Field notes of Frederick W. Schueler: 2000-2001 Mudpuppy Nights in Oxford Mills, Kemptville Creek, North Grenville Township (Oxford-on-Rideau geographic township), United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Ontario, Canada
This was the third winter of regular Mudpuppy night outings. Light was provided by quartz-halogen spotlights, as well as incadescent headlamps. With high and stable water levels, ice cover was solid above Oxford Mills, and the creek became anoxic in late winter, curtailing Mudpuppy activity. Text output from the EoBase database; UTM grids NAD27 Canada in military grid notation, lat/long WGS84 (=NAD83).
25 October 2000
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2126-2148. AIR TEMP: 8, overcast, violently WDY. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler. 2000/253/7/ba, Rana catesbeiana (Bull Frog) (herp). 15 juvenile, adult, seen. most 40-60 mm SVL, & 1 dark-mottled F, on W shore, heading upstream. These were in the water and the edge of the water - one climbing the vertical rock of the Vantage Point ledge.
(same location) TIME: 2126-2148. 2000/253/7/bb, Rana pipiens (Leopard Frog) (herp). 12 ca juvenile, seen. on W shore, no clear movement, 1 AOR, 1 DOR on bridge. These were among and further up on the shore from the Rana catesbeiana, but they didn't seem to be moving in any particular direction.
(same location) TIME: 2126-2148. 2000/253/7/bc, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 1 adult, seen. plastered into crack in deep water just above bridge. The one seen was in the deepest water above the bridge, 35 cm below the ledge just above the west side bridge. It would be plausible to suppose it was wedged into the crack to avoid the Esox lucius.
Water 20-25 cm below Vantage Point, no Necturus seen here.
(same location) TIME: 2126-2148. 2000/253/7/bd, Esox lucius (Northern Pike) (fish). 1-2 adult, seen. ca 60 cm SL, may have been 1 or 2.
above Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2148. AIR TEMP: 8, overcast, violently WDY. HABITAT: brown-water creek behind old milldam. 2000/253/7/bf, Elliptio complanata (Eastern Elliptio) (Mollusca). several adult, seen. dead shells noted from summer's drawdown. The first dead shells I've seen above the dam.
27 October 2000 data entruy incomplete
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2136. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Aleta Karstad Schueler. AKS 0010272136/a, visit () (E). nat.hist., . water level still late summer low, slightly cloudy.
3 November 2000
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2009-2044. AIR TEMP: 5, clear, calm. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Valerie Kirkwood. 2000/257/ba, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 21 adult, seen. Many active, mostly just above bridge, water low, temp 6 C. Water 20 cm below Vantage Point, lots of leaves still on bottom, and water fairly foamy and turbid - doubtless a consequence of autumnal loading of the stream with dead leaves. Scanned the creek with searchlight, but saw NO:Rana, NO:Esox or other fish, in contrast to conditions last week, and despite nearly the same water levels. Necturus slowly moving, many of them large, few as small as 20 cm.
Necturus:
2 above bridge, E side of stream
15 ca above bridge, W side of stream
3 below bridge
1 seen from Vantage Point
One large (30 cm) Necturus faced off against a large living Orconectes virilis, at a distance of ca 10 cm but didn't approach closer.
(same location) TIME: 2009-2044. 2000/257/bb, Orconectes virilis (Northern Crayfish) . 2 adult, seen. 1 active, 1 near Necturus, water low, temp 6 C. One large (30 cm) Necturus faced off against a large living Orconectes virilis, at a distance of ca 10 cm but didn't approach closer.
10 November 2000
above Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 1953-2004. AIR TEMP: 12, calm, drizzle. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler. 2000/257/ba, Rana catesbeiana (Bull Frog) (herp). 15 ca juvenile, seen. juvs at waters edge, on E side of creek. All the dead clams here, from the drawdown this summer are Elliptio complanata. NO:Necturus seen in the serchlight beam.
(same location) TIME: 1953-2004. 2000/257/bb, Rana clamitans (Green Frog) (herp). 2 juvenile, seen. juvs at waters edge, on E side of creek.
