling through dead carp floating in the millfoil. First just a few, then dozens more! We lost count, but there must have been hundreds. I may contact DEC to ask what the heck happened down there. No one we asked was sure, but at least one person suggested that perhaps DEC had recently put in poison to kill the invasive snakefish, at the same time killing off the carp.

Once through the "valley of death" as Dave termed it, things were a bit more pleasant. We continued south, seeing several Great Blue Herons and a beaver lodge. We reached the southern end of the wetland/pond, where it becomes a creek again. We pulled over at the old railroad abutment on the north side of the mouth of the creek, got out of the boats and had a snack. Then we headed back north the way we had come. Dave continued with his sharp eye, this time spotting a good sized raptor in a tree. It was on the far bank, but luckily there was a little channel through the thick millfoil and lillies, so we were able to get closer before it took off. It was too big for a hawk, made an "eep" sound, white breast and neck, black on the back of it's wings, and the underside of the wing was black-tipped with white in the middle. It also had a bend in it's wing as it flew. Based on all this, I'm fairly certain it was an Osprey.

Dave also caught a quick glimpse of another large bird that may have been a hawk or some other raptor. He might be able to remember some field marks, I'm not sure. In any case, we headed back through the carp graveyard and back to the put-in. My second visit to Basha Kill was even more enjoyable than the first, between the great company, raptor sightings and amazing palette of fall color.

Dave headed home and I took a short walk on the rail trail adjacent to the wetland before leaving. Lots of grey birch and small scrubby (swamp?) oak w/ big leaves. Also many glimpses of smaller birds, I can see how this place is a birder's paradise.

Matt

 

[coldfeet]

Some great eye I have
Can't find my glasses to type on this keyboard, don't understand how I saw those birds, just plain old luck....must be my city sixth sense?

will post the pics this week..

ps...after I do the 2nd coat of paint of course...

I'd be very interested in hearing about that fish kill

 

[MattC]

I'd be very interested in hearing about that fish kill

I did speak with Mike Flaherty from DEC Region 3 here in New Paltz. He said they did not poison those waters, although they did do that in one lake in Orange County, to get rid of the snakeheads.

He had gotten other reports about the Basha Kill fish kill; apparently those were not carp, but rather Gizzard Shad. Mike said they believe it was probably a natural cause, possibly a shift in oxygen levels that the shad were particularly sensitive to. I asked if the vegetation plays a role and he said yes, it can affect oxygen levels as it dies back and decomposes.

Dave, if you have any pictures of the fish, it might be helpful. I can e-mail the link to Mike.

Matt

 

[funkyfreddy]

Great trip report! Hope to see both of you again soon! Matt, I've been tardy w those Adams shots due to computer problems, argh! Hope to get them up soon.

 

[coldfeet]

Matt, send me a pm with your e mail so i can send those pics...it's easier than webshote...

Freddy! Waz up?! Heard your living large and Gail and you are having a great time...Fantastic....I do miss you down here, always look for you at the tunnel.....will catch your tunes on the web.....best wishes...

 

[MattC]

Matt, send me a pm with your e mail so i can send those pics...

Done.

Matt

 

[mudhook51]

The Basha's a great spot, I haven't been there since the early 70's when I searched those waters for the elusive Comely Shinner (and got paid for it!)
Back then the DEC would poison or gill net large bodies of water in an attempt to eradicate some unwanted species. I hope this practice isn't being used again.
One more for the list of places to revisit.
While kayaking on Franklington Vlie (Sch. Cnty) a couple of weeks back I watched a pair of immature eagle dive bomb an Osprey in an attempt to make it drop the fish it had just caught.

 

[MattC]

Back then the DEC would poison or gill net large bodies of water in an attempt to eradicate some unwanted species. I hope this practice isn't being used again.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, according to Mike Flaherty at Region 3 HQ, they did poison one lake in Orange County for snakeheads. Not sure if they use special substances that only affect the invasive species, or if they just use whatever and end up with "collateral damage." If they kill native species as well, I suppose maybe they could at least restock afterwards.

