Forgotten Treasures #19: THE SPECKLED BROOK TROUT--PART VII

THE SPECKLED BROOK TROUT

PART VII: WINGED ENEMIES OF THE BROOK TROUT.

[No, I haven't forgotten about part VI. As previously mentioned, there is a
small block of text missing from the scanned original....the staff are still
working on that. As this book is a collection of articles with no
consistent narrative thread, the placement of individual chapters is, for
the most part, not important. Part VI. will be inserted as soon as it is
ready. w.s.]
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Some idea of the serious loss of fish and fish eggs caused by myriads of
enemies in and about the waters is conveyed in a paragraph of Dr. Day's book
upon the British and Irish Salmonidae. He says; "So enormous is the loss
which occurs among the eggs and young, that in such a river as the Severn
the annual produce of salmon and grilse at the present time (1887) consists
of about 20,000 fish. Were all the ova of one female salmon of about twenty
pounds' weight to be hatched and attain maturity, they would suffice for
keeping up the stock to its present condition." The Severn is 200 miles
long and receives five principal tributaries.



Chief among the destroyers of fish are certain birds and winged insects.
The common crow, the crow blackbird, hawks, bluejays, some owls, grebes,
gulls, and terns, have the reputation of poaching to some extent, but their
depredations are much less in our State than the ravages of such birds, for
example, as the herons, kingfisher, certain ducks, loons, and fish-hawk.
Chief among these is the



Night-heron.



In the report of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission for 1897 Dr. B. H. Warren
publishes some interesting notes on the destructive work of the black-crown
night-heron. In a small pool at Westchester, Pa., twenty-five goldfish were
placed. Two night-herons caught all but one of them before the following
morning. A night-heron killed near a branch of White Clay Creek, in
Pennsylvania, had the tail of a common sucker of about twelve inches long
projecting four inches beyond its bill The head and shoulders, except the
bony portion, were eaten away by the gastric juice of the stomach. Dr.
Warren examined the stomachs of about twenty of these herons, which were
shot in June near their breeding-ground, and found fish remains in all of
them.

In July, 1883, Dr. Rudolph Hessel shot a night-heron containing the heads of
seventy-eight young carp. This bird is sometimes called blue heron, and is
also quite generally called a crane, but this is erroneous. It is found in
large numbers, and in the breeding season forms rookeries which are a
serious menace to the fishing waters of the neighborhood. It is extremely
shy and cautious, fishing chiefly at night or early in the morning. It
stands perfectly motionless in the water until a fish comes within reach,
when it strikes with its long, sharp, heavy bill, which deals death to any
of the fish kind.



They have been caught in steel traps set in ponds within twenty feet of a
hatchery building. The traps are set in shallow water, taking precaution to
secure them so as to prevent the bird flying away with them. When a heron
is captured in a trap, he should be killed at once with a long club or a
load of shot. Great care should be taken to keep out of the reach of his
murderous bill. Once I had the misfortune to be struck by a wounded heron,
and I am sure that if his bill had struck me squarely on the hand, it would
have gone entirely through. As it was, the blow was a glancing one,
striking me on the knuckle, but it stripped off the flesh to the very bone.
I have sometimes heard a great flopping and disturbance in the waters of our
Caledonia trout-brook at night, and upon going to the place in the morning
found heron tracks in the mud, and sometimes a trout from one-half pound to
two pounds in weight, and occasionally larger, with a hole in its back or
side, into which you could put your finger. I always supposed the fish
escaped on account of its being too strong and lively for the heron,
although mortally wounded. I have seen as many as a dozen six-inch trout in
the throat and stomach of a heron killed in the early morning hours.



In Germany, and elsewhere in Europe, herons work great injury to the
fish-culturists. In the government fisheries the regulations prescribe that
they must be killed and their roosts destroyed, but in spite of these
measures their numbers are seriously large in many places, and owners of
ponds trap them with steel traps baited with fish.



The small green heron and the bittern are also in the list of
fish-destroyers, but they are less destructive than the night-heron on
account of their smaller size, but their presence about fish preserves is
not at all beneficial and they should be killed.




Kingfisher.