(same location) TIME: 1953-2004. 2000/257/bc, Rana pipiens (Leopard Frog) (herp). 3 juvenile, seen. juvs at waters edge, on E side of creek, very small(<40 mm SVL).
below Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2004-2018. AIR TEMP: 12, calm, drizzle. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Valerie Kirkwood. 2000/257/ca, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 10 ca adult, seen. most just above bridge, partly und cover, water low, temp 8 C. None seen from Vantage Point, 5-6 seen from E side of bridge, 2 seen from W side of bridge, 2-3 below the bridge; most were partially under the cover of rocks, rather than wandering freely across the bottom as they did last week, and most were large. The water was no higher than it was last week (20 cm below Vantage Point), but it was 8 C rather than 6 C, and the higher temperature may account for the large number of little Bull Frogs that we saw on the edge of the water both above and below the dam, and the small fish, and other animals that were also active. We didn't see any Pike, but they might well constitute a danger that would make it prudent for the Mudpuppies to stay close to or under rocks at the warmer temperature. There was fine mist in the air, but not what could really be called rain, though it had been raining through the day. The water was fairly turbid (from runoff?).
From the Vantage Point we saw: 1 Orconectes virilis, 1 Giant Water Bug, 2 small Rana clamitans, 1 small Rana catesbeiana, but no Mudpuppies.
(same location) TIME: 2004-2035. AIR TEMP: 12, calm, drizzle. 2000/257/cb, Rana catesbeiana (Bull Frog) (herp). 9 ca juvenile, seen. juvs at waters edge, on W side of creek. 7-8 along the west shore above the bridge, 1 at Vantage Point.
(same location) TIME: 2004-2035. 2000/257/cc, Rana clamitans (Green Frog) (herp). 2 juvenile, seen. juvs at waters edge, at 'Vantage Point'blw dam.
(same location) TIME: 2004-2035. 2000/257/cd, Rana pipiens (Leopard Frog) (herp). 1 juvenile, seen. large juv at waters edge, on W shore above bridge.
(same location) TIME: 2004-2035. 2000/257/ce, Orconectes virilis (Northern Crayfish) . 1 adult, seen. climbing on limestone ledge just blw water surface. Right at the 'Vantage Point.'
17 November 2000
abv Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 1945-1955. AIR TEMP: -2, clear, breezy. HABITAT: brown-water creek@abv old milldam, water 3. 5 C. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler. 2000/261/ba, Rana pipiens (Leopard Frog) (herp). 1 adult, seen. large green juv in 30 cm of water.
(same location) TIME: 1945-1955. 2000/261/bb, Ameiurus nebulosus (Brown Bullhead) (fish). 2 adult, seen. 15-20 cm TL in 40-50 cm of water, many small. fish act. at surface. Macrophytes subsiding under an algal coat.
below Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2000-2035. AIR TEMP: -2, clear, breezy. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam, water 3. 5 C. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Valerie Kirkwood, +. 2000/261/ca, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 20 adult, seen. mostsmall(ca 20 cm)only 2 large ones, water fairly clear. None seen from Vantage Point, 4 seen on the E side, and 12 on the W side (both recorded as 'above bridge' not clear how many if any were seen from the bridge - dec 2001), 4 below the bridge. The water was the same level as last week, and clearer.
(same location) TIME: 2000-2035. 2000/261/cb, Orconectes virilis (Northern Crayfish) . 2 adult, seen. 1 seen from Vantage Pt, 1 nearby, on flats on W side.
(same location) TIME: 2000-2035. 2000/261/cc, Percina caprodes (Logperch) (fish). 1 adult, seen. noted, also several other small fish.
24 November 2000
below Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 1958-2035. AIR TEMP: -8, light overcast, calm. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler, Valerie Kirkwood. 2000/262/a, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 25 adult, seen, dipnetted. most just above bridge, partly und cover, water low, temp 0 C. 10 below the bridge, 4 on east side above bridge, 6 on west side above bridge, seen through gaps in island of flakey ice, 2 near central mossy area, but none among the moss, where the water is flowing rapidly, and only 15-25 cm deep. Three seen from the vantage point, which is still 20 cm above the water level.