While kayaking on Franklington Vlie (Sch. Cnty) a couple of weeks back I watched a pair of immature eagles dive bomb an Osprey in an attempt to make it drop the fish it had just caught.

Neat. When Tom Lake (of DEC) gave an eagle talk to Mid-Hudson ADK 2 years ago, he showed slides of a similar thing-an immature male was perched on an ice floe, had just grabbed lunch out of the Hudson, and was blissfully unaware of his surroundings. An immature female swooped in, knocked him in the water and stole his lunch. Reminds me of growing up with a big sister...

So anyway, I liked Basha Kill so much, I just went back again yesterday! I'll go make some tea and then post a report in this thread.

Matt

 

[MattC]

Basha Kill 10-18-08

Yesterday I put in around 9:30, at the same place on South Rd. Dave and I had launched last Monday. This time I paddled north. There was almost no wind at first, but the vegetation was a bit thicked in places than it had been south of the launch the other day. As expected, the channel switched back and forth a lot, although there was one nice stretch that ran more directly north. I saw a hawk of some type wheeling around above the western bank. It appeared mostly white underneath, with some black on the wingtips, and mostly black on the topside of it's wings. I couldn't make out any other field markings, even with binoculars. My best guess after consulting the guide is a Goshawk. Pretty sure it wasn't a red-tail.

I continued a little further, but the wind picked up enough that it was difficult to paddle into, and especially hard to control when I had to turn broadside against it due to the direction of the channel. So I turned back; I had gotten close enough to Haven Rd that I could see guys fishing off the causeway without binoculars (that is, I didn't need binocs, the anglers probably wouldn't have used those to fish anyway ).

After turning back, I pulled over and took the canoe out at a nice spot on the western bank. White pines and red maples dominated, with oaks, grey birch and quaking aspen mixed in nearer to the water (and more in the sun). There was some other woody shrub here and there, w/ berry-like (although larger) leaves-probably a heath of some kind. Clubmoss and wintergreen covered the needle-strewn floor. A lovely place to get out of the boat for a few minutes.

Back in the water, I now had the wind at my back, but it didn't help much when I had to turn broadside to it. I had to quickly put in a lot of strokes on one side just to avoid being pushed into the vegetation on the south side of the channel. It was not constant at least.

I got some really good looks at several gulls. They were ring-bills and possibly one or two herring gulls. Both fairly common, but still fun to watch in this setting. They would flap, soar, and even kind of hover if the wind was right. As I was about to put the binocs away and move on, I noticed a pair of waterfowl swimming. They had black heads, dark grey sides, darker grey backs (folded wings), light bills and white marks on the rump. They bobbed their heads when moving along. After consulting the guide, I determined that they were coots. I believe I saw this species during my July Basha Kill paddle as well, because I remember seeing waterfowl that scampered across the water before flying, and the guide says coots do this.

Back at the launch, there was a guy sitting in his truck, birding with binoculars. We chatted for a while-he had been coming there for years and was very knowledgable. He pointed out to me an eagle nest in a white pine over on one of the islands. He said he had been watching a mated pair for a while and noted that they had succeeded in raising two young.

I put the boat away and then walked maybe a mile or so south on the Long Path, which is on the old railroad grade here. It leaves the grade for a bit to follow a footpath for a while as well, which keeps it closer to the water. I went a little past a viewing platform and then headed back. This place offers some great easy walking as well as fine paddling. It might be nice for a cross country skiing as well.

After this I grabbed a late lunch in Wurtsboro and then took a two-hour hike on the LP in the Gunks south of Sams Point. That was real nice as well. I topped it all off with a quick stop at the Shawangunk Grassland NWR, in hopes of maybe seeing an owl in the gathering dusk. No owls, but I did see a beaver in the tiny pond there, as well as several hundred geese passing overhead in waves. Then I saw a fox cross RT 7 as I motored home. Good day for wildlife.

Matt

 

[Trudy]

That's what I call a great day.