Perkiomen Creek (30-May-2016)

Headed down to Montgomery County for a clean-up with Jeffrey Greco and Tyler Sacks. We decided on paddling the Perkiomen Creek. This was not just to remove trash off of the creek, but to help plan out the best route for the Perkiomen Creek Sojourn, which will be held this coming weekend by the Perkiomen Watershed Association. Both Tyler and I will be helping to guide the Sojourn. The route for any trip like this needs to be run prior to make sure there will not be any surprises along the way when the group is on the water.   

Starting out there were only a few small items along the bank. I know there were clean-ups done not that long ago, so I wasn't sure how much we would actually find. 

Jeff and Tyler stopped to pick up a couple of items at the head of a small rocky flood plain area. I paddled down a little further and got out to check some debris piles.

Clearing this out was much easier with help. I climbed up and started throwing things down. Jeff sorted the recyclables from non and Tyler helped me with trash around the pile. 

Tyler found a lost med kit completely full and completely ruined. I hope those who lost it weren't in need of it when they did. The trash can in the canoe was picked up on the first dam that we had to go over. With there being a lot of private property along the Perkiomen you need to be careful when picking up an item like that. It may be someones property. Since it was on the dam, had a cracked bottom and looked like it had been in the creek for at least a little while I made the call to take it. Also, Tyler added the trash bag, it was not in it when found. 

Some of the houses built along the creek are just awesome. This is one of my favorites built on top of a large rock. 

Jeff spotted this Bald Eagle at one of our stops. It was on the opposite side of the creek in a tree. At the time none of us noticed that it had a fish nor that it was banded. After a little bit of research last night I believe that because of the green band on this eagle that it was originally banded in New Jersey. Did anyone else see a Bald Eagle on Memorial Day? 

For a holiday I was shocked that there weren't more people out enjoying the creek. We passed several fishermen and a family inner tubing, but that was about it. 

Not only was the extra help appreciated, but having a canoe along is the best. I was able to unload some of the larger items I picked up with the kayak and go back to collecting more.

What my kayak looked like nearing the end of the trip. 

The last item I picked up for the day. This piece of plastic was around 60 ft long. I think it may have come from a bridge construction site just up stream. There were other pieces, but no way of removing them on this trip. The pile of plastic on the top of the kayak made it a bit unstable for the rest of the paddle.

The haul for the day. The non-recyclables were left next to a trash can in the park we exited at. In this case Tyler took the recyclables home to be disposed of locally. The area that we were in has had a problem with a non-native species called the Lanternfly. Potentially trash items could have Lanternfly eggs on them and is not something I want to be responsible for spreading around PA. 

To Mr. Greco and Mr. Sacks, Thank you very much for helping with this clean-up! We removed much more than I expected and it was an great time!

A mother Merganser with young. Mergansers are a fish eating duck very common on our streams and rivers.

This is a Painted Turtle, a common species on the Perkiomen Creek. It was missing one of its from feet, but that really is not an issue for this turtle. Life in the wild is hard and the loss of a limb for a turtle is not that uncommon. If you ever come across a turtle like this it does not need to go to a rehab. It will be much happier staying in the wild and there really isn't anything a rehab can do. If the wound is healed and the turtle looks to be healthy there is nothing wrong with it. I have seen many painted turtles like this one and they do well the way they are.

There were a few Northern Watersnakes on this trip. Northern Watersnakes are not venomous, but are often thought to be Water Moccasins. The good news is we do not have Water Moccasins in PA. Even though the Northern Watersnake is non-venomous I would caution that if you try to pick one up it will do two things. It will bite and it will relieve itself on you. Both are in defense, you are large, the snake is small and it probably thinks you are trying to eat it. This animal should be left alone and respected.

The coolest insect find of the day! A Water Scorpion. This aquatic predator will sit as it is in this photo and wait for a prey item to swim by. It possesses raptorial forelimbs like a preying mantis, which it uses to snatch up its prey. Then it will suck out the insides of whatever unlucky invertebrate, small fish or tadpole it catches. It is not the only aquatic insect predator like this around and it is on the smaller side compared to some.

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

Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA

Perkiomen Creek Sojourn: Preliminary Run (5-June-2015)

This past Friday I took a paddle down the Perkiomen Creek. Saturday the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy was running a sojourn and I was one of the guides. Creeks and rivers are ever changing, so before any trip it is good to have someone run the route to make sure there are no hang ups and to plan the best possible route. 

I set out in the afternoon and it was a beautiful day. Sunny, but not too hot and the water levels were low, yet still deep enough to get through most areas easily. 

This Northern Water Snake was the first animal I came across. This individual was not bothered at all by me paddling by and didn't move at all as I passed. 

Three Whitetail deer decided to go for a swim in one of the deeper sections at the start of the trip.

This male Painted Turtle was not quick enough and was caught for a shot. The sex of painted turtles can be easily distinguished by the size of the turtles front claws. Males have long front claws, females generally tend to have short ones. 

This water wheel still sits on the first dam on this section of creek. The dam is blown out in the middle and the wheel has not been functional for some time.

A lot of calm water.

Lots of painted turtles were sitting out basking. Almost every downed tree or log in the river in the sun had at least one on it.

This fawn seemed to be a little curious. It lifted its head and watched me as I drifted by.

One really nice thing was that there was not much trash. I did clean up most of what I could see.

At this point I ended up backtracking a little bit and taking another channel to see if there was a better way to make it around.

This mink wasn't bothered at all with me being there. It came running down the bank and jumped in the water in front of me. It stayed under water much longer than I expected it could and I snapped this shot when it re-emerged and ran back up the bank with a crayfish in its mouth.

This is the main reason to run a creek or river ahead of a trip. This channel was the best way around an island as far as depth, but a blockage like this could cause serious trouble with a group.

Another Northern Water Snake.

This little Red-Eared Slider is a non-native species here in Pennsylvania. It shows that these released turtles are breeding in our waterways. I collected two small sliders on this trip and found them new homes. I would like to point out it is illegal to release any reptiles or amphibians in this state. This species does make life a little bit harder for native species like painted turtles. The more Red-Eared Sliders there are in our waterways the more painted turtles have to compete for resources like basking areas and food.

Great Blue Heron in flight. There were many Great Blues on this section. None wanted to stick around for a photo.

This is some sort of old factory. It looks abandoned, yet isn't in that bad of shape.

A small construction project blocked the right side of the creek.

Up another stream to the take out point.

Finished at Hoy Park. The whole trip only took around 3 hours. It was an extremely nice paddle and it was good to see the amount of wildlife I came across on the trip.

This was it as far as trash. Not much, but still got some out of there!