A Project of the Hudson River Estuary Program
Compiled and edited by Tom Lake, Consulting Naturalist
Love Our NY Lands
State Lands Belong to All of Us
All New Yorkers and visitors should be able to access, enjoy, and feel welcome on state lands. These lands belong to all of us, our families, and our neighbors. While enjoying these shared spaces, be respectful of other visitors. Share trails, treat people with kindness, and leave things as you found them for others to enjoy. All of us have a responsibility to protect State lands for future generations. For more information, visit: https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/119881.htm
Overview
Revealing photos of a seal in Esopus Creek seemed to suggest that a three-year semi-residence was still ongoing. In the river we found a glassy-bubble (?), a first for us, and a formerly rare fish made a second showing.,
Highlight of the Week
 7/21 – Saugerties, HRM 102: I have been renting kayaks and conducting tours out of Saugerties for ten years departing from the Saugerties Beach on Esopus Creek. I began seeing a harbor seal in Esopus Creek while kayaking in the winter with the Malden Yacht Club. We’d see him at the Saugerties Lighthouse, and he'd follow us all the way back to Malden, two miles upriver. He got very close to the kayaks and seemed to enjoy the company.
I briefly saw him again Memorial Day weekend in Esopus Creek by Tina Chorvas Park, and then again today on a sunset tour. We had departed from Tina Chorvas Park and headed upstream to the falls and one of my guests asked if she was seeing a seal. And there he was, curious, playful, and comfortable with us being there. (Photo of harbor seal courtesy of Gail Porter)
- Gail Porter
[Gail Porter’s photo strongly suggests that this is the flipper-tagged male harbor seal (246) that has spent nearly three years (since August 21, 2019, 1066 days) in the Hudson River in the vicinity of Esopus Creek and Saugerties. Tom Lake]
Natural History Entries
 7/16 – Little Stony Point, HRM 55: A good definition of serenity might be a summer dawn on the river in the Hudson Highlands. Flat as glass, warm as a bath, the river was 77 degrees Fahrenheit (F) — delightfully summer. The salinity had reached 3.0 parts-per-thousand (ppt), approaching 10% seawater (at this latitude, seawater is about 32-35 ppt). You could barely taste it.
Hauling our net up the beach, against the current, we got into a small school of 90 millimeter (mm) young-of-year bluefish, in from the sea; hauling down the beach, with the current, we got into a school of young-of-year striped bass (40-75 mm), all heading toward the sea — the vagaries of tidewater. Many small (Oreo-cookie size) blue crabs were also in the seine. (Photo of bluefish courtesy of Tom Lake)
- Tom Lake, Dede Farabaugh, Roux Farabaugh
[Note: One-inch equals 25.4 millimeters (mm)].
 7/16 – Town of Warwick, HRM 41: I arrived at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge Liberty Loop just after sunrise this morning with hopes to catch up with the American bittern that Ronnie DiLorenzo reported two days ago. Shortly after my arrival, Kyle Knapp joined me with the same target bird. As he was preparing to hike the loop, I spotted an American bittern flying across the marsh. I couldn’t see where it put down, but Kyle did, and we walked the trail to the approximate area.
After a good while of searching, I finally found the bird, feeding in a little wet area behind some dense vegetation. We enjoyed spectacular views in my scope and tried to find any angle where we could get photos. As I was watching the bittern, a sora rail walked into my view, feeding just in front of the bittern. I got Kyle on the sora, and he saw that there were two soras present. It was fantastic to get pretty good looks at such a secretive bird. (Photo of American bitten courtesy of Matt Zeitler)
- Matt Zeitler
[The 335-acre Liberty Marsh, part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge Complex, is adjacent to and near the headwaters of the Wallkill River. Tom Lake]
7/17 – Essex County: I set out on Pyramid Lake in a kayak before sunrise with hopes of putting myself in the good company of the resident common loons. However, there were none to be found on the lake. The breeding pair may have moved their nest to a nearby body of water after having their decades-long nesting spot inadvertently destroyed a couple of years earlier by island campers.
I settled along the lake's east side where I spotted an adult bald eagle flying down the lake. The bird then headed across, dropped to the surface, picked up a fish, and continuing to a tall pine to feed. Within minutes, an immature bald eagle flew into a treetop on the south side. This led me to believe that Pyramid Lake has at least one breeding pair of bald eagles. That also may explain the absence of loon young on the lake this year.