This is the first night of the year on which the water has been 0 C, and saw 25 individuals, most among rocks rather than out on flat bedrock, and nosing about in the cracks, or over on their sides, as if actively seeking prey. And we saw one below the bridge that had the hind feet of a small frog protruding from its mouth, the first actual feeding we've seen here. The frog feet receeded into the Mudpuppy as we watched it. Two Mudpuppies that we caught thrashed about in the bucket before setting down, and unusual form of activity, which goes along with the high level of activity we saw among the ones on the bottom. We saw two fairly large Micropterus (Black Bass) (?), and one small Lepomis, but no Crayfish or Pike. Air -8 C, water level still low, ice forming along the banks, and white flakey ice accumulated as an island above the bridge in mid stream.
29 November 2000
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 1130ca. AIR TEMP: 2.5, overcast, Beaufort light air. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler. hondalog/a, visit () (E). drive. water over Vantage point from recent rain.
1 December 2000
below Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2044-2110. AIR TEMP: -8, clear, breezy. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Valerie Kirkwood, +. 2000/265/b, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 3 adult, seen. 1 blw bridge, 2 in E side eddy, water high, floating ice pans. Valerie and Mike Boysen, and Valerie's sister & nephew, waited out our forgetfullness. The recent rain really raised the level of the creek, and the water was sloshing 5-10 cm above the 'Vantage Point', and the current almost everywhere too strong for Necturus to maintain a grip on the bottom. Elsewhere, the water was usually too deep and turbulent to see the bottom. Valerie and I briefly saw a large adult below the bridge, but the others couldn't make it out below the turbulence before it crawled out of sight. None to be seen from the vantage point, but two medium-size adults clearly visible in the shallows of the east-bank eddy just above the bridge.
8 December 2000
Oxford-on-Rid: Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2009-2040. AIR TEMP: -17, hazy, overcast. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler, Gre Hutton, Alex Hamilton. 2000/267/c, Rana (True Frog) (herp). 1 adult, dead, seen. long dead, in W side of stream blw dam. Searchlight failed, but we saw NO:Necturus, despite a through search with lesser lights. Water level was 3-4 cm above the Vantage Point, and very turbulent below it. Spillways are half-sheathed in ice, but there is no ice shelf on the W shore, though there are loose pans in the eddy. The water is steaming.
On the east side there are broad shelves of grey ice, and schools of loose pans - we whacked off 3 sq m of the shelf, but exposed NO:Necturus. There must be relatively few active for the conditions, though we've searched relatively little of the total bottom.
15 December 2000
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2004-2038. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Aleta Karstad Schueler, Frederick W. Schueler. AKS 0012152004/a, visit () (E). nat.hist., walk. 20:04 arrival in Oxford Mills. * 20:04 arrival in Oxford Mills-2038 all 3 spillways with equal flow and sheathed in ice and snow, Vantage Point 12 cm above water level, but with 1 cm flow over it. wide shelves on both sides, but only worked the west side. Ice continuous under the bridge. water clear. 30-50 cm snow on the ground.
(same location) TIME: 2004-2038. OBSERVER: Aleta Karstad Schueler. AKS 0012152004/b, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 35 ca seen. 6 from Vantage Pt, 4 blw ledge & und ice, 2 in main current. Nect 6 from vantage pt 4 blw ledge & und floating crystals and 30 cm pans, 2 in deep water of main current. ca 5-10 blw vp on bedrock and und shelves of ice removed by axe. another 10-15 out in the stream, either in the west side of the main current or in the mossy central shallows - but with the equal flows this was under an ice shelf rather than in an eddy. All look active, average size fairly large, and many heading upsteam in fairly strong current. Had we done the east shore and counted individuals more carefully, we could have counted 35 or more.
(same location) TIME: 2004-2038. AIR TEMP: -12 ca, clear, calm. AKS 0012152004/c, Orconectes virilis (Northern Crayfish) . 2 seen, captured. 2 large ad act on bottom well away from stones 1 m 1 f. . Ov 2 large ad act on bottom well away from stones 1 m 1 f.
