A project of the Hudson River Estuary Program
Compiled by Tom Lake, Consulting Naturalist
Overview
Highlights in a week are easy to spot when you have a once-in-a-lifetime sighting, in this instance a seabird more commonly found in the Caribbean. The week’s diversity ranged from a scary-looking crayfish to fiddler crabs to a gorgeous, 35 millimeter (mm), tropical-looking fish from Staten Island.
[Note: one inch = 25.4 millimeters (mm)]
Highlight of the Week
 8/3 – Orange County, HRM 55: Our Hudson River Sloop Clearwater was underway in mid-afternoon, headed downriver on a public sail out of Cold Spring, when an unfamiliar bird landed on the end of our boom. It lingered for fifteen minutes before taking off headed toward Storm King Mountain. We took photos that later confirmed it was a brown booby. (Photo of brown booby courtesy of Sam Nadell)
-Sam Nadell
[The brown booby (Sula leucogaster) is a large seabird of the Sulidae family of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. They are considered pantropical in the Atlantic and Caribbean regions, south to northern South America, and occasionally north to New England. This sighting appears to be the first record for the Hudson Valley and definitely a first for Orange County. Bull’s Birds of New York State (1998) refers to the brown bobby as a “rare summer and fall visitor” (thanks to Stan DeOrsey). Tom Lake]
Natural History Entries
8/3 – East Fishkill, HRM 66: Our friend, the back bear, was back last night. We had forgotten to take in our bird feeders and the bear took full advantage of our mistake. Our tray bird feeder was broken apart. Fortunately, all the parts and pieces were left on the ground and we were able to put it back together. From now on, we will be more diligent at taking in our feeders when it gets dark.
– Diane Anderson
[The DEC released a Guidance to Homeowners on how to avoid problems with black bears.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/113258.html]
8/3 – Yonkers, HRM 18: Our River Explorers visited the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak today to help us seine. Our catch was impressive: Atlantic silverside (22), mummichog (28), blue crabs (28), three young-of-year striped bass, a menhaden, and seven white-fingered mud crabs (Rhithropanopeus harrisii).
– Katie Lamboy
8/4 – Chestertown, HRM 251: I was standing on the shoreline of Loon Lake, looking west over the water and just about to step into my new canoe for a test paddle, when I spotted a common loon 100 feet offshore with a chick riding on its back.
– Mike Corey
[The most likely reason why loon chicks ride on the adult’s back, even though they are fully capable of swimming, is for protection from large fish, snapping turtles, even eagles. It is also an opportunity for the chicks to conserve energy and body heat. Cornell Lab of Ornithology]
 8/4 – Germantown, HRM 108: I have been getting many butterflies in southern Columbia County, including black swallowtails, monarchs, viceroys, lots of sulphurs of all kinds, and more. The growing flock of great egrets at the Germantown anchorage had gone from 13 to 15 to 26 birds this morning. (Photo of great egret courtesy of Deb Tracy Kral)
– Mimi Brauch
8/4 – Manhattan, HRM 1: Assisted by Hudson River Park ‘s Estuary Lab staff, visitors caught three fish with rod and reel during our public Big City Fishing catch and release program on Pier 25 in Tribeca. Within two hours, we reeled up a bluefish (178 mm), a black sea bass (127 mm), and an oyster toadfish (102 mm) – a very diverse catch.
– Olivia Radick
8/5 – Beacon, HRM 61: Over six-hours of patient rod-watching, I managed to catch, admire, measure, and release two carp and five channel catfish. It was very nice to see the carp beginning to get more active; I noticed more jumping and surface rolling which was all but absent during July.
The largest carp was more than 26-inches-long and weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces. The other carp was half as heavy. The catfish ranged from 13-21 inches. The largest catfish was a male, a good sign. For some reason, the larger males seem to disappear at the end of June each year and are replaced by smaller fish. The larger ones then reappear in late August and can be caught regularly throughout November.
– Bill Greene
8/5 – Yonkers, HRM 18: Students from a five-week community garden program in partnership with Lanza Learning Center in Yonkers visited the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak today. They assisted our staff in sampling the river with our beach seine to see what was home today. Although the catch was modest by recent standards, the students enjoyed the Atlantic silversides, young-of-year striped bass, and feisty blue crabs.
– Lucy Jurina, Marla Wilson, Janesse Bell, Zahir Foster
8/5 – Manhattan, HRM 1: We began our week heading out to check our research sampling gear on the lighthouse tender Lilac at Hudson River Park’s Pier 25. Our traps yielded species we commonly see such as juvenile and adult oyster toadfish (25 – 250 mm), two tautog (190, 205 mm), and three immature blue crabs. We were also pleasantly surprised by an elegant butterfish (30 mm) in one of our minnow pots.
