We did some aerial tracking last Saturday evening. On the way back to Creswell, we detected but did not code a tag somewhere in the vicinity of Marcola Road and 28th St. in Springfield. This weekend, we investigated some of these mystery pings.
We drove on 126 and got a strong ping just west of the 42nd St. exit. We circled around and were able to finally code it – as I9 (Gil)! It was strongest from the north side of 126 (42nd St. onramp) and appeared to be coming from the pond north of 126. We also got a faint signal from I20 (Harvey). It was after business hours, so we weren’t able to investigate further.
The next day, we started at the southeast end of the pond and moved around the south bank and up the west bank. Our curiosity quickly turned into surprise as we coded not just I9 and I20, but also I12 (Rusty) and I21 (Ole)! We were unable to get to the source of the pings (far northeast corner of the pond) but we are certain they are in there (or on the bank right next to the pond).
Four tags in one small area, about five miles from the study section. Two of the fish were small (10”ish) but two weren’t (12”, 16”). Verrrrry interesting!
A recovery mission is in the works and the culprits will be identified. Currently, we suspect osprey or eagles; but otters are also active in the area (shown below).
You can, as always, see who’s where with Follow Our Fish!