(same location) TIME: 2004-2038. AIR TEMP: -12, clear, calm. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler. FWS 0012152004/a, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 25 ca adult, seen. actively crawling on bottom, in open & und ice shelves & pans. Very snowy and fairly dark, since the moon wasn't yet up. The OMNR has again changed the way they set up the logs in the spillways (back to what it was before last year), so the current, and the resulting patterns of Mudpuppy movement are again completely changed. All 3 spillways with equal flow and sheathed in ice and snow, Vantage Point 12 cm above water level, but with 1 cm flow over it. Wide shelves of ice on both sides, but we only worked the west side where there was only 15-30 cm of water under 5-10 cm of ice. Ice continous under the bridge. Water clear. 30-50 cm snow on the ground.
Saw 6 from the 'Vantage Point;' 4 blw the ledge & under floating crystals and 30 cm pans west of the ledge and 2 in deep water of main current.
ca 5-10 blw Vantage Point on bedrock and und shelves of ice removed by axe. Another 10-15 out in the stream, either in the west side of the main current or in the mossy central shallows - but with the equal flows this was under an ice shelf rather than in an eddy. All look active, average size fairly large, and many heading upsteam in fairly strong current. The best night for seeing them so far this winter, and it's too bad no one came out. Had we done the east shore and counted individuals more carefully, we could have counted 35 or more.
(same location) TIME: 2004-2038. FWS 0012152004/b, Orconectes virilis (Northern Crayfish) . 2 adult, seen. large ads act on bottom well away from stones, 1 M, 1 F. Vividly pink & blue in colour.
22 - 29 December 2000 data entry incomplete
![[MudpuppyNight in Oxford Mills - working the area below the dam]](mudpnite.jpg)
Bev Wigney ) 5 January 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2005-2038. AIR TEMP: -3.5, snowing, calm. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W., Aleta Karstad, & Jennifer H. Schueler. 2001/001/ba, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 18 adult, seen. actively crawling on bottom, mostly in main current. Steady snow stopped in the course of the visit. There was 4-6 cm fast-moving water over the Vantage Point. Didn't have an axe ice to remove ice, which occludes view both above and below the bridge, but there were lots of bedrock shelves exposed on E and W sides, and we saw:
1 on the west shelf, in a crack; none from the Vantage Point.
5 on east shelf, in cracks and under rocks.
3 in Eastern Eddy below floating foam.
12 in central mossy area, all heading upstream, so it looks like they're seeking the current of the mid-stream.
(same location) TIME: 2005-2038. 2001/001/bb, Orconectes virilis (Northern Crayfish) . 1 adult, seen. large ad upside down in moss patch, 30 cm depth.
6 January 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 1800-1900. AIR TEMP: -5 ca, light overcast, calm. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W., Aleta Karstad, & Jennifer H. Schueler, Andrea Howard, Mellways, +. 2001/002/aa, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 18 adult, seen. actively crawling on bottom, mostly in main current. There was 4 cm fast-moving water over the Vantage Point - less water than last night. We whacked off about 70 sq m of ice along both shores, which was often suspended 5-7 cm above the water level, but didn't wade. We saw:
4-6 from the Vantage Point, crawling up into the current and being swept away.
10 on the west shelf, mostly at the level of the moss patch, mostly small.
4 on east shelf, right below the spillway.
10 ca on the east side at the lower end, including 2-3 big ones - mostly exposed by clearing ice.
12 - 19 January 2001 data entry incomplete
26 January 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2002-2133. AIR TEMP: -7, overcast, calm. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Jennifer Helene Schueler, R.M.Rankin, OARA group, +. 2001/007/aa, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 60 ca adult, seen, captured. actively crawling on bottom, mostly in main current. Large numbers everywhere in the current except in the very strongest flow right below the spillways, and possibly even there. Lined up facing into the current in parallel ranks, but few under shallow water ice shelves. Water level was low, and ice has not extended much from where it was last week; though the thin ice on the east side above the bridge is now strong enough to support, e. g. Andrew Mott and a couple of others.