-Siddhartha Hayes, Gabrielle Mazza, Jilly Edgar
 8/5 – Staten Island, New York City: As manager for Science and Research Development for the New York City Parks Freshkills Park project, my team and I went seining today. We were sampling the fauna and collecting prevalence numbers in a creek off the Arthur Kill. The highlight of our catch was a gorgeous young-of-year crevalle jack (35 mm). (Photo of crevalle jack courtesy of Cait Field)
– Cait Field
[Crevalle jack (Caranx hippos) is one of six members of the colorful and tropical-looking jack family (Carangidae), all of which conjure up thoughts of southern seas. While they can reach lengths of more than three-feet in the tropics, nearly all that we encounter in the estuary are young-of-year from populations that trace their ancestry to points south as far as Florida and the Caribbean. Tom Lake]
8/6 – Yonkers, HRM 18: Teachers taking part in a week-long professional development course, “Teaching the Environment,” visited the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak today. Their goal was to get in the river! Most of them were seining for the first time and, along with our staff, caught Atlantic silverside, young-of-year striped bass, and ten frenetic blue crabs.
– Elisa Caref, Lucy Jurina, Marla Wilson, Janesse Bell, Zahir Foster.
 8/6 – Manhattan, HRM 1.5: A week ago, Hudson River Park ‘s Estuary Lab staff collected a common spider crab while monitoring eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from Pier 32. Their oyster research project has an impressive history.
In 2017, the Hudson River Park ‘s Estuary Lab installed 12 oyster wraps (enclosures made out of marine-grade mesh) around old pier piles as part of a three-year research project at Pier 32. The project was founded in community stewardship and aimed to explore the success and impact of the oyster wrap restoration technique. In 2017, a total of 2,400 adult oysters and spat (oyster larvae) on shell clusters were restored to the Hudson River through this study. In 2018, Hudson River Park’s Estuary Lab scientists observed successful growth of adult oysters between July and October. (Photo of eastern oyster fieldwork courtesy of Tina Walsh)
– Tina Walsh, Olivia Radick
8/7 – Beacon, HRM 61: Summer seining often must include a lookout for thunderstorms. As we set up on the beach in midday, we could hear peals of thunder off to the south. At first, we thought it might be cannon exercises at West Point Military Academy, but a loud, sharp crack that accompanied one of them gave us pause. The sky over Storm King was darkening; a thunderstorm was on its way.
The loud and sustained chattering of cicadas as well as the dozen monarch butterflies fluttering across the beach heading west, were emblematic of a warm summer day. A half-dozen anglers on the beach were catching dinner plate-size white perch. Our seine hauls paled in comparison; if we had to eat what we caught, we’d be very hungry. Our efforts produced many young-of-year-striped bass (44-46 mm), and very tiny tessellated darters (29-34 mm). When we finally left the beach, we were one step ahead of a deluge.
– Tom Lake, T.R. Jackson, B.J. Jackson
 8/7 – Yonkers, HRM 18: Seventy students from the Yonkers YMCA came to the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak today for an amazing seine haul. We split the group up into teams to make the seining more efficient.
The first group caught our usual Atlantic silverside and young-of-year striped bass, as well as blue crabs, sand shrimp, and shore shrimp. However, their prize catch was a 95 (mm) northern kingfish (Menticirrhus saxatilis), a member of the drum family (Sciaenidae).
The second group caught Atlantic silverside, white perch, blue crabs, as well as comb jellies and moon jellyfish. However, their most notable catch was five Asian shore crabs. (Photo of northern kingfish courtesy of Katie Lamboy)
– Katie Lamboy, Lucy Jurina, Marla Wilson, Janesse Bell, Zahir Foster
 [The Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) is an invasive species that likely arrived in the United States in the ballast of cargo ships. It is native to the inshore ocean areas around China and Japan. The Asian shore crab favors rocky intertidal areas and occupies similar habitats and competes with our native mud crabs (Panopeidae). Adults can grow to 42 mm carapace width. Tom Lake] (Photo of Asian shore crab courtesy of Jason Michael Crockwell)
8/7 – Manhattan, HRM 1: We went out to check our research sampling gear in Hudson River Park on the lighthouse tender Lilac at Pier 25. Our traps and pots seemed to be favored by the river’s smaller residents today as our gear yielded nothing over 90 mm in length. The catch included one immature blue crab, two juvenile toadfish (25, 30 mm), and a delightful northern pipefish (90 mm).
