MATES May, 2008

The first two sections of Mr. Werner’s class were fortunate to experience perfect spring weather for the initial freshman experience on Sedge Island. Although it was cool and bright, the sun made it pleasant to be in the water for kayaking and clamming. Mr. Wnek was able demonstrate how to tag a diamond backed terrapin that Jackie caught earlier in the day.
Spring is in full swing on the salt marsh. The Black Brant that were so numerous several weeks ago have completely disappeared. Osprey are sitting on eggs in almost every nest. This includes the new nest on a platform put up by Project USE earlier this spring. The Peregrine falcon chicks have fledged and we watched the adults working with their young as they were learning to hunt. The Blue Mussels are still covering the bottom in the area around the island. Although they are still very small (3-5mm) they are growing very rapidly. Some small Sea Stars are around but not in any large numbers. Most evident of all is the rapid growth of the Sour Weed algae that seems to have bloomed overnight.

These groups of MATES students fished harder than any other groups to come to Sedge yet this year. They threw every kind of lure. They used clams for bait and for chum. We could see the stripers in the clear water near the dock. Unfortunately no one caught anything. The good is that they are freshmen and will return to Sedge again in later years.