1-2 cm water flowing over the Vantage Point, about 8 Necturus seen from there, mostly in fairly deep water downstream of the point, or swimming/swept downstream in the current right below the point. Then ca 15 seem below the Vantage Point to the mossy area from the west shore (though none under the ca 1 m wide band of ice chopped from the margin of the shelf). Paul Hamilton waded across the creek there and saw about 20, and there were scattered ones seen from the east shore, in the shallow water over bedock, but from boot-depth out on the shelf, I saw 25 (with the searchlight) from one place, about 10 of them wedged into a joint in the limestone. At the ledge below the east spillway thre were many wedged into the joint at the base of the ledge, and many more out in the current or wandering in the slow eddy on the east shore, about 10 visible at one time. So we figure there were about 60 altogether, the most we've seen this year. There were a fair number in the 25-27 cm size class, as well as a lot of little (15 cm) ones.
(same location) TIME: 2002-2133. OBSERVER: Paul Hamilton, Frederick W. Schueler. 2001/007/ab, Batrachospermum keratophytum (not listed) (p). common specimen. from bedrock, among Fontinalis hypnoides. The red alga was very common across the mid-reach, i. e. almost the dominant species, except maybe for the mosses. For identification, we require both the gametophyte and carposporophyte forms (the carposporophyte is typically attached to the gametophyte). The specimens in Kemptville Cr. are still in the gametophytic stage of the life cycle. As the winter develops the population will develop the carposporophytic stage.
In short, the tentative identification is Batrachospermum keratophytum Bory until I can see the carposporophyte stage of the life cycle. A neat genus. . . vivid green colour with massive mucilage, which makes it very "slippery" and difficult to collect. In the field we use long forceps.
2 February 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2003-2120. AIR TEMP: -6, overcast, windy. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Jennifer Helene Schueler, OARA group, +. 2001/009/aa, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 75 ca adult, seen, captured. actively crawling on bottom, mostly in main current. Only ca 1 cm water flowing over the Vantage Point, 8 seen here, mostly in deep water below the ledge. Six more in the west-side eddy, 12 in the mossy area - many with heads embedded in moss, and on the east side a tremendous display of 3 ill-defined clusters of 10-15 each, all straight head-up into the current (I counted 25 visible from one point here), and about 15 more under the ledge below the east spillway. Small ones were crawling up over this ledge and into the direct flow beneath the spillway. Optimal conditions, and a tremendous show!
Spillways ice-sheathed, little new ice along the shores, lots of new snow on the ground.
(same location) TIME: 2003-2120. 2001/009/ab, Rana pipiens (Leopard Frog) (herp). 1 adult, seen, under cover. large green F, embedded in moss among 12 cm flat rocks, 35 cm depth.
9 February 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2005-2115. AIR TEMP: 6.5, TRN, Beaufort light air. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Jennifer Helene Schueler, +. 2001/010/a, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 28 ca adult, seen, captured. actively crawling on bottom, mostly in main current. None visible from the Vantage Point, where ca 2 cm of water is flowing over the rock. Only 2 along the west shore (though much of the eddy was covered with a sheet of small bubbles that was hard to see through), and 3 at the mossy patch where a 2 x 6 m slab of ice has come loose and lodged on the bottom a bit downstream. I waded across the channel here (where Paul Hamilton saw 20 when he waded across on 26 January), and saw only 4 on the east side of the main channel.
There were 16 on the east side bedrock flats, including two in the diagonal crack almost completely covered by moss, and then 2-3 more near the eist side spillway (none in the crack under the ledge). So with diligently counting every individual seen, we've got half of the total of the past two weeks, which was a conservative estimate dictated by the omnipresence of large numbers of 'puppies.
Water level has not come up much from the thaw, but there is a 70 cm heap of foam at the downstream end of the open area, above the bridge. The spillway ice is substantially intact, but ice along the shores is clearly eroding. The water has a dead/rotten stink, and is +0. 2-. 5 C. A trace of rain was falling through most of the visit, and nearly calm.
11 February 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2244-2307. AIR TEMP: -21, clear, calm. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler. 2001/011/a, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 28 ca adult, seen, captured. mostly away from main current. At the Vantage Point 15 cm of violent flow wasn't even dropping as it passed over the ledge - the legacy of the late thaw and the ice damming under the bridge. No Necturus visible there, and only 10 visible on the west side down to the mossy patch, though doubtless more could have been seen in the clamer water under some of the new ice shelves if I had been able to clear them. On the eastsidetherewas only one patch of calmish water un-iced, and 1 Necturus there. On this side the relatively calm water is very completely iced ovber, and doubtless more could, again, have been seen in the clamer water under the ice; the current is terrific where it is open. With no-one to hold the searchlight, I can't use the axe to clear the new shelves.
