Lehigh Canal and River (19-Apr-2016)

I had to take Penny to a vet appointment this afternoon, so I decided to take a walk down the canal path not far from the veterinary office. I figured it would give me an idea of just how much trash had accumulated over the winter and I would just clean up along the path. It was a beautiful day for a walk along the canal. Ended up doing more than one by the days end and took out a good amount of trash. 

There were a lot of Painted Turtles out basking along the canal. I counted twelve in this photo. I did see Red-Eared Sliders basking in other sections as well. 

Personally I never like finding a native reptile or amphibian dead. It doesn't bother me as much if it died of natural causes and not by human hands. In some cases like this one you just can't tell. This is a dead Northern Water Snake. People often think these are Copperheads and will kill them just because they think they are venomous and a danger. There really is no reason to kill a Water Snake and I don't feel there is any reason to kill any snake. Everything serves a purpose in the environments that they live in. In the case of the snake above, it could have been killed by a human or it could have been killed by something like a Great Blue Heron. Great Blues will eat snakes and it would be possible that one would grab a snake, kill it and drop it for some reason. 

Seeing this was a treat. This was a fairly large Common Snapping Turtle and it looked as though a dam on the canal was in its way. It was less than half way up the side of the canal when I first spotted it and I watched as it climbed to the top. As their name suggests Snapping Turtles will bite if they feel threatened. If you ever find one in the road and want to help it across be careful. They have long necks, sharp claws and will feel threatened if you go to pick them up. 

Watching the Snapping Turtle climb up the canal side took more time than I would have hoped. Had to get Penny to her vet appointment so we headed back to the car. 

I was disappointed with the amount of trash I picked up and decided that after the vet we would be returning to the site to clean up the riverside. There was a lot of trash in the canal itself, but without the kayak I couldn't do anything about it. 

After the vet visit, I headed back to where I was earlier in the day. At the parking lot there was an unleashed Pit Bull with no owner in sight. I parked, Penny started barking and the Pit Bull literally started circling my car. I came to the conclusion that the lower portion of canal in Walnutport needed cleaning more than this upper area and slowly backed out of the parking space. As I was pulling away the dogs owner was across the road calling it. That, however, did not change my mind and I continued on to the lower section. I was happy I did. I ended up walking further down the D&L on this side of the river than I ever had before. I actually didn't know the trail went so far down. 

There were a few more turtles than I saw on the earlier trip up the canal. In this photo I counted three non-native Red-Eared Sliders and twenty-five native Painted Turtles.

First time I have had this view of the old rail bridge pillars. I have seen them from the other side, I have paddled through them, but never made it down the bank this far on the Walnutport side. 

When I got to this point I had a full trash bag and nearly a full pack. I decided to call it a day and this gives me a marker to start at on another trip. I also took note of where exactly I was on the river. I didn't know the canal went down this far and I can now do river clean-ups down to this point and take the canal back. That helps a lot because I then don't have to arrange drop offs or pick ups with others. 

Near the bridge over the canal there was a trash can. Instead of hauling all the trash back to my car I decided to do a sort and lighten the load down to just recyclable that had to be carried back. I was glad I did, there were a lot of just trash items and it made the walk back much easier. 

Before heading back toward the car I walked down to the river and collected the items on the left. The items on the right were things I missed on the way down that I picked up on the way back. 

Common Snapping Turtles mating. On the way down the path I could only see one of them and it was strange how it was positioned half in and half out of the water. The way back I saw the above and realized what was going on. 

An American Coot. It was hanging out on the canal all by itself. Unlike the Mallards that swim towards you as you pass on the path, the Coot swam to the opposite side and stayed there until long after I had gone by. 

Not sure how I missed these on the way down the canal path. I must have been focused on trash. There were two pairs of parents with goslings and I thought it was a little early for them to have hatched. Most of the pairs I have seen are still sitting on nest. I am not exactly sure where I will be headed tomorrow. I think maybe I will try to work some more on the Lehigh Gorge.

I will return to the Walnutport sites soon. The canal really does need a good on the water cleaning and I would also like to get out on the river soon.

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

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