- Steve Rock
 7/18 – Greene County: Across the Catskill Mountain forests, the eastern hemlock has been under attack by the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid. There is, however, a beneficiary of their demise: the hemlock varnish shelf fungus (Ganoderma tsugae). This species uses dead hemlocks as a substrate on which to grow. Its closely related cousin, the “Reishi” fungus (G. lucidum), closely resembles G. tsugae, but tends to grow on hardwoods like maple and oak.
Both funji are polypores, or "bracket fungus.” They both have a reddish-brown lacquered kidney-shaped cap with white pores underneath making them quite distinctive and beautiful in the mountain forest. Hardly to be considered edibles, they have a bitter taste but are sought after for their immune boosting medicinal value as tinctures or teas. The Chinese called the “Reishi” Ling-Chi, the “mushroom of Immortality”. (Photo of hemlock varnish shelf courtesy of Mario Meier)
- Mario Meier
*** Fish of the Week ***
 7/18 – Hudson River Watershed: Fish-of-the-Week for Week 180 is the rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris). number 149 (of 236) on our watershed list of fishes. If you would like a copy of our list, e-mail - trlake7@aol.com.
Rock bass is one of thirteen members of the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) documented for our watershed. Among the other dozen species are smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed, bluegill, and black crappie. They are found from New England across southern Canada, including the Great Lakes, and widespread east of the Mississippi basin.
In our watershed, rock bass is designated as freshwater-Mississippi basin refugium, nonnative, having been introduced as well as migrated here through the New York State canal system. Rock bass are best described as dark olive green with bronze and copper reflections. C. Lavett Smith calls them a “robust, and brassy brown” in color. They can grow to sixteen inches, but most are “panfish size,” ten inches long, or less. As with many sportfish, anglers have given rock bass some colorful colloquial names such as red-eye bass, owing to their red iris, and goggle-eye bass.
Their species or trivial name, rupestris, that translates from Greek as “living among the rocks,” hints at their preferred habitat. Rock bass thrive in cool, rocky streams with a permanent flow, extensive cover, and a silt-free substrate where they feed on insects, small crustaceans, and small fish. Trautman (1981) attributes their reduction in numbers, even extirpation from some areas within their range, to the effects of silt-laden waters.
My earliest memories of rock bass come from fishing trips to Ulster County, to a spot where Esopus Creek meets the Ashokan Reservoir. There is a place at the edge of the forest that anglers know well as “Chimney Hole.” When the Ashokan Reservoir was created in 1915, the rising flood waters covered existing communities that included homes, shops, farms, churches, and mills. As a result, the bottom of the confluence of Esopus Creek and Ashokan Reservoir holds abandoned structures that became perfect habitat for fish. We all went there looking for walleye, but we mostly caught rock bass. The name Ashokan come from the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) language as “the place of fish.” (Photo of rock bass with permission by American Fisheries Society (AFS))
- Tom Lake
7/18 – Manhattan, HRM 1-2: Our Hudson River Park's River Project staff checked our sampling and collection gear that we deploy off Piers 26 and 40 in Hudson River Park. At Pier 26, our pots gave us two adult oyster toadfish (210, 230 mm) and a blackfish, or tautog (140 mm). We were beginning to see more blue crabs now than earlier in the season. Our minnow pots held several young-of-the-season blue crabs (60-75 mm) today along with grass shrimp, mud dog whelk snails, and the flourishing population of sea squirts.
At Pier 40, we found two immature tautog (170, 230 mm), plus a burly adult (320 mm). A minnow trap held a cunner (50 mm), a very close relative to the tautog.
- Zoe Kim
[The standard research measurement for blue crabs is millimeters (mm), point-to-point, laterally, across their carapace.]
 7/19 – Dutchess County, HRM100: We were returning through the woods from a hike to the waterfalls on the Sawkill Trail at Montgomery Place when we spotted something large sitting on a downed tree branch two feet off the ground. Through binoculars we were able to identify it as an immature bald eagle. Then we spotted a second immature sitting on the ground nearby. When they realized we were there, watching, they took off flying low to the ground farther out into the brush. We moved on so we didn't scare them, but as soon as we started down the trail, we could hear another eagle up in the treetops calling out. When we sat in the picnic area having our lunch, we could still hear what we assumed was an adult eagle calling and moving farther into the woods following, or leading, her newly fledged immatures. (Photo of bald eagle courtesy of Sharon Blickfeldt)
- Sharon Blichfeldt, Craig Blichfeldt
[Immature bald eagles are identifiable by the absence of the white head and tail of the adults. Sub-adults usually have many white feathers interspersed among a feathering of chocolate to dark brown, but do not get the adult plumage, on average, until their fourth year. Tom Lake].
