Amphibian Night (25-Feb-2017)

With the temperatures as high as they were and rains coming in, I knew there would be amphibians coming out somewhere in Eastern PA. I arranged an outing with friends Andrew Curtis, Paul Guris and Tyler Sacks to go out looking for the first amphibians of the year around their area. I live too far north and I knew in my area it would still be some time before amphibians were out. To my surprise when we turned onto the road nearing our destination there were signs with lights flashing stating that volunteers were moving amphibians across the roads. Then when we got to the parking lot there were about thirty or so students with teachers and other adults in crossing guard uniforms. It was the biggest crew I had ever seen to move the little critters across. During rain events in spring several species like the Wood Frog above make there way to temporary pools to breed. These pools fill with water in the winter and spring and generally dry up by the end of summer. This means they lack certain predators like fish, giving amphibians a safer alternative to lay their eggs in. On their annual journey to these ponds many amphibians have to cross roads and on some nights there can be high mortality rates. Volunteers moving them across help lower the number of mortality due to traffic and help to preserve these species into the future.   

Since there were so many volunteers we did not spend any time on the roads and instead went to check out the pools. By this point the rain had stopped and there was not much activity. A few Wood Frogs had made it to the pools, but were not in the numbers I had hoped. 

This photo was taken in an artificial pond before we headed out. It is a Green Frog and it seemed a bit early for them to be out. We did not find any at the pools that we visited. 

On the way to the pools we did see some Spring Peepers on the trail and on rocks on the trailside. They were just making there way to the pools and none were yet calling. 

We only found two Spotted Salamanders. On a good night they would be seen in the hundreds at this location. Both were males and the lack of amphibians in general told us that it was still a bit too early for them moving in large numbers. The volunteers must have found the same thing on the roads, all the cars were gone by the time we got back to the parking lot. 

I did remove some trash from the trail and from the pools themselves. Trash items like bottles and cans, can potentially trap and lead to the death of certain amphibians. If you see trash in a waterway, please help out and remove it.

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Lehigh River (24-Feb-2017)

On this trip I set out to finish up on the flood plain just below Lehighton. I knew there were some areas like the small islands I couldn't get to, but I was going to get everything I could on this trip. I parked near the entrance to the D&L Trail and walked up river to the spots I had previously been working on. 

The first stop was in a small area below the Mahoning Creek. I had already gone through this spot, but I only did along the rivers edge. From the road I could see a pile of stuff and started with that. Some of the items looked like they were bags thrown down from the roadway, others like plastic bottles looked like they were deposited a long time ago during a flood. 

It isn't everyday you find a dog bowl, but over the years I have found more than one. In addition to this bowl and plastic bottles, the first stop yielded a lot of packing material and some bows. It looked like someone after Christmas or a Birthday bagged up all of the waste and threw it down by the river. 

With just about a full bag, I decided to dispose of this before heading further on up the river to my main destination. There was a lot more at this first stop than I could see from the road. 

The non-recyclables went in the trash can I collected the day before and left near other cans at the D&L entrance. The recyclables were loaded into my car and it was back up the road and back for more river trash!

The second stop was above the Mahoning Creek. The photo above is the bottom of the floodplain. I had already removed the trash through this section and had to walk up to the top of this area. 

On this day I was determined to remove this kids vehicle. I had let it go the past couple times through the area because of its size. This was the day it needed to go though. 

Sometimes trash makes me laugh and not in a good way. I did so when I read the label on this crate saying it was made of all recycled materials. It made me think to myself, I am recycling all of the plastic bottles I find, just so they can be turned into a different product someone else will throw back into the river. It is a horrible cycle that needs to be broken in our society. We need less disposable items and a much greater conservation ethic. 

Second day in a row I found an unopened Pabst. It really does seem to be the beer of choice on the Lehigh River. I don't care if people drink on the water as long as they take their waste along with them. Too many don't. 

The rest of my time in this area was spent picking through small debris piles. There wasn't a whole lot left in this area after the previous clean-ups. 

This was everything I had to haul out. It wasn't that bad after I made it up to the road. I was able to wheel the kids car on two wheels and the crate fit in the trash bag. 

Everything from the second round. This completed the clean-up of this area and it should be good at least until the next flood. The small islands are still a mess, but there isn't any way to get to them until I start getting out on the water in a boat. 

Before going to do the Lehigh clean-up I made two quick stops at Mauch Chunk Lake. Signs of spring were in the air, water and popping up out of the ground. Above a Red-winged Blackbird is calling atop a Cattail. This species arrives early in spring and the males pick territories. When nesting some Red-winged Blackbirds will fiercely protect their territory. I have seen males dive and hit both humans and dogs that got too close to their nest site. 

The first turtle of the year! This painted turtle was basking not far from the observation blind. I think I also spotted the head of a Red-eared Slider poking out of the water, but couldn't get a good enough photo to id it for sure. 

Another first for me for the year! Skunk cabbage was finally rising from the ground. A sure sign that spring is on its way. 

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Mauch Chunk Lake (23-Feb-2017)

A nice, warm, sunny day got me really wanting to get out on the water. So it was over to Mauch Chunk Lake after an earlier clean-up by the Lehigh. Since we didn't have much ice for ice fishing this past year and since not too many people have been out on the lake, I knew there wouldn't be too much trash. 

The first on-the-water trash item of the year. A beer can floating in the lake. 

It felt like spring, but there was still a reminder that winter had not yet come to a close. On the upper portion of the lake a large ice sheet still clung to the surface of the water. From a distance it looked like just slush, but after running into it I found there was still solid ice. 