The kingfisher is one of the most active, impudent, and persistent of the
enemies of fish wherever found, and it is only too abundant for the good of
angling. According to Dr. Brehm, the common European kingfisher on the
average destroys daily ten or twelve fish, each about as long as a man's
finger. In fourteen years, a German fish-culturist caught upwards of 700
kingfishers near his trout-ponds. The bird is equally abundant and quite as
destructive in New York, and may be regarded as one of the pests afflicting
the fish-culturist. I have known of upward of 180 kingfisher being
destroyed on one-half mile of Caledonia Spring Creek in one season; they
were shot and trapped.



In 1884 I rented an old mill-pond in Genesee County, N. Y., posted it with a
view of making a trout-preserve, as the pond was fed by cold spring brooks
and contained nothing but trout. I visited the pond on an average once in
two weeks, with a few friends, for a day's sport. Noticing that the
kingfishers were quite numerous, I suggested to the farmer's son, residing
near by, and who also watched the ponds for me, that if he would trap and
shoot the kingfisher I would give him ten cents each. This was followed up
until I found it most too expensive, as the young man produced the heads or
bodies of from ten to thirty kingfishers every time I visited the place.



The clattering notes of this bird are heard from early in the spring until
cold weather, and even before the spring season is open, as if impatient for
it to come. He is never satisfied, being on the lookout from daylight until
dark, and is ever ready for a plunge in the water at sight of his prey. He
can take as many fish as the average sportsman.



In the article of Dr. Warren above referred to are some accounts of the
destruction wrought by the belted kingfishers. Mr. C. K. Sober, of
Lewisburg, Pa., found thirteen small brook-trout in one of these birds which
was shot on Baker Run. An acquaintance of Dr. Warren some years ago had a
large number of goldfish in a pond. Two pairs of kingfishers built their
nests in a sand-bank near the pond. In one summer these birds destroyed
nearly all the small-sized fish in the place. Out of thirty-eight of these
birds taken about streams and mill-ponds, thirty-six contained nothing but
fish remains.



Kingfishers can be successfully captured in traps fastened at the top of
stakes driven in the bank about trout-ponds or along trout-streams. The
stake or pole should be from ten to fifteen feet long. If the top of the
stake is not sufficiently large to support the steel trap, nail a small
block of wood on the end of the pole. The trap is set, but not baited.
When the trap is set, the little plate that springs the trap when disturbed
is the highest point of the trap. The trap must be securely fastened to the
stake by a cord, small wire, or chain. The birds on visiting the ponds or
streams, will invariably fly to one of these stakes, light on the highest
point and be captured. I have found a small round steel trap (one without
the shank or tail-piece) to be best for this work. One of these traps
captured twenty-five kingfishers at a trout-preserve in Cattaraugus County.
Of course, the pole and trap should be set up near a fishing-ground, where
the bird may think it is a splendid spot for observation.




Ducks.



Domestic ducks as well as geese are great destroyers of fish, and should
never be allowed on trout-waters. I have seen a tame duck capture and
devour a trout seven inches long. They also feed on the natural food of the
fish. Wild ducks of some species are equally troublesome, and especially
the mergansers, saw-bills, sheldrakes or fish-ducks.



The merganser is very destructive at all times, but particularly in winter,
when most of the streams and lakes are frozen over. They often congregate
on small streams or ponds that do not freeze on account of their uniform
temperature. These waters are invariably trout-waters. During severe
winters this fish-duck sometimes remains on Caledonia Creek for a month at a
time. At such times it is very shy, and it is almost impossible to get a
shot at them or keep them away from the stream. Trout spawning-beds are
also tempting spots for the fish-duck to congregate and feed. I have
sometimes found red-flannel flags, placed on poles stuck in the bank along
the stream, useful for scaring the ducks away.



Loons.



Dr. Warren examined the stomachs of sixteen loons, three of which were the
red-throated species, and found remains of fish in thirteen. Fall-fish,
suckers, carp, catfish, and also a brook-trout seven inches long were found
in the stomachs of loons killed in Pennsylvania.



On the inland lakes of New York these birds subsist chiefly upon fish and
destroy a great many. In the counties of Chester, Delaware, Clinton, and
Lehigh, Pa., the stomach contents of seven loons captured during the winter
months consisted entirely of fish-bones and scales.



Loons are sometimes caught alive in pound-nets set by the fishermen of the
great lakes and on the sea-coast. They are very dangerous to handle, on
account of the strength and sharpness of their bill and their savage
disposition.



