Red and Gold

 

Over the past week I saw two species that have magnificent colors.  On my weekday off I took a two and a half hour drive to northwest Connecticut and caught Kokanees. Kokanees are a landlocked Sockeye or Red Salmon. They live in a handful of lakes in Connecticut. They can't naturally reproduce in the state so biologists collect spawning adults for eggs/sperm. They fertilize the eggs and release the babies back into the lake. 

   Just like the salmon you see on nature documentaries they die when they spawn. I saw many swimming fish where they were basically rotting away Sockeyes are plankton eaters but stop eating when they get ready to spawn anyway. They are very difficult to catch. Since they are not feeding the only way to get them to bite is to hope one gets angry and wants to kill your lure.

    I spent hours trying to get them to bite. I had dozens right in front of me but only had one offer at my little tiny Kastmaster Spoon. When I caught it I took a photo of it and released it despite its days being numbered. I accidentally snagged a couple others but I do not count those as being caught. I also tried multiple flies with my fly rod but didn't get any takers.

 

Golden Eagle

  On Saturday I met my birding friends and birded Burlingame Campground. Towards the end of our time there, Tim Metcalf and Carlos Pedro spotted a Golden Eagle soaring about. Most Golden Eagles live out west but some live in Ontario. These birds will travel south for the winter and every now and then one is seen in Rhode Island. We got great looks at it in perfect light. It was soaring pretty far away but in the binoculars we could see the perfect golden head and all of the other features that make it different from a Bald Eagle. This was a state bird for me and was so happy to see it my heart was racing.

   I didn't have my camera but Tim let me use his camera for a few seconds and UI snapped off a couple photos of it. I'm very greatful he let me.