Nearby Nature

Dead Trout Mystery in Sausal Creek

What killed the rainbow trout in Sausal Creek? At the beginning of August, city workers found dead trout in the creek not far from the culvert at Wellington Street. They found 25 in all, the largest was nine inches long.

Rainbow Trout in Sausal Creek (City of Oakland)

A federal lab in Charleston, South Carolina is investigating the cause of death. But until there are answers, Kimra McAfee, the executive director of Friends of Sausal Creek, wants to remind folks that the city’s riparian habitats are fragile. Tap water in our creeks can be lethal for fish.

What many people don’t realize is that tap water is disinfected with chloramine or chlorine, and both can be toxic to fish. Residual traces of chloramine at concentrations considered safe for human consumption remain in tap water. As aquarium owners know, chlorine dissipates into the atmosphere pretty rapidly, but chloramine combines chlorine with ammonia, and ammonia is very toxic to fish and doesn’t dissipate like chlorine. Consider, for example, the act of draining a swimming pool or Jacuzzi spa directly to a storm drain or a creek. Without first treating the water to remove traces of chlorine and ammonia, fish and other aquatic life in the creek could be harmed. – Kimra McAfee

McAfee said that the dead fish were found in only one location, and creek watchers have spotted healthy fish in other pools. Whatever killed the fish is out of the creek now.

This isn’t the first time there’s been a fish kill in Sausal Creek. In February 2008, runoff from a construction site killed 11 trout.

 

Good Deeds, Good Drinks

Do you like to leaven your volunteering with a catered gourmet meal and cocktail hour? Then spending a weekend in September restoring a portion of the Big Trees Trail in Joaquin Miller Park may be just the good deed you’ve been looking for.

Volunteers for Outdoor California is recruiting folks to help build new sections of the Big Trails Trail which have eroded in two spots leaving the root network of adjacent trees vulnerable. It’s two days of moderate manual labor, and plenty of sustenance to maintain the aforementioned labor. On Saturday, September 11 the work day begins at 8 am and ends at 3 pm. Happy hour starts at 4pm, dinner and entertainment begins at 6:15pm. Volunteers are encouraged to start camping at the site Friday evening. This will be the second time V-O-Cal has partnered with the City of Oakland to work on projects in Joaquin Miller Park. In 2007, 200 volunteers came out to build half a mile of new trail.

Rescue the Rescuers

About two months ago, passerby at the corner of International Boulevard and 42nd Avenue in East Oakland found themselves being followed by a fawn not more than a few days old. Bleating in clear distress, the baby deer was too young to know she should be afraid of humans. She was lucky her mistake didn’t cost her her life.

Photo By Jack Gescheidt

Someone called the police, the police called county animal control, and animal control called Lila Travis at Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue. Travis drove down to International Boulevard and coaxed the fawn into her car. Once in the safety of the animal shelter, the fawn thrived. She’ll soon be released into the wild.

That fortunate fawn was one of several thousand creatures rescued over the past decade by the volunteers at Yggdrasil, who have turned a rented home on a third of an acre in the Oakland Hills into a refuge for orphaned, injured and sick wildlife. There are about 60 critters in various stages of rehabilitation on the property now: Raccoons, snakes, squirrels, turtles, birds, opossums. In about a month, the animals and their human helpers will need a new home. The rent’s going up by $1,000 and Yggdrasil can’t afford it. Travis, who founded Yggdrasil with her husband in Temescal, 10 years ago, said the non-profit is looking for a new space.

Before Yggdrasil opened, the vast majority of wounded and ailing wild animals discovered by humans would be euthanized by city or county officials. On Thursday, Yggdrasil is hosting a lecture titled, “Secrets of a Familiar Neighbor.” The neighbor in question is the raccoon, a creature with more fascinating traits and habits than one might expect. In addition to talking about raccoons in the wild, Yggdrasil’s resident raccoon expert, Megan Isadore, will discuss ways that humans and raccoons can coexist more peacefully in the urban wild.

Are you interested in helping Yggdrasil? The outfit needs to raise $150,000 to build a new home. But they also need people to write letters of support to the Oakland City Council and the mayor’s office.  They need people to help move when the time comes. They need the community’s creativity.

Don’t Tread On Me

There’s something a-slithering in Redwood Regional Park. Park Ranger Dee Rosario said that he spotted a rattlesnake near the Girl’s Camp off of Skyline Boulevard.

Rosario said that in 30 years of walking the park, he’s never seen a rattlesnake. Keep your eyes peeled when hiking, especially when it’s sunny and the snakes are basking.

Wallaroos and Emus in the Oakland Hills

Quick! What’s the difference between a kangaroo and a wallaroo? The wallaroo is slightly smaller and a little stockier than its more famous cousin. The antipodal macropods are now frolicking with emus at the Oakland Zoo’s new Wild Australia exhibit.

You can see the new exhibit by taking a ride on the zoo train, which is now called the Outback Adventure Train. California’s climate is so similar to parts of Australia (consider the eucalyptus), would wallaroos and emus survive in the Oakland Hills if they escaped their enclosures?