-Siddhartha Hayes, Jilly Edgar, Devin Laraia
8/7 – Brooklyn, New York City: As we prepared to seine at Pier 4 Beach in Brooklyn Bridge Park this morning, we came across a young-of-year horseshoe crab (10 mm) in one of the tide pools. This was not surprising since we saw a mating pair in the same area last month.
In four seine hauls, we caught an abundance of East River wildlife, including Atlantic silverside (114 mm), bluefish (five, average size 90 mm), Atlantic menhaden (40 mm), an Atlantic herring (30 mm), and tautog (140 mm). The two highlights of the day were caught in the last haul, an Atlantic needlefish (190 mm) and an American eel elver (80 mm). As we seined, we also collected a long-clawed hermit crab, comb jellies, ribbed mussels, mud snails, and soft-shell clams. Salinity was 23 parts-per-thousand (ppt) and water temperature was 77 degrees Fahrenheit (F).
– Christina Tobitsch, Shad Hopson, Lhana Ormenyi, Laura Waterbury
 8/8 – Ulster County, HRM 69: One recent morning, I came upon a huge crayfish crossing Cotter Road in the Town of Plattekill. The crayfish was nearly nine-inches-long. (Photo of white river crayfish courtesy of Barbara Dawes)
– Barbara Dawes
[From a photo, Bob Schmidt was able to identify the crayfish as a white river crayfish (Procambarus acutus), an aggressive transplant from elsewhere in North America. On the Atlantic Slope, they are found from Maine to Georgia and are considered as “established” in the freshwater tidal reach of the Hudson River. Tom Lake]
8/8 – Yonkers, HRM 18: Fifty students and teachers from the Yonkers Police Athletic League visited the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak today. Our catch, while typical of recent seine hauls, was spectacular when viewed through the eyes of the students, most seeing these creatures for the first time. They included squirming American eels, mysterious mummichogs, flashy Atlantic silverside, feisty blue crabs, tiny shore shrimp, and the ballet performers in the net, comb jellies.
– Lucy Jurina, Marla Wilson, Janesse Bell, Zahir Foster, Katie Lamboy
8/8 – Manhattan, HRM 2: During a Hudson River Park Estuary Lab field trip regarding fish biology, campers caught two oyster toadfish (102, 178 mm) on rod and reel at The River Project’s Wetlab on Pier 40. The fish were quickly unhooked and placed in water, and the campers were able to observe the fish before helping release them back into the river.
– Olivia Radick
8/8 – Manhattan, New York City: Randall’s Island Park Alliance staff educators Liz and Jake set out a killifish pot this week at our Little Hell Gate Salt Marsh site. They caught seven mummichog (75-100 mm) as well as a striped bass (125 mm).
– Jackie Wu
*** Fish of the Week ***
 8/9 – Hudson River Watershed: Fish-of-the-Week for Week 34 is the smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis), number 6 (of 229) on our watershed list of fishes. If you would like a copy of our list, e-mail trlake7.
The smooth dogfish is a member of the houndshark family (Triakidae). Being truly a shark, they are a handy answer to a common student question, “Do we have sharks in the Hudson River?” As with our barracudas, the image of sharks gives pause to even the bravest students. Smooth dogfish, however, are primarily shellfish and mollusk predators with flat-faceted teeth used for crushing. They are found in Atlantic coastal waters from New England south to the Gulf of Mexico. They can exceed a length of three-feet, although those locally caught tend to be smaller. Smooth dogfish give birth to their young (pups) live. In Great Britain and elsewhere, dogfish are considered a culinary delight. For recipes, see The Dogfish Cookbook, Russ Mohney (1976). (Photo of smooth dogfish courtesy of Tommy Jackson)
– Tom Lake
 8/9 – Piermont Marsh, HRM 25: Recently, my students and I worked at midday during the down tide in a very small, rocky mud flat along the edge of Piermont Marsh in Tallman Mountain State Park. We caught a total of 17 fiddler crabs. This is more than we had ever caught at once throughout the four years of our fiddler crab study.
