Bright Red Sockeye on the Cedar River.

Squad greatly enjoyed seeing the bright red sockeye salmon spawning in the Cedar River in the Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area, which is managed by King County Parks. The ponds are remnants of a former gravel mine which closed due to frequent flooding, now the County is converting adjacent lands into more natural riverine habitat. We planted one hundred native red osier dogwoods / Cornus sericea along the edge of the river bank where they won't mind occasional wet feet and will provide shade and bugs for fish and positively affect stormwater runoff.

The Seattle Aquarium's Cedar River Salmon Journey program sent us a group of truly fabulous naturalists to explain everything salmon, complete with props and posters. 

A handy learning strategy for remembering the salmon types was the hand mnemonic-hand (pictured below):

thumb - chum/Keta
pointer (eye poke) - sockeye/red
middle (largest) - King /Chinook
ring - silver/Coho
pinky - pink/humpie

We learned that salmon carcasses without heads have probably been counted by scentists. Also that the eyes are very nutritious and get eaten first. The Aquarium's website has good information on opportunities for seeing and learning more about salmon.

If you'd like to see salmon, come on out Thur 11/9 at Carkeek Park for more stewardship and salmon viewing. We will also be on the Duwamish River just south of Downtown Tu 10/25 where we also hope to see salmon.

Cedar River Stewardship.

Springtime on the Cedar River with King County Parks in the Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area was a rich mix of flowers, crawly critters, berries and weeds with a hard downpour thrown in right during our lunchtime talk about salmon.

The Seattle Aquarium has a wonderful Salmon Journey program which provides naturalists offering on-site education about the ecology of the Cedar River, particularly in relation to the salmon which reach the ocean through Lake Washington and the Ballard Locks. Save the date on your autumn calendar to hear their presentation- complete with educational props and salmon viewing glasses- at our Squad event on Thursday 10/12.

Despite the wet vegetation, we waded into thick weeds to pull them away from young native plants and mulch around them. This will give them a leg up this summer and aid their growth, which will help increase biodiversity along the river as well as contributing to important cooling of the water.

Salmon Sightings on the Cedar River with the Seattle Aquarium & KC Parks.

Squad braved the pre-storm weather for some salmon and stewardship on the Cedar River and we were greatly rewarded! The beautiful red salmon were easy to see, we saw up to six swimming at once. Many others were perished on the shoreline after their long journey to spawn. 

The Seattle Aquarium's Cedar River Salmon Journey program sent us a group of truly fabulous naturalists to explain everything salmon, complete with props and posters. The very popular polarized viewing glasses assist in spotting fish in the water by cutting down on glare.

Another handy learning strategy for remembering the salmon types was the hand mnemonic-hand (pictured below):

thumb - chum/Keta
pointer (eye poke) - sockeye/red
middle (largest) - King /Chinook
ring - silver/Coho
pinky - pink/humpie

We learned that the cut fins washed-up represent deceased fish that have been counted by salmon monitors so that they can keep track of which have been tallied already. The Aquarium's website has good information on opportunities for seeing and learning more about salmon.

The Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area, managed by King County Parks, is a unique site in that the river flows through a levee culvert which directs some of the salmon into the pond- a habitat they do not normally spawn in. The ponds are remnants of a former gravel mine which closed due to frequent flooding.

Restoration is well underway and will continue into the future. We performed some weeding around the young native plants, particularly digging up tenacious burdock roots. Let's hope the upcoming wind/rain storm has only a limited pollution impact on our salmon waterways due to roadway oil, sewage overflow, etc.

If you'd like to see salmon, come on out Thurs 11/10 at Carkeek Park for more stewardship and salmon viewing. We will also be on the Duwamish River just south of Downtown Tu 10/25 where we also hope to see salmon.