Harvesting Pacific Lamprey (Lampetra tridentata)

Lamprey will never win any beauty contests, but like any creature that is largely misunderstood - they have an interesting story. For starters these are an ancient lineage of fish. They have been around for 450 million years - before the age of the dinosaurs. They are the oldest existent family of vertebrates that still survive.


They have long been culturally important to the tribes, and are often served alongside salmon at tribal feasts and celebrations.


Collecting at Willamette Falls is not very easy. The rocks are slick as ice, and potential for injury is real. Yet tribal members scramble up cliffs, and reach into unseen crevices to find a lamprey.



umatilla tribe member kanim moses harvests pacific lamprey (lampetra tridentata) at willamette falls, in the willamette river near oregon city

Treaty Rights - Pacific Lamprey (Lampetra tridentata)

reduced flow of willamette falls on the willamette river


Willamette Falls on the Willamette River is usually a roaring tumult of water. A few days ago flash boards were installed to restrict the flow, and the falls became a shadow of their usual selves. Why? Tribes from the Columbia River Basin have treaty rights that allow them to harvest Pacific Lamprey from the falls. As I have mentioned previously, pacific lamprey are disappearing rapidly from the Columbia River Basin.


Lamprey are important to the tribes, and to the ecosystem of the river. However, for most of the past century lamprey have been classified as nuisance and trash fish. Yet lamprey have been part of the native american diet in the region for as long as anyone can remember. When they were plentiful, the high calorie fish was an important food for sustenance.


Now that they are disappearing, the tribes have been among the first to call attention to the significance of lamprey.



umatilla tribe member and fisheries biologist aaron jackson holds a pacific lamprey (lampetra tridentata) while umatilla tribe member tony montoya walks behind him with collecting nets.



pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) collected from willamette falls

Craters Of The Moon - Sunset

This is far off the beaten path in Craters Of The Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho. I was setting up for photographing bats, but I had to pause to enjoy this spectacular sunset.



sunset at craters of the moon

Double Rainbow

A video is making the rounds on the interwebs, and it can be alternately funny and sad to listen/watch. Mostly hilarious though.


It is hard to imagine getting so excited about a double rainbow, and I found myself in the presence of one just recently.


behold....



double rainbow photo


And the video from Youtube. I have no idea who this guy is, but he sure is into it.

Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya)

I love birds, but I haven's put much energy into bird photography. In some ways, they are too obvious a choice. There is something about the challenge of photographing subjects hidden from view, or obscured by size or speed, that I find more fulfilling.


However this little bird, presented herself directly in front of me and proceeded to put on a show of gleaning insects from the shrubs and grass. The behavior involved lots of hovering and quick maneuvers.



say's phoebe (sayornis saya) hovering above reeds looking to glean insects



say's phoebe (sayornis saya)

Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens, Family Stratiomyiidae)

Look at the crazy eyes on this cool fly



soldier fly (hermetia illucens, family stratiomyiidae) in flight over moss

Barn Swallow Flying

Unlike yesterday's post, this did not rely on "blind luck", however I would be a fool not to acknowledge that luck does play a role. In fact, the failures and bad photos I have made far out number the good. Sometimes fate works in my favor.



a barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) flies out of a compressor shed where it has a nest

Bat At Dusk

An old image from the film files. One of the first images I ever made of a bat using a technique called "blind luck".



bat at dusk

The Pack Rat And The Pringles Can

I wish I had a photo of this episode, but I was too out of it. I have been in the backcountry in Idaho, camping in the desert. I am still recovering from being ill, and operating at about 50% - 60% normal capacity. I was staying up late to photograph bats, and getting up early to photograph pika. It was impossible to sleep in the afternoon because of the heat.


So the few hours of sleep I was getting were precious. 


I was awoken one night with an odd clunk clunk sound that seemed to be moving all around my tent. Did I leave a metal mug out? Is some animal playing with it?


With flashlight in hand, I groggily emerge from my tent and start looking for the source of the odd sound. The light beam quickly found a pack rat (a bushy tailed woodrat) dragging a pringles can through my camp. It was a short "snack version" of the can. That rat looked as if he has the prize to beat all prizes. I was camping in the middle of a lava bed, and the rat was jumping from rock to rock - banging the can with each jump. 


I think it roused me to just show off the prize because the rat's path seemed erratically circular around my tent. 



A pair of young bushy-tailed woodrats (Neotoma cinera) 




The next day in town seeking provisions, I purchased a can of pringles.