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major bait fish event August 26, 2001 |
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Today's
Bird Sightings: This
Year's Bird List: Today's
Reading: This
Year's Reading: Today's
Starting Pitcher: |
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There's a major bait fish event going
on at the cove. Small fish are jumping out of the water all
over the place practically leaping into the mouths of
cormorants and gulls. Gulls are swirling around everywhere
too busy to be The bait fish event attracts gulls,
cormorants, egrets, herons, kingfishers, and Southeast
Asians. Everybody is fishing. There are so many gulls
swirling around that I can't count them or even really
identify them. I think the ones I've listed as Bonaparte's
gulls are really laughing gulls 'cause I seem to recall
their having thick black bills, but they seemed small to me
At previous bait fish events we've
seen Southeast Asian people seining. Today they're all
either using rod and reel or these little cylindrical traps.
One little boy has quite a trap full but still keeps
lowering it back in again. I can't quite figure out how to
describe the fish trap. One end has a sort of funnel shaped
passageway through which the fish swim into the larger main
body of the trap where they're stranded because they can't
reverse The fall wildflowers/weeds are in
bloom too. What seems like acres of spotted touch-me-not
lines the edges of the bike path. Goldenrod and ragweed are
in bloom too. Not that ragweed is all that attractive.
It's
The next thing you know the Red Sox are falling out of contention. With or without a genuine pennant race the days get crisper and shorter and the time of year people move here for is in full swing. Suddenly you shiver and realize you're already steeling yourself for the long, dark, cold, baseball-less winter. |
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Copyright © 2001, Janet I. Egan |
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We
went to bed in the 11th inning last night, which is a good
thing. The Red Sox lost to the Texas Rangers in 18 innings,
at 2:40 in the morning Eastern time. It's possible that last
night's game is the beginning of the end for the Sox, but I
can't quite bring my self to say "wait 'til next year" yet.
And it's such a beautiful day that I can imagine months of
summer yet to unfold.
counted or even identified. I don't know what species the
fish are. They're little and silvery and always show up in
August. Various people have told me they flee like this when
the bluefish are running. 
and
had that tern like flight. I think they looked small because
they're moving so fast and I can't compare them to the
herring gulls and ring billed gulls. Walking along the East
Bay Bike Path I feel like I am in the birds' world rather
than they in mine.
direction and squeeze back through the narrow part of the
funnel. 
scraggly with tiny green flowers, nothing like goldenrod
with which people frequently confuse it. One blossom of the
spotted touch-me-not is shaped exactly like a goldfish. That
kind of fits in with the bait fish event.
It's
quite obviously August. The rose hips are ripe and the sumac
is turning all autumnal red. I'm amazed at how much fall
color there is already. I'm amazed every August. It just
happens so fast. Either that or it sneaks up on you. One day
you just look outside and the sumac is red. The next day the
swamp maples are red. Then the sugar maples go all orange
yellow red rainbow extravaganza on you. The birches and
poplars and gingkoes and everything get all yellow. Before
you know it, even the oaks start turning that bronze/maroon
color. 