Fall Visitors Now Dropping In

This Summer Tanager hasn't been seen all summer but is hanging out at the suet feeder for a few days now that it's fall. We've had scarlet tanagers all summer until a few weeks ago. This guy seems almost tame. Too bad he likes the shadows. A full sun photo would be spectacular. 

"Crack Them Dams Wide Open!"

American Rivers is the premier organization in the USA that works on the restoration and protection of America's waterways. One of their projects is to remove old dams and restore free flow where it can be done safely. You can watch this happen today.

Whites Creek Gorge Natural Area

I'm working on a slideshow for a project that involves Whites Creek.

The Difference a Day Makes

Compare to the last set of pictures.

Before The Storm

There's a big blow currently drowning the Gulf Coast that is supposedly on its way here. We can use it. In the winter this is usually a class two/three shoal just above the Blue Hole.

Here's the view of the same spot from below.

Here is the entire flow of Whites Creek coming into the Blue Hole at the moment. That leaf will just fit through the slot. There is a historical measurement of zero flow for more than ten days on Whites Creek, so this isn't too bad. We've seen it lower but never zero.

One of the cool things to see at low flow are the fish trapped in shallow pools. They can hide more easily than you think. As you walk up to it, a pool will be churning with fish and then the water rips to pieces and there's nothing there when it settles. I watched one pool for a bit and this guy moved from one rock to another. Cute!

This shows his relative size,  just so you don't think there's a monster catfish trapped in a shallow spot, although there may well be one somewhere with that exact problem right now.

In addition to the catfish I watched log perch, tangerine darters, several other darters, white tail shiners, log rollers, warpaint shiners, goat head sucker, and several mystery fish. A biologist may be able to i.d. some of these but I can't. I'm thinking I really need that underwater digital camera in a bad way.

The rain starts tonight.

Spotfin Chub

Spotfins used to live in Whites Creek and may still. We certainly haven't seen them lately, as in 50 years or so. Whitetail shiners, however, are abundant.