Its been a while since my last post. I blame work and summertime fun for my lack of blog entries. LOL
I returned to the stream that was discussed in my previous blog entry to take some photos of the regeneration of a habitat.
the scene looks much better than my last visit but still not in a state that I am happy with. My main concern is the height of the culvert out fall being too high for fish to pass.
As can be seen there is regeneration of plant growth on the banks. The Elodea Canadensis has continued to grow on the deep pool below the culvert.
The stream bed is still very muddy ( I was sinking up to my knees in the mud while standing in the water) but there is an amount of wood debris building up which is providing refuge for the fish which are present
The stream is abundant with small fish. Mainly young Inanga and Smelt.
This makes me more concerned as these fish would usually pass upstream further but are restricted by the hanging culvert. There were no obvious signs of an Bullies, although this is not a definate indication as Bullies tend to be Nocturnal in behaviour and the lack of overhanging trees meant any that were present would be in hiding.
Young fish can be seen near the top left of the above image.
A large amount of algae has formed, almost carpeting the stream bed due to the lack of overhanging trees. This has exposed the water to almost all day direct sunlight.
As the banks have been dug out it has created a restriction of the riparian growth that will be available for Inanga to spawn in. This site was known to be a spawning area for these fish.
My next trip back will be with a spotlight to see what the life is like during the hours of darkness.