 7/19 – Bedford, HRM 35: It was very warm and quiet today at the great blue heron rookery. The three remaining nestlings were panting from the heat waiting for their parents to bring some food. These herons were the last ones to hatch and were slightly behind in development. In a few days, they would fledge and join their parents learning to find their own food while wading in cool water. (Photo of great blue heron courtesy of Jim Steck)
- Jim Steck
7/19 – Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 34.5: I was watching the cell tower osprey nest this morning at sunrise from the Metro-North commuter train platform. Two osprey were perched on antennas next to the nest. It was difficult to tell if they were nestlings, fledglings, or adults.
As I watched, three more osprey came gliding into view and circled lazily above the Croton River. They continued to circle, alternating between gliding and flapping, while staying over Crawbuckie Marsh and did not approach the nest. Neither of the birds at the nest seemed bothered by their presence.
Then, one of the three circling osprey flew to the nest and disappeared inside. Neither of the two already there reacted to the arrival, so it seemed they did not perceive it as a threat. Meanwhile, the other two circling osprey gradually moved off to the west and out of my line of sight.
- Hugh McLean
7/19 – Manhattan, HRM 1-2: Our Hudson River Park's River Project staff checked our sampling and collection gear that we deploy off Piers 26 and 40 in Hudson River Park. At Pier 26, our pots and traps were empty of fish but had caught grass shrimp, mug dog whelk snails and, of course, sea squirts. At Pier 40, a crab pot caught an adult male blue crab (250 mm). We also saw some settled blue mussels and ribbed mussels in the minnow pots.
- Zoe Kim
 7/20 – Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 34.5: While waiting for my Metro North train to Manhattan this morning, I had the opportunity to watch the cell tower osprey nest. A nestling was hopping about and vigorously flapping its wings, while a second osprey perched on one of the antennae. As the sun began to illuminate the nest, the second osprey took off and headed east, returning within few minutes with a fish and disappearing into the nest. The confusing part was that the nestling remained outside the nest and didn’t seem to be getting fed. (Photo of bald eagle courtesy of Judy Winter)
- Hugh McLean
[The hopping and flapping osprey was probably very close to fledging and, believing that food would be there, was more into preparing to fly. Tom Lake]
7/20 – Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: In the wake of the drama of the two fledglings from bald eagle nest NY459 (see June 30), both were back flying around the nest, and it seemed as if all was well.
- Judy Winter
7/20 – Albany, HRM 145: The air temperature reached 97 degrees F. today tying the record high for the date.
- National Weather Service
 7/20 – Beacon, HRM 61: We stood on the beach at Long Dock Park in midday and weighed our chances of catching fish. I was joined by Jeff Vele (Mohican Nation) and Becky Vele (Menominee Nation) to discuss the effects of climate change, and evidence of ancestral indigenous fishing practices (seining) on the Hudson River.
The air was 97 degrees Fahrenheit, the inshore shallows, drained by low tide, were 85 degrees. In addition to the warmth, we wondered how much dissolved oxygen there could be in what seemed like a simmering cauldron. We all agreed that indigenous fishers would have stayed home on such a day. However, my stubbornness overcame their wisdom, and we hauled our net through knee-deep water that was hot to the touch.
The surprising fact that we managed to catch fish spoke more of their resiliency (the fish) than the artful way we netted while slipping on algae-covered rocks the size of footballs. Our catch was modest, but anything north of zero would have made us happy. Among the fish we caught were tessellated darters, Namakw, and elvers, last year glass eels, Ma'am, both in the Mohican dialect. The salinity was 3.0 ppt. (Photo of elver courtesy of Tom Lake)
- Tom Lake
 7/21 – Manhattan, New York City: After dodging morning thunderstorms, our Randall’s Island Natural Areas Team, along with interns from the Programming Umbrella, went to the Water's Edge Garden, on the Harlem River, to do some seining. We began in midday and across three hauls caught five fish species including Atlantic silverside, blackfish (tautog), northern pipefish, winter flounder, and young of year striped bass (38 mm). Among the invertebrates were blue crabs, grass shrimp, sand shrimp, mud snails, comb jellies, a sea gooseberry (sea walnut, about the size of a peanut), and a new one for us, a solitary bubble snail (jellybean size). The Harlem River was 79 degrees F, and the salinity was 23 ppt. (Photo of solitary glass bubble courtesy of Jackie Wu)
- Jackie Wu
[Susan Hewitt, our local malacologist (a scientist who studies mollusks) told us that the bubble snail was a solitary glassy-bubble (Haminella solitaria). Haminoea is a genus of medium-sized sea snails or bubble snails, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks, in the family Haminoeidae. She has found empty shells, but today’s specimen was the first alive one for Randall's Island. The solitary glassy-bubble is found in intertidal pools from Maine to South Carolina. Gosner (1978) remarks that they “are extremely fragile and that live bubbles are grayish and slug-like.”
