Lehigh Canal: Bethlehem to Allentown (17-June-2016)

Back on the canal in Sand Island, Bethlehem. Thought the trip up to Allentown would be quicker this time after just completing this trip a couple days prior. The main goal of the day was to take trash off of the river and the canal was meant to just be a way to make it up river with only one car. 

Almost right away I started finding items I missed on the last trip. In this particular area there were fishermen the last time and I hugged the other bank when traveling through. 

Spotted this hatchling from a distance and immediately I knew it was a non-native Red-Eared Slider. Native Painted Turtles are similar in shape, the carapace is black, this was very green. I paddled over and this little turtle didn't even move. I picked him up and had a kayaking partner for the rest of the trip. Once caught it is unlawful to release Red-Eared Sliders. They do not belong in our waterways and I will find this one a new home.

I enjoyed paddling this particular section. Cleared out all the visible trash on the last trip, it is nice just being able to paddle strait through sometimes and not having to make frequent trash stops. 

One of many American Bullfrogs I went by. When there isn't as much trash to spot, more wildlife can be seen!

More trash than I had hoped by the portage point, not too bad though. I used the trash can at this point to get rid of the basketball which was full of water and impossible to drain out. I did not have a good way to secure it so disposing of it here was the best option.

Someone had moved things around since I cleaned up around this can, the fishing rod I put in there was gone, but everything else hadn't been picked up. Cleaned up a few items around the can, left the basketball and got back on the canal. 

Plucked this from the bottom of the canal. To me this is just ridiculous waste. Who needs a plastic chicken container that fits in their car's cup holder? We waste so much! 

A Juvenile Snapping Turtle. It was just hanging out in the water and didn't even try swimming away when I paddled up to it. Even a Snapping Turtle this size can draw blood, if you do not know how to handle a turtle like this I would suggest not picking them up at all. A fishing license is required in PA to catch any reptiles or amphibians even if you do release them immediately. Follow the laws and help support our law enforcement by buying a fishing license. 

This section had a little more trash than the lower. Still not bad and not too many trains were moving in the yard next to the canal. The trains can be noisy with screeching breaks on some days. 

The canal in the section where I found this Northern Water Snake basking on overhanging branches is narrow and there is a current. While taking this photo the current pushed me into the branches and the snake did not move at all. It must have really liked that basking spot, at the closest point I was only a couple feet away. 

When reaching for the bottle I noticed this Common Musk Turtle underneath it. Picked up both in the same grab. The bottle went into the boat and the Musk Turtle went right back to where it was in the canal. 

The basket sank since the last visit. I didn't want to, but felt I had to remove it. After finding a dead chicken when moving the blue cloth last time, I just figured that's what it was full of. I was surprised when I lifted it out of the water and fruit, vegetables and eggs came out. The chicken was gone. How does a nice basket like this with all of the food inside end up in the canal? 

This roll up sled was caught in a strainer near the take out. 

Not as much as the last trip, still more than I had hoped to find. I threw the non-recyclables away, packed up the recyclables and headed down to the river to paddle back to Bethlehem. 
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!