Sorry Mike, I was being lazy and hoping Chris would beat me to it.
A total of five of us ( myself, Chris Scharpf, Bob Bock and son, and H.
Deford) braved the chilly DC-Metro weather to work off the post-holiday
blues. We collected three sites along Western Branch (a trib to the
Patuxtent) and some smaller tributaries.
Our species list at the first site (Collington Branch at MD Hwy 202 near
Upper Marlboro, Prince Georges Co., MD) included: Lampetra appendix,
Anguilla rostrata, Umbra pygmaea, Cyprinella analostana, Notropis procne,
Rhinichthys atratulus, Semotilus atromaculatus, Semotilus corporalis,
Catostomus commersoni, Gambusia holbrooki, Fundulus diaphanus, Lepomis
gibbosus, Lepomis macrochirus, and Etheostoma olmstedi. Lampetra were
particularly abundant at this site.
The second site was Cabin Branch at Brown Station Road, NW Upper Marlboro,
Prince Georges Co., MD. Species collected were: Lampetra appendix, Anguilla
rostrata, Clinostomus funduloides, Cyprinella analostana, Luxilus cornutus,
Notropis procne, Rhinichthys atratulus, Semotilus atromaculatus, Semotilus
corporalis, Catostomus commersoni, Erimyzon oblongus, Hypentelium nigricans,
Fundulus diaphanus, Lepomis gibbosus, Lepomis macrochirus, and Etheostoma
olmstedi. Fish abundance seemed low- whether this was a result of this
summer's drought conditions was a matter of much discussion.
The third site was the mainstem Western Branch at Lottsford Road ESE
Woodmore, PG Co., MD. This site was really trashy looking, but we managed to
get almost all of the species mantioned above, plus YOY Lepomis auritus, and
a couple of nice Noturus insignis. We also got "superumbra," a huge honking
mudminnow that has to be approaching the maximum reported size...
Somewhat amazingly, Bob didn't fall in, nobody developed hypothermia, and
nobody got shocked ;). I brought several Lampetra and a few Umbra back for
photos and scientific specimens, which made up for not getting my target
species. All of the sites appeared to have been affected by recent
development. Throughout most of the lower Potomac River, lower Susquehanna,
and Eastern Shore drainages, Lampetra aepyptera is much more abundant. It
was strange getting so many L. appendix and no aepyptera...
I've got to admit, it was nice finally catching up with Chris and Bob after
the ill-fated Zekiah Swamp trip of last year. Chris took a bunch of photos
plus some video - I get the feeling we'll be seeing some of those soon.
Anyway, I think everyone seemed to have a good time. I'll have to give a bit
more advance notice next time I'm in the area.
Cheers,
Dave
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