Jackie Wu]
 7/22 – Little Stony Point, HRM 55: We were in Day 4 of 90-plus degree air temperatures; wading in the 84-degree river offered small comfort. The summer staff at the Hudson Highlands State Park, including Kacy Murphy, Rynn Smith, Vaerie Knowles, and Dylan Gunthary, joined us to haul our seine.
Young-of-year alewives (33-57 mm) had arrived in numbers as had young-of-year striped bass (26-70 mm) — each haul of our seine collected hundreds. We left the seine in a few inches of water just off the beach while we sorted looking for different species, and then lowered the seam line to allow them to leave thus reducing morality. Even such precautions were not totally effective; being a very sensitive species, some alewives floated away in the current. Immediately, ring-billed gulls took interest. We also knew that in the shallows, American eels and blue crabs were being served. Nothing went to waste.
We also caught several small blue crabs, both male and female, all quarter-to-silver dollar size. One had lost both its claws probably the result of a fight with another crab. Over the course of several moults, the crab would regenerate new claws. Salinity was approaching typical summer levels at 3.0 ppt. (Photo of blue crab courtesy of T.R. Jackson)
- Lauren Martin, T.R, Jackson, B.J. Jackson, Tom Lake
[Blue crabs have several colloquial names known mainly to crabbers: All males are called “jimmies,” typically market crabs. Mature females are called “sooks.” Immature females are known as “sallies.” Tom Lake]
 7/22 – Piermont, HRM 25: Despite the sweltering heat (93 degrees), 40 middle-school students attending a summer STEM program (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) at the City College of New York, joined a group of Next Generation of Hudson River Educators to help us explore the river.
We chose to haul our net on the north side of Piermont Pier where we usually have much success. High count for today’s effort was 700 moon jellyfish. We also had an impressive array of other invertebrates as well as fish. Among the fish were white perch, northern pipefish, Atlantic silverside, and small, young-of-year, striped bass. Among crustaceans were native blue crabs, both males and females, white-fingered mud crabs, grass shrimp (Palaemon sp.), as well as the invasive Asian shore crab. The lone mollusk was a nonnative, Atlantic rangia (Rangia cuneata), introduced from Chesapeake Bay.
The highlight of our hauls was two tiny gobies (12 mm), tentatively identified as lyre gobies (Evorthodus lyricus). The species was first reported in the estuary in October 2021 at Yonkers (river mile 18).
Our students also learned how to measure tides, salinity, water temperature, turbidity, and other water chemistry tests. The river was 81 degrees F., and the salinity was 10.0 ppt. (Photo of lyre goby courtesy of Margie Turrin)
- Margie Turin, Laurel Zaima, Marisa Annunziato
[On October 25, 2021, Jason Muller at the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak in Yonkers, caught a small fish, a goby, 100 mm, previously unknown in the Hudson River watershed. It was a lyre goby, a small benthic-dwelling fish defined by its large, bluntly pointed caudal fin with a dark lyre-shaped mark on its base consisting of two dark spots, one over the other (best field mark). Their snout is very short with a small mouth. They range from Chesapeake Bay south into the Gulf of Mexico to northern South America and are also present in the Greater Antilles. It is this normal range that makes their inclusion on the list of fishes for the Hudson River watershed even more mysterious.
Murdy, Birdsong, Musick’s Fishes of Chesapeake Bay (1997) state that “The lyre goby is rare in Chesapeake Bay, which is the species northern limit...This species is not common anywhere along the Atlantic Coast, and little is known of its biology.” To say the lyra goby is ephemeral would be an understatement. Their sudden presence in the estuary was a true enigma. Tom Lake]
Summer 2022 Natural History Programs and Events
Come Canoeing with the National Estuarine Research Reserve
Free public canoe program in the tidal marshes of the Hudson River estuary. Learn about the wildlife and dynamic system of the tidal wetlands. Information and registration link:
https://2022-nysdec-canoeprogram.eventbrite.com
Great Hudson River Fish Count August 6th
Have you ever wondered what’s hidden below the surface of the Hudson River? The DEC and many partners along the river are offering free fishing programs from NY Harbor to the Capital District.