Enough mist on the water to make it hard to see in places, and lots of the mist drifting off the creek and wafting away through the village. About 1 m of new person-supporting ice formed out from the old ica along all banks, and on the east side this was slushy, as if the water level is continuing to rise faster than the water can freeze. No dead/rotten stink fromthewater, but still ca 50 cm of foam piled up at the downstream end of the open area.
I came out ot see if sudden cold would bring back the large numbers seen on 26 Jan and 2 Feb, but this delayed rise in water level destroys any comparability of conditions between Friday and today.
16 February 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2010-2130. AIR TEMP: -6, overcast, calm. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Jennifer Helene Schueler, Paul Goulet, Isabelle Nichol, +. FWS 0102162010/a, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 6 adult, seen, active. few seen, strong current, water high, trace of snow falling. Six cm of very fast water over the Vantage Point, and no Necturus visible from there. On the W side we cut away several sq metres of new shelf ice, 2-8 cm thick, and 5-8 cm above the falling water level in places, but we only saw 2 Necturus, only one under the relatively calmer water where we'd cleared ice. Paul waded across the creek, and saw none. On the E side, there were 2 in the crack in the bedrock, and 2 others out in the open, only one of them under some of the several sq metres of ice we cleared away (the chunks were mostly swept away under the ice, but one big one circled around and kept almost-bumping waders. I think we searched the site as thoroughly as we ever have at such high water, and the absence of large numbers is real.
Paul brought dead Minnows to chum the Mudpuppies tonight, but since we didn't have any calmish water or any substantial number of Mudpuppies, we couldn't proceed with this experiment.
I had checked the site this morning: the water was still high, but not nearly as high as on Sunday, and a lot of it is running over huge spillway-accretions of greenish-yellow ice (the most vivid colour in the hoarfrost whiteout). Along the foot of the accretions there's a continuous band of icicles about 10 cm long, formed as the water in the pool below the dam dropped over the past couple of days. The 'pool' (as it now is with the ice restricting flow above the bridge) is still fairly deep, but with some axe work along the shores we should be able to whack off the thin shelves that have formed since the thaw, and should uncover large areas of relatively quiet water, and I thought we should see a fair number of Mudpuppies.
23 February 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2004-2050. AIR TEMP: -7 ca, clear, breezy. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Jennifer Helene Schueler, Noel Alfonso. 2001/013/a, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 3 adult, seen, active. few seen, moderate water level & current. Four cm of very fast water over the Vantage Point, and no Necturus visible from there. On the W side we cut away several sq metres of new shelf ice, 4-8 cm thick, and 2-5 cm above the falling water level in places, but this revealed no Necturus.
On the east side we wacked off about 70 cm of shelf ice, again high above the falling water level, but saw only 1 large adult wedged into the crack across the bedrock flat, 1 on the rock surface nearby, and 1 near the ledge below the spillway, which quickly went under cover when the light was shined on it. Again, none in the calmer water revelaed by removing ice. Water speeds were lower than last week, and there was plenty of places where the water was slow enough for Necturus to maintain a grip on the bottom, but they just weren't there: two of us waded about, both with bright lights.
The thing that was different from nights when there have been lots of activity was that the water was turbid with suspended humic acid particles with a rotten smell, which JHS compared to the odor of Cat farts. These are both conditions I've associated with anoxia in upstream reaches of the creek. Certainly all three seen had their gills well expanded, which suggests an oxygen deficit in the water, even after it has come over the spillway. There wasn't the great accumulation of foam at the downstream end of the open area that we've seen in recent weeks.
In previous years I've always ascribed fluctuations in the number of Mudpuppies here to variation in water level and speed, but this winter we've had a few nights when there have been anomalously few, and this is the most extreme case of this. It's palusible to think that the solid snow and ice cover, not broken up by substantial thaws, may make the creek more anoxic this winter, compared with the usual year. The Mudpuppies need only stay a ways downstream in the rocky creek below the dam to avoid the anoxic water, but such conditions may explain why there are none above the dam.
