February 24, 2023
10:00 – 12:30
40° F, foggy, overcast, and snow on the ground (later, rain)
My Vertebrate Biology students and I had a wonderful tour of the Warm Spring Fish Hatchery, led by Bryan Freele. We were able to see the operations inside and out, from when a fish enters the hatchery, through the process of fertilization and raising the fry, until they’re just about ready to be released.
I’m also going to say that the weather was cooperative. When we arrived, there was snow on the ground, especially visible up on the nearby hillsides and the Lake Sonoma dam. The air was foggy, giving a gorgeous almost monochromatic look to the landscape. It was cold (and I probably should have worn warmer pants), but still lovely to be outside. Near the end of our visit, it began to rain (this is the cooperative part – that the rain waited until we were getting ready to leave).
I made a number of wildlife sightings, as well, all of which are incidental sightings while touring the hatchery. Now that I look at my list, it’s pretty impressive considering birding was not our primary objective today.
My first birds of the day were a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks seen while driving out to the hatchery. After I’d met up with my students, and we were waiting for Bryan to join us, we saw a few more great birds, including a bird high overhead that I couldn’t quite place at first. I knew it wasn’t a Turkey Vulture, or Buteo (not the right shape), and I was thinking “gull” until one of my students suggested that it was an Osprey. Oh yes! That was it . . . as the bird flew down closer to us, the white underneath and distinctive facial markings helped to solidify the ID. Many of the usual suspects were here, as well: California Quail, Western Bluebird, American Robin, Song Sparrow, Canada Goose, and Black Phoebe. We had a great view of a Yellow-rumped Warbler who flew quite close while hunting over the stream. I also spotted a pair of Mallard, and a Double-crested Cormorant flying by.
We began the tour with a discussion of the work they do here, and then we were able to see some of the hatchery folks in action – bringing in some fish that had swum up into the intake trough. We were all able to get an amazingly close encounter at this Steelhead Trout.
Originally, I’d been told that we weren’t going to be able to enter any of the buildings, but that turned out not to be the case at ALL, and we were shown all around the hatchery, and were able to witness several parts of the process of raising these fish to be released and supplement wild populations. I’m always especially charmed by the tiny baby fish that are so small they’re still feeding off of their yolks.
We also got to peek inside the “DFG OFFICIAL EVIDENCE LOCK-UP.” (Very official)!
We then walked over to the building that houses the Coho Salmon project. There, we were able to feed the fish, and learn more about how these fish are raised.
At end of our tour, it started to rain, giving everyone just that little bit of extra incentive to get back to the warmth of our cars. (It’s not particularly warm in the hatchery, even inside the buildings. Salmonids like old temperatures). On the way back to the parking lot, I did see a few more birds . . . some American Wigeon, and American Coot, and a Black Phoebe that was zooming around really fast over the pond.
This was a great day, and I think everyone enjoyed our visit to the hatchery (and learned a lot about the important work they do there, as well). Thanks so much to the wonderful folks at the Warm Springs Hatchery for hosting us again this year.
Species List
Fish species seen (wild, but currently in captivity): Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)
Species seen: Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Red-shafted Flicker (Colaptes auratus cafer), American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), American Robin (Turdus migratorius), California Quail (Callipepla californica), Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana), Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata), Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans), Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus), Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), American Wigeon (Mareca americana), American Coot (Fulica americana)
Let me know what you think!