My earlier entry regarding my day out on the Detroit River focused on the sturgeon work aboard the U.S.F.W.S. research boat Sentinel. This was the main reason for the trip – the headline material, so to speak. Our trip out into the mid-section of the stream brought us in contact with many other sights worth noting, however, and I’d like to bring a few of these to your attention as well.  First, allow me to complete a few “left over” sturgeon observations.

  The water was still quite cold this time of year. The temperature hovered around 52 degrees Fahrenheit when measured at each of the sturgeon sets. I asked Dr. Manny if there was any indication that the sturgeons were spawning yet and he shook his head in negative response. “No. it’s still a little too cold, but it’s getting there,” he answered. “The suckers are starting to spawn, though, and that means the time is getting close.” By suckers, he meant fish like the Golden Redhorse Sucker and White Sucker and was not referring to “those suckers” – as in sturgeon. You must be careful about this fisheries language where a big sucker is literally a big Sucker and a female walleye with eggs is called a hen.

  A large man made rock reef was recently laid on the bottom of the river just off the east shore of Belle Isle – at the head of the river. Scientists such as Bruce are eagerly awaiting the advent of this years breeding season to see if any sturgeon will make use of this area to lay eggs. The fish are regularly spawning on the Canadian side of the river, but need some help in returning to old sites closer to the Michigan shore.

  Out on the boat, I looked closely at one of our captured fish and suggested that she might try out this new spawning site. Her expression was unreadable, however (Here, take a look for yourself). Sturgeons don’t have ears, but do have four extremely sensitive barbels on their snout. I was hoping these appendages might pick up some sense of my message just like they sense food items on the bottom.  After all, I told her, there were plenty of other critters doing the “spring thing” out here on the river and it was time to get going.

  We passed an active Bald Eagle nest about mid-way down on the east side of Fighting Island. An adult bird was standing on the edge of the nest next to a large chick (see here).  There are at least four active nests on the Detroit this year and eagles are a regular and year-round sight.

  Down at the south end of the island there was a large Ring-billed Gull colony extending for hundreds of feet along the high bank from the top of the grassy ridge down to the limestone rubble rock (see here and here). It looked like most of the birds were sitting on eggs while the rest were flying overhead in all directions. Even though the whole place looked chaotic, there was some order within the apparent dis-order since each nest was located within a beak’s reach away from the nearest neighbor. From a distance you could hear the constant cackle of the noisy birds drift over the water as we worked the third set.

  While drifting opposite the gull colony, we pulled up a thieving Mudpuppy on one of the hooks. A series of a dozen empty hooks betrayed the presence of this giant aquatic salamander who had obviously helped himself to the feast. His last bite proved that there was no such thing as a free meal and he ended up getting snagged through the lip.

  I unhooked this wriggling beast and held him out for a portrait before tossing him back (see above and here). If the puppy looks uncomfortable, he was.  Being one of the slimiest creatures on earth (surpassing even the sturgeon in this regard) it was all I could do to keep a grip with one hand while taking a photo with the other. I was almost squeezing his innards out in order to maintain a grip. It was like holding a rotten pickle – a moving rotten pickle.   

  You are in the presence of true ugliness when you are staring at the face of a mudpuppy. Michigan’s largest salamander has a mug that only a mother could love. The large red feathery gills coming out of each side of the head only add to the unworldly nature of this beast. I wanted to get an angle that showed off the wide fin-like tail, but the thing protested so much that I was finally forced to let it drop back into the chilly depths. It was time to get back to helping Jim and Bruce with the sturgeon work, anyway.

  My left glove was covered with the snotty slime residue from my recent captive.  There was so much, as a matter of fact, that it created filmy webs between my fingers when I spread them out. The webs would dissolve into sheety dollops of goo and peel off in the wind.  Yes, admiring snotty slime from a rotten pickle was all part of a great day on the Dee-troit.