Bright and Shiny

We can plan all that we want and sometimes it just doesn't go the way we expected. When I got up this morning I was going to finish paying the bills and then go down to the creek and do some photography. Naturally the bills took a lot longer than I thought they would. The lighting wasn't all that great by the time I finished. I stopped by the creek along the way. I was really surprised to see several late run salmon and even some Steelhead spawning. I wasn't prepared to photograph them well as the lighting was pretty dim and I would have needed a good flash . I must say that it was just pretty cool to see as I rarely see Steelhead spawning. I went downtown and finished my errands and on the return trip I stopped and photographed a little first year deer. It was so bright and alert and standing there so nicely in its winter coat that I couldn't resist! Such a cute little deer. God's saving grace to all, chris

Upper Reaches of Willits Creek

This morning I scrambled up and down the banks of a section of the upper reaches of Willits Creek with fellow photographer David Smith.It was just beautiful. Big Leaf Maples are just starting to turn and there was that nip in the air that really tells you that we are entering the fall season. Though it's still not cold enough to convince me to wear long pants yet! It was also nice to see the creek had a little flow in it from the rains we had last week. Water flows in this creek are critical to both salmon and steelhead which will be using this creek for spawning in the next few months. It's just incredible to see a fifteen pound salmon fighting its way up this creek.I'm looking forward to seeing that again. God gives us so many gifts to see and experience every day. His light and love to all, chris

Journey's End

This morning I went for a short walk along Willits Creek. I spotted two female Chinook Salmon still digging out their redds (nests) in the gravel of the creek. Though there were no male salmon in sight in which to fertilize them.There was also one nice sized dead salmon lying in the creek bottom.It's amazing to think what that salmon survived in its journey make it this far in order to spawn. The Chinook Salmon that spawn in Willits Creek typically spend three to five years or sometimes longer living in the Pacific Ocean before they head upriver to spawn.They travel south up the Eel River a distance of over 130 miles up the river. When they reach Outlet Creek they hang a right and go another 20 miles or so. Upon reaching the confluence of Willits Creek they head southwest another five miles.By the time they have reached this point in their journey they are pretty beat up and bruised from all of the rocks and rapids they have fought their way up.The females find a spot in the creek gravel that meets their liking. They turn sideways and dig a hole in the gravel in which to lay their eggs. The male then goes over the top of the nest and fertilizes the whole nest. The female then moves upstream of the nest and covers it in gravel. She will guard the nest for a few days and then all the adult salmon die.Leaving behind another generation waiting to hatch,go down river to the ocean and start the cycle all over again. The end of a long journey God's blessings to all, chris

The Great Salmon Run

I took another walk along Willits Creek this afternoon. Willits Creek is a small tributary of Outlet Creek which in turn flows into the Eel River. I saw more salmon than I have seen in over twenty years. It was really cool to see the females digging out their redds (nests) to lay eggs in. A wonderful afternoon.

God's blessings and love to everyone,

chris

A Gift

A Gift

It’s amazing how much more wildlife you can see in the forest if you just sit still for a while. Yesterday while sitting watching the salmon spawn in the creek the bird life seemed to just appear out of no where. A flock of Chestnut Backed Chickadees and some other small birds began feeding on seeds and sprouts low to the ground around me. One bold Chickadee landed on a Bracken Fern right in front of me. Far too close for my camera to focus.
A few moments later a Song Sparrow began scavenging the cattails along the opposite bank of the creek from where I was sitting. This went on for about fifteen minutes before the flock moved on down the creek. Later a Sharp Shinned Hawk swept through looking for its meal. It caught me totally off guard with only the time to enjoy its swift flight forgetting all about my camera. A nice quiet moment spent in the forest.

God’s love and blessings to all,

chris

The Run is On!

While walking the creek with Lenore yesterday we discovered that the Chinook salmon Run is on. Lenore stated that she thought she heard a splash down stream. As were we walking down to the next riffle I saw a pretty good sized salmon fight its way up the riffle and into the pool. A closer inspection let us see that there were quite a few salmon in the pool. We sat and watched them for awhile. Two larger females would drift into the riffle then turn on their sides and then by splashing their tails clear out a small depression (or redd) to lay their eggs into.
This morning I went back down to the creek and sat on the bank just above the salmon. It was a lot of fun to watch them in action and try to create some interesting images of them in action. It is truly amazing to see such a large fish in such a small creek.

God's love and blessings to all,

chris