I paddled up to the top of the lake, passing by the ice sheet then came back down and had to go around the ice sheet again. It was still attached to the lakeside and couldn't pass on the one side. I paddled down the edge then for awhile and finally back to the boat launch. 

Did find a couple lure to add to my collection.

What I collected was just about what I expected. Can't wait to get out on the water again!
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Lehigh River (23-Feb-2017)

Earlier in the year when we had a few days of nice weather I started working on a flood plain off of the Lehigh River just below Lehighton. With another nice day I decided to go back and continue on where I left off. The above photo shows where I started and where the Mahoning Creek flows into the Lehigh.

One of the first finds of the day! This one wasn't even broken, like in most cases though it was full of sediment.

I had found this barrel on my first walk through this section and I figured this trip was as good as any to remove it. It too had a good amount of sediment inside which I had to clean out before hauling it out. These kinds of barrels are somewhat common in the river. Often times they are used as trash cans in parks and somehow find there way into the river if they are not chained down. 

This is the kind of area that would be nearly impossible to pick through later in the year. When the leafs start coming in all of the trash becomes hidden. Early river clean-ups on foot do have benefits.

These are two larger items I pulled out of the are in the photo above this one. This is not the first time I have found parts of target deer near the river. 

A river beer and and assortment of other items I found picking through the debris piles. From what I have found Pabst is the most commonly lost beer on the Lehigh, I have found many unopened ones.

What drew me to working on this area originally was the bucket in this photo. I saw it every time I passed over the bridge in Lehighton and I really wanted to get it. The problem is it is on an island and not retrievable at this time of year by foot. From the bridge it did look like I could possibly get to it.

A full contractor size bag, a barrel, wheel and fake deer part made a pretty good haul for the day. Still there was much more to take out of this area and I would be back again for more. 

After hauling everything out I sorted the recyclables from trash by the entrance of the D&L Trail. The trash was left in the barrel by other trash receptacles at this site. Soon I would be back to get more out of this location. On this day though I wasn't going out for another round, instead my next destination was Mauch Chunk Lake for the first paddle of the year!

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Beltzville State Park (21-Feb-2017)

For this trash hike I just went back to good old Beltzville State Park and took the Christman Trail. Often many of the offshoots of this trail that end at the lake have lots of trash and most of the time I go directly to them. This time I took my time and was looking for trailside trash off of the main trail. 

This is one of two creeks on the Christman trail that flow into the lake. This is the smaller of the two and doesn't seem to get as much traffic. The other is Wild Creek which has a waterfall and attracts many more visitors. 

By the lake this would be a somewhat common item. This though was in the woods. I wonder if a mammal liked the smell of it and dragged it up into the woods. 

The largest single pile of the day. The bag in the back was filled with water bottles and other items. If you have a bag, if you have filled it with trash, please take it out with you and dispose of it properly.

Everything found along the trail. I didn't even hit some of the normally trashy side trails. 

Since I didn't see any wildlife along the Christman Trail here is a Bluebird I spotted at the Pine Run Access the same day. 
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Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (19-Feb-2017)

Last year I had contacted the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area multiple times about a 55 gallon drum I found near the river within the park. My concern was that the drum had contents in it and it was labeled as oil. They informed me that they would take care of it. They had pretty much a whole year, so I went to check to see if it was still there. Leigh Ann Stratakos from 3 Moons Studio joined me and we turned it into a clean-up day as well. Leigh Ann does many clean-ups around the Delaware Water Gap and you can check some of hers out by clicking the link to 3 Moons Studio. Above is the view of the Delaware from the upper launch at the Smithfield Beach Access, our first stop and first small clean-up of the day.

This was collected from around the launch. We didn't stay too long or walk around this area too much, the barrel was the priority of the day and we knew we were also going to make other stops. 

Our second stop was another short one before the going to the site of the drum. Here we stopped to take a look at a Bald Eagle's nest. Just the head of one of the adult eagle can be seen near the rim of the nest. At the time I couldn't really tell if it was an eagle or a patch of snow. It did end up being one of the eagles. 

At that stop we picked up another small pile of trash around the parking area. From there it was on to our target for the day. 

The ground in the area of the drum was still covered in snow and we had to find a different way in than I used last year. Before I had crossed the stream which is fine in warm weather, just not when it is cold and snowy. It didn't take us that long to find the spot and there it was, still in the same exact spot. Last year I even gave the National Recreation Area GPS coordinates right to it. 

Leigh Ann helped me to lift it upright, something I couldn't do alone. Last year I thought it just might be wedged in some way in the debris pile, but I couldn't lift it just due to the weight. With it upright we were able to give it a shake. By doing so we could tell without opening it that it definitely wasn't water inside. This time I decided I was not dealing with the park and when I returned home I was going to contact the state's Department of Environmental Protection. 

This was the trash we removed from the hike down to the barrel. It wasn't much, but most of the ground was covered in snow. We made several more stops before returning home, but didn't find much trash after this one. Thank you very much to Leigh Ann Stratakos for helping me out with this.

Update: I am just catching up on these posts now and several things have happened since we did this check. I did contact the DEP, which very quickly contacted the National Park Service. A park service representative called me and I was able to direct him to the barrel. I was called again, told it was found and that they would be calling a hazmat team in to remove it. I ask to be contacted when it was removed and I was told I would be. I have heard nothing from the park in over a month and there have been high waters in the Delaware. I think it is likely the Delaware took the barrel down river before the park service took action. Who knows though, maybe they will let me know it has been removed in the coming weeks. 

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