The spillways are soldly covered with ice (which may reduce oxygenation as the water falls), and the solid shelf ice along the shores has been stable for more than a month. Snow is deep, but after two thaws almost strong enough to support a Person, with a dusting of new snow (1. 5 cm) blown into hollows today. Ice under the bridge is solid, and safe to walk across, as it has been for several weeks.
24 February 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 1900. AIR TEMP: -11 ca, clear, breezy. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Ken Kingdon. FWS 0102241900/a, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). adult, seen. NO:Necturus seen with searchlight, 'raw sewage'odor to water.
Subject:MUDPUPPIES, FEB. 24, '01
Date:Tue, 27 Feb 2001 10:56:43 -0500
From:"Ken Kingdon" <kenkingdon at hotmail. com>
To:bckcdb at istar. ca
Hi Fred:
I visited Limerick forest on the above date looking for recently reported White-winged Crossbills, but found nothing but a porcupine, two deer, and a horde of snowmobiles.
I decided to "treat the wife" and stay for a wonderful supper at the Brigadoon. At 7 PM, we wandered down to the dam area with my 800, 000 cp
searchlight. Two obervations:
1. surprisingly, no Mudpuppies were found.
2. the water smelled strongly of "raw sewage".
This odour (as also described in your recent report as "Cat farts") might be caused by Otters breaching an upstream Beaver dam, and the stagnant released water would smell poorly. It is also remotely possible that someone upstream dumped a holding tank of sewage to save the costs of a hauler. Anyway, just my thoughts and observations.
Regards, Ken Kingdon - KINGSTON
Ken,. . . I was there a couple of hours later, and saw 2. Since the Necturus have to crawl upstream to where we can see them, and may be less active under the influence of anoxic water, it may be that 19:00 was too early to see any. When we were doing Mudpuppy Night at Marie's and the dining was less sumptuous, we used to go down and look again as we left, at 22:00, and they always seemed to be further upstream and more numerous than at 20:00. But we've neglected this re-checking this year and last.
(same location) TIME: 2133-1246. AIR TEMP: -12 ca, clear, breezy. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler. 2001/014/b, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 2 adult, seen, active. only 2 seen, moderate water level & current. About 3-4 cm of very fast water over the Vantage Point, and no Necturus visible from there (NB that all winter there has been no fall in water level across the Vantage Point, just a certain depth of horizontally rushing water). On the W side conditions the same as last night, with 5-20 cm of frothy new ice along the edges of the shelves, but no Necturus.
On the east side there was the same accretion of new ice, and I saw 2 Necturus out on the bedrock flats, though none at the ledge below the spillway (these were seen with the searchlight from shore, as I didn't wade). Both were small, the one I saw better with its gills well expanded, and the other was briefly inverted in fairly slow water, which might be a sign of incapacity due to lw oxygen. Water still turbid and odorous.
2 March 2001
Oxford-on-Rid: Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2000-2023. AIR TEMP: -9 ca, light overcast, breezy. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Jennifer Helene Schueler. 2001/017/b, Lontra canadensis (River Otter) (Mammal). 1-2 adult, tracks. tracks in new snow on ice near W spillway. NO:Necturus seen. The Vantage Point was deeply submerged in a standing wave, as most of the water seemed to be coming through the W spillway. Hydrogen sulphide or 'Cat Fart' odor prominant, the water slightly cloudy, and a ca 50 cm pile of frozen foam at the downstream end of the open area (there was also a hole in the ice on the west side where foam was pushing up from under the thin ice and freezing as it emerged - like whipped cream or shaving cream coming out of a pressurized can). The water was high, but there were plenty of places where we could have seen Necturus if they had been active.
The shelves of ice around the shores were 5-10 cm above the water level, and rang hollowly under axe or foot, so the water level is dropping.
