What a wonderful day to be outside! It was warm (26C/78F) and sunny with no clouds in the sky and a breeze from the southwest.
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| Working along this waterway is a challenge because of the steep banks and the slippery dense carpet of vegetation. Kate and I demonstrated the various ways to fall after slipping on the deep carpet of vegetation while putting traps into position. |
The waterway starts near a dairy and drains to the south into Santa Rosa Creek. Because it is slow moving and rich in organic material, I am hopeful there is an abundance of crayfish; the primary food resource for western pond turtles.
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| An example of the food resources and habitat that is available for organisms here. |
Setting traps and wading through some pretty deep muck and mud took up most of the day. Tomorrow and the next day there will be time to survey the ecosystem to examine it in detail. There is a splendid array of insects here as three species of dragonflies (Anisoptera), damselflies (Zygoptera), bee-flies (Syrphidae), soldier beetles (Cantharidae).
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| The waterway is relatively shallow along the bank so traps like the one seen here are easy to put in place. |
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