By Roy L Hales
The chum have returned.
For weeks, Squirrel Cove’s eagles have been announcing this to anyone listening.
Three juveniles rose to flight, in response to the human presence at the mouth of Basil Creek. They left their meal on the bank. The head of a salmon had been pecked off. Its body lay further up the bank.
A juvenile eagle left the head of the chum salmon, at the bottom of this picture. The body was three or four feet away on the bank. Photo by Roy L Hales.
At the mouth of Basil Creek
There were at least a dozen salmon swimming nearby and others waiting to enter the creek. They scattered when approached. One or two fled back to open waters, reminding me not to proceed further. I photographed some of the salmon waiting around the next bend, then retreated.
There is a second look-out, where visitors can stop without intruding on private property. There were between three and four dozen upstream at Basil Creek’s new culvert. Most were swarming around the front, but at least a half dozen were on the other side.
Around the next bend. Photo by Roy L Hales.
Previous years
Last year’s run was disappointing. Cec Robinson told Cortes Currents there were perhaps 50 on the whole of Cortes Island, but there had been close to 1,300 in 2016. So Cortes Island Streamkeepers anticipate a much stronger count this year.
One juvenile eagle's interrupted meal. Photo by Roy L Hales.
October 17 count
The Tideline carries Christine Robinson’s report of a survey of Basil Creek made two weeks ago, on Oct.17. A party of young streamkeepers from Cortes School broke into four groups, each of which made its own tally. One group counted 197 Chum: 110 females and 87 males. The aggregate count varied widely:
- Live fish – numbers between 80 and 286
- Dead – numbers between 8 and 28
The students counted between 12 and 40 predators. (They counted every raven & crow!)
Christine asked that visitors keep their dogs on leases or, better still, leave them at home.
An observant predator. Photo by Roy L Hales.
James, Hansen and Whaletown Creeks
There are three more salmon bearing creeks on Cortes Island. James Creek runs through the Children’s Forest into Carrington Lagoon. Hansen Creek empties into the Gorge Harbour. Whaletown Creek runs through the other new culvert into Whaletown Lagoon.
Friends of Cortes Island Streamkeepers will continue to monitor and count spawners from mid-October through November.
The fin of a Chum salmon, waiting to enter Basil Creek, breaks the surface. Photo by Roy L Hales.