They were mainly Atlantic marsh fiddler crabs (Uca pugnax) except for one red-jointed (Uca Minax). They ranged in size from 0.1 gram with a carapace width of 5 mm, to 15.7 grams with a carapace width of 31 mm. The latter of these was atypically large for either species and were the largest fiddler crabs we had ever caught in this marsh. (Photo of Atlantic marsh fiddler crab courtesy of Margie Turrin)
– Morgan Szilagyi
[Our Lamont-Doherty Secondary School Field Research Program has operated for over a decade. We work with high school and undergraduate students, working in teams, to run research programs during the summer. This is the fourth summer for our Fiddler Crab team who are looking at how fiddler crabs in the marsh have adjusted to the invasive plant Phragmites sp. Margie Turrin]
8/9 – Manhattan, HRM 1: We always check our research sampling gear on Friday to make sure that any animals in our traps are collected before the weekend. Today, we found five juvenile oyster toadfish (25 – 100 mm), two adult oyster toadfish (215 mm), and a striking black sea bass (130 mm). We also encountered a young-of-season blue crab as well as two adult female blue crabs. It is always great to see juvenile and female blue crabs in our part of the river because they are a sure-fire sign that we are in the height of their mating season.
-Toland Kister, Melissa Rex
Summer 2019 Natural History Programs
Tuesday, August 20 – Thursday August 22 (9:00 AM – 4:00 PM)
2019 Teachers on the Estuary and Living Environment Institute
Amazing Watersheds (22 credit hours for NYS certified teachers and administrators)
Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, 56 Game Farm Road, Delmar, New York
Join us this summer as we explore amazing watersheds. Teachers will spend three days gaining valuable knowledge and learning new curricula while using interdisciplinary approaches to explore watersheds. Some easy hiking on trails is involved.
Cost: $60.00 for materials, supplies, and refreshments (dinner provided on Wednesday)
To register, e-mail drew.hopkins
Saturday, September 7 (11:00 AM- 4:00 PM) (Please note the date change)
Croton Yacht Club, Croton-on-Hudson
Hudson River Day (admission is free)
Join NYSDEC fisheries biologist Amanda Higgs for a seminar on Hudson River sturgeon, as well as many other educators speaking on the river’s natural history. There will also be a fishing clinic and boat rides for the entire family.
For more information: dennis
Saturday, September 14 (1:00- 4:00 PM)
Science on the River
Norrie Point Environmental Education Center, Staatsburg
We would like to invite you to our open house featuring hands-on, interactive demonstrations, displaying scientific research and discovery on the estuary and in the Hudson Valley. Activities, with educational games and crafts, will be targeted towards both young and adult audiences.
For more information, email maija.niemistoor call 845-889-4745 x109.
Saturday, September 21 – 10:00 AM
20th annual Hudson River Valley Ramble
Kowawese Unique Area, New Windsor (off Route 9W)
Join us on the beach at low tide as we investigate through sampling (with nets), Hudson River aquatic life in the shadow of Storm King Mountain at the northern gateway to the Hudson Highlands.
For more information, e-mail: trlake7
Hudson River: Striped Bass Cooperative Angler Program
You can share your fishing trip information and help biologists understand and manage our Hudson River striped bass fishery.
Here’s how it works: Fill out a logbook provided by us whenever you fish on the Hudson River (by boat or from shore). Record general location, time, gear used, what you caught (or if you didn’t catch anything) and return the logbook when you are done fishing for the season. You’ll receive an annual newsletter summarizing the information in addition to the latest news regarding regulations and the river. Whether you catch-and-release or take home a keeper, you can be part of the Cooperative Angler Program.
Join today by contacting: jessica.best, or call 845-256-3009
– Jessica Best
Hudson River Miles
The Hudson is measured north from Hudson River Mile 0 at the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge is at HRM 12, the Tappan Zee 28, Bear Mountain 47, Beacon-Newburgh 62, Mid-Hudson 75, Kingston-Rhinecliff 95, Rip Van Winkle 114, and the Federal Dam at Troy, the head of tidewater, at 153. The tidal section of the Hudson constitutes a bit less than half the total distance – 315 miles – from Lake Tear of the Clouds to the Battery. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.
To Contribute Your Observations or to Subscribe
The Hudson River Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program. Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7.
To subscribe to the Almanac (or to unsubscribe), use the links on DEC’s Hudson River Almanacor DEC Delivers web pages.
Discover New York State Conservationist – the award-winning, advertisement-free magazine focusing on New York State’s great outdoors and natural resources. Conservationist features stunning photography, informative articles and around-the-state coverage. Visit the Conservationist webpage for more information.
Useful Links
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration online tide and tidal current predictions are invaluable when planning Hudson River field trips.
For real-time information on Hudson River tides, weather and water conditions from sixteen monitoring stations, visit the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System website.
DEC’s Smartphone app for iPhone and Android is now available at: New York Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife App. |
