Somes Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary
The Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary is dedicated to conservation, research, and education in the Somes Pond-Long Pond watershed and beyond
Nice light and calm conditions on Somes Pond this evening
Alert wood duck mother with her 4 youngsters on a foraging bout this morning. Good that she's kept these 4 so far.
As of last evening, just over 56,000 of these intrepid fish have entered the Somesville Mill Pond and just over 15,000 have made their way to Long Pond, a mile and a half inland. Alewife have likely benefitted overall from higher water levels than usual to move upstream and down after spawning. There has been very low mortality due in part to fewer opportunities to get stranded and cooler water with more dissolved oxygen.
The downside to higher water levels is that it is easier for inbound fish to get into channels and pools that do not lead to the fishladders (dead ends). That means we have to net or herd fish out of those pools and put them into the ladder channel or into the pond above - easier said than done!
Outbound fish have been able to go over the spillway to get back to the ocean when they choose, often in the evening. In more typical lower water years when there is no water going over the Mill Pond we open the fishladder grate during high tides to let them go out when there is deep water to escape to the harbor. Many predators and scavengers benefit from this species' annual migration - they are a very important part of this watershed and many others. Another benefit of their presence is the opportunity for many students of all ages to learn about their ecology, conservation, and historical uses.