Grebes.



The grebe, known also as hell-divers and water-witches, feed upon fish,
frogs, aquatic insects, especially beetles, and water-plants. They nest in
streams, lakes, and ponds, usually building among reeds or rushes, and lay
from six to eight eggs of uniform color. The are distributed all over the
world, and are everywhere known as expert divers and swimmers and generally
destructive to fish.



The horned or crested grebe lives principally upon small fish. These birds
are so exceedingly cautious and swift in their movements that it is quite
difficult to shoot them, but by persistent watching it can be accomplished,
as many duck-shooters know. One of the best ways to reduce their number is
by taking their eggs from the rudely constructed nests in the reeds and
thickets close to the surface of the water. The eggs of the horned grebe
are greenish.



Fish-hawk.



The depredations of the fish-haw, are more frequent along the sea-coasts
than on inland waters, but the birds are often found along our large rivers
and over large lakes and ponds. They are usually solitary in spring and
fall, but sometimes hunt in pairs, and will remain about mill-dams and
fish-ponds a few days at a time if not driven away.



I have known of their taking trout of one-half pound weight from my private
trout-ponds.



Dr. Warren examined the stomachs of twenty-three and found nothing in them
but fish remains. Fish-hawks are quite common throughout the Adirondack
region. Goldfish-ponds are particularly liable to attack from fish-hawks,
owing to the bright color of their occupants.



Bald Eagle.



The national bird usually plays the role of a fish-thief, his victim being
the fish-hawk, but occasionally has been seen fishing in shallow parts of
small creeks on his own account



Audubon states that he saw a bald eagle capture a number of red fins in
Perkiomen Creek, Pa., by wading briskly through the water and striking at
them with his bill. On the Island of Kadiak, Alaska, according to Dr. Bean,
this eagle is actively engaged in fishing, and is most abundant around the
salmon-lakes and shallow bays.



Many of the observing guides of the Adirondacks will tell you how they have
seen a bald eagle attack a fish-hawk in the air, and make him drop the fish
he had just captured from the lake below, and before the fish could strike
the water the eagle would swoop down and catch it in his claws; but the
eagle is so very scarce in New York that it hardly seems right to recommend
their destruction, even if the law would permit it, which it does not.



Barred Owl.



Although this bird is commonly credited with the destruction of fish-food,
such as snails, caddis larvae, and crayfish, it has sometimes been accused
of catching fish. An instance of the capture of a large brook trout at the
State Hatchery at Allentown, Pa., by a barred owl was reported several years
ago, and Dr. Warren was informed by residents of Florida, in 1885, that the
bird frequently caught fish in that State, securing them by dexterous
movement of the foot while sitting close to the water's edge.



The common hoot-owl, or screech-owl, quite often causes trouble. I have
caught them in traps set for musk-rats four inches under water. They were
after the fish-food of the stream, such as caddis larvae, crayfish, shrimp,
etc. I have seen two or three quarts of the caddis-larvae cases in a pile
that had been collected from the water by a screech-owl, the larvae being
pulled from the case, and devoured by the owl.



Injurious Insects.



The damage to fish-eggs and young fish caused by insects and the larvae
which pass a portion of their existence in water, is less noticeable than
the injury done by the birds, but it is much greater than one would suppose
without investigation.



The larvae of dragon-flies, and the great water-beetles and water-bugs are
well-known enemies of fish.



Several kinds of water-beetles, particularly the rapacious dytiscus, devour
fry in enormous numbers, and the great water-bug, called belostoma by
entomologists, is also injurious in trout-waters. Both the beetles and
their larvae completely devour eggs and little fish measuring several inches
in length, while they often eat holes into larger fish. This large
water-beetle often leaves the water, perhaps for a little exercise. Whether
they fly during the daylight hours I cannot say, but I have seen and secured
them near an electric light located within a short distance of a stream.



We do not see and therefore do not know the full extent of the depredations
continually going on around us, but when we stop to realize the fruits of
our labor and patient expectation, we are astonished by the scarcity of fish
and often inclined to place the blame where it does not belong. Nature's
checks upon over-production are sometimes more effective than man's most
ingenious devices for the legitimate capture or legal destruction of fish,
but at the present state of the fishing waters in New York, it is safe to
say that we could get along without Nature's checks.



END PART VII