Join at a site (listed below) to help catch, identify, and count some of the fish found in the river. For more information visit the Fish Count webpage.
2022 Great Hudson River Fish Count Sites and Participating Organizations (South to North):
Brooklyn
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 4 Beach: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
Note: Members of the public will not be able to get into the water, but can help with on-shore activities such as fish identification and scavenger hunts
Manhattan
Hudson River Park, Pier 40 Wetlab: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Hudson River Park Trust
Westchester
Habirshaw Park, Yonkers: 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Center for the Urban River at Beczak
Rockland
Piermont Pier, Piermont: 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
Putnam
Hudson Highlands State Park, Little Stony Point, Cold Spring: 11 a.m.
NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program
Dutchess
Long Dock Park, Beacon: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Scenic Hudson
Note: Seining at 10:00 a.m., fish activities and display of fish from 11-12
Norrie Point Environmental Center, Staatsburg: 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve/Hudson River Estuary Program
Note: The parking lot is currently under construction. Parking is available by the marina, then there is a construction fenced off path to the Environmental Center. Site is not ADA accessible during this construction phase.
Ulster
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater: sail not open to the public
DEC Facebook Live, 11 a.m.
Kingston Point Beach, Kingston: 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program
DEC Facebook Live, 5 p.m.
Rensselaer
Papscanee Island Nature Preserve: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
River Haggie Outdoors and Rensselaer Land Trust
Note: Event will be at the south entrance on Staats Island Road. Parking lot is on the right past the train tracks.
Saratoga
Peebles Island State Park, Cohoes: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
DEC Region 4 Fisheries
Note: Display will be under the Second Street bridge by the river. Live fish on display, no guided active fishing. Come test your fish identification skills and see what fish are found in the river!
Waterford Boat Launch, Waterford: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
DEC Region 4 Fisheries
Note: Live fish on display, no guided active fishing. Come test your fish identification skills and see what fish are found in the river!
September 18th 11:00am 22nd Hudson River Ramble
Hudson Highlands State Park
Little Stony Point, Route 9D, Cold Spring
Announcing the 2022 Hudson River Striped Bass Cooperative Angler Program
You can share your fishing trip information and help biologists understand and manage our Hudson River striped bass fishery. Here’s how it works: Fill out a logbook provided by us whenever you fish on the Hudson River (by boat or from shore). You can also use our survey123 app and record your trips using a smart phone or computer. Record general location, time, gear used, what you caught (or if you didn’t catch anything) and return the logbook when you are done fishing for the season. You’ll receive an annual newsletter summarizing the information in addition to the latest news regarding regulations and the river. Whether you catch-and-release or take home a keeper, you can be part of the Cooperative Angler Program. Online logbook instructions can be found here: https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/remediation_hudson_pdf/hrcoopanglerelogbook.pdf
Join today by contacting: hudsonangler@dec.ny.gov or call 845-256-3009
Hudson River Education
Teachers and students will enjoy our new Hudson River K-12 Unit of Study. This carefully curated group of lesson plans, arranged by topic and/or grade, brings together great learning tools developed by the DEC and dozens of estuary partners:
https://www.dec.ny.gov/education/25386.html
Hudson River Miles
The Hudson is measured north from Hudson River Mile 0 at the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge is at HRM 12, the Tappan Zee 28, Bear Mountain 47, Beacon-Newburgh 62, Mid-Hudson 75, Kingston-Rhinecliff 95, Rip Van Winkle 114, and the Federal Dam at Troy, the head of tidewater, at 153. The tidal section of the Hudson constitutes a bit less than half the total distance – 315 miles – from Lake Tear of the Clouds to the Battery. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.
To Contribute Your Observations or to Subscribe
The Hudson River Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com. To subscribe to the Almanac (or to unsubscribe), use the links on DEC's Hudson River Almanac or DEC Delivers web pages.
Useful Links
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration online tide and tidal current predictions are invaluable when planning Hudson River field trips. For real-time information on Hudson River tides, weather and water conditions from sixteen monitoring stations, visit the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System website.
DEC's Smartphone app for iPhone and Android is now available at: New York Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife App.
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