Squad greatly enjoyed seeing the bright red sockeye salmon spawning in the Cedar River in the Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area, which is managed by King County Parks. The ponds are remnants of a former gravel mine which closed due to frequent flooding, now the County is converting adjacent lands into more natural riverine habitat. We planted one hundred native red osier dogwoods / Cornus sericea along the edge of the river bank where they won't mind occasional wet feet and will provide shade and bugs for fish and positively affect stormwater runoff.
The Seattle Aquarium's Cedar River Salmon Journey program sent us a group of truly fabulous naturalists to explain everything salmon, complete with props and posters.
A handy learning strategy for remembering the salmon types was the hand mnemonic-hand (pictured below):
thumb - chum/Keta
pointer (eye poke) - sockeye/red
middle (largest) - King /Chinook
ring - silver/Coho
pinky - pink/humpie
We learned that salmon carcasses without heads have probably been counted by scentists. Also that the eyes are very nutritious and get eaten first. The Aquarium's website has good information on opportunities for seeing and learning more about salmon.
If you'd like to see salmon, come on out Thur 11/9 at Carkeek Park for more stewardship and salmon viewing. We will also be on the Duwamish River just south of Downtown Tu 10/25 where we also hope to see salmon.