Atlantic Salmon

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Its that time of the year again. The rivers are full and the Atlantic salmon are swimming upstream to spawn in the little tributaries where they were born. We do get salmon in the River Eden near us but there are not sufficient numbers to be able to reliably watch then attempting to climb the waterfalls at Stenkrith Park where they are sometimes  seen.  I happened to away from home yesterday and was driving past Stainforth Force waterfall on the River Ribble and I was able to watch for half an  hour until the light failed. I estimate that there was a salmon every couple of minutes attempting to leap the falls.



In previous years I have volunteered to help count the salmon "redds" (where the eggs have been laid). These "nests" are detectable as the stones that have been disturbed by the fish as they "plough " a furrow have a subtly different colour from the undisturbed stones nearby. It is heartening that our rivers are still clean enough for salmon - although there is no room for complacency. Water boards are privatised in this country , and existing rules allow them to pump raw sewage into rivers if the rivers are in flood and the sewage is diluted. A recent bill was put to Parliament to insist that the managers of water companies would escape prosecution if they broached the regulations. Thankfully this was defeated by a backbench rebellion but the rules still allow for sewage to be discharged even though the treatment facilities are not up to the job. There are new houses being built down the road from us in the full knowledge that there isn't the capacity to cope with the sewage they will produce. I wonder if there will still be salmon in our rivers by the time I have great grandchildren?  If its not too depressing have a look at this by the Rivers Trust

Diary
I saw a couple of short eared owls on the moors yesterday. We were delighted to observe a little tree creeper in the garden today. It definitely feels like autumn now - nights are much colder and now that the clocks have gone back it is dark by about 4.30pm.



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