3 March 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2320-2420. AIR TEMP: -17 ca, clear, calm. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W., Aleta Karstad, & Jennifer H. Schueler, R.M.Rankin, Don Mc Alpine, Paul Goulet, Jim Andrews, +. FWS 0103032320/a, visit () (E). survey, wade, dipnetted, axe. NO:Necturus found, water fairly low, anoxic. This was a visit to demonstrate 'Mudpuppy Night' to the participants at the Chorus Frog meeting. We saw NO:Necturus, though I later heard that two others had come down earlier and had seen 2. There was 10 cm of water over the Vantage Point, flowing in a turbulent stream but without the standing wave seen there yesterday. Ever since the spillways have been so solidly sheathed in ice it has seemed that the proportion of the water coming over each spillway has changed erratically from week to week. The water was turbid with fine particles, and still had a hydrogen-sulphide smell in mid-stream, though this was less noticeable than it has been in other weeks recently. The water was certainly slow and calm enough in many of the areas we searched to provide a foot hold for Necturus, and the bottom was clearly visible in the lights. RMR waded the east side with a bright light, and the rest of us waded and searched the west side (Jim Andrews exerting himself to cut away large areas of fairly thick ice), but we didn't see any Mudpuppies.
9 March 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2003-2055. AIR TEMP: +.5, overcast, breezy. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler, Larry Fraser. 2001/018/ba, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 2 adult, seen, active. only 2 seen, moderate water level & current, stong rotten smell. About 5 cm of rushing water over the Vantage Point, under a shelf of ice about 10 cm over the water level, that collapsed (about 5 sq m) with a single axe blow. No Mudpuppies visible on the west side or from the Vantage Point, despite good views of the bottom and not-very-strong current. The water level is falling, as there is generally 2-10 cm of air below the last-formed ice shelves, and the temparature of the water may be slightly above 0 C, as there's some erosion of the ice - but that may just be not-freezing in the air.
"Fred and Larry Fraser have just seen a Mudpuppy, over on the east flat, its gills flared through oxygen stress. It was nestled down among moss on the rich rusty-coloured coating of peat floccules that covers the bottom tonight, except for the vivid patches of green Batrachospermum keratophytum. The light disturbed the Mudpuppy and the current swept it away after Larry had taken several photographs of it. A second Mudpuppy was seen below the east spillway, swimming in like a fish, as if it were coming to investigate the waders.
"The creek smells exactly like rotting cabbage this evening (upgraded to 'Dog farts,' from last week's 'Cat farts.'), and the brown water is a very hazy. Small rafts of glistening bubbles sweep swiftly down the centre current, and twirl in the eddies, pressing together slowly upstream along the west side. Before the bridge, there's a mountain range of foam against the edge of the ice, half a metre high and halfway across the creek.
"Fred chopped the ice sheathing the western spillway back about 3. 5 m, in an attempt to increase the oxygenation of the water coming over the spillway. This put him just below the superstructure of the dam, and the ice was getting rapidly thicker, 40 cm of hard clear ice just above the creamy ivory foam gushing over the dam. Above this, a very deep layer of softer white ice. The water is about 30 cm below this roof of ice, so it's unlikely that his hacking will improve air flow into the turbulence on the spillway, but it is possible that there's some effect." AKS
Drizzle began to fall as we left, which changed to snow within 20 minutes.
(same location) TIME: 2003-2055. 2001/018/bb, Rana pipiens (Leopard Frog) (herp). 1 adult, dead, specimen. long dead, flaccid, F thumb, 111, 56-30. 5 mm, anoxic water. This was floating loose on the east flats, in 30 cm of water, not gravid. Likely killed by the low oxygen levels in the water, which smells worse tonight than it has all winter.
(same location) TIME: 2003-2055. 2001/018/bc, Orconectes virilis (Northern Crayfish) . 1 adult, male, captured. scarcely active, Form I, carapcae 40. 75 mm, anoxic water. This is the first Crayfish we've seen out from under cover in a long time, on the east flats, in 30 cm of water, and it seems to have been stunned by low oxygen levels, since it scarcely moved when picked up, even after being in shallow water in a bucket for an hour. We also saw the parts of another, smaller, dead Crayfish there.
16 March 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2005-2040. AIR TEMP: -5, clear, calm. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Larry Fraser. 2001/022/a, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 1 adult, seen, active, photo. only 1 seen, moderate water level & current, water very turbid. About 5 cm of rushing water over the Vantage Point, with now, for the first time in a long while, an actual drop of 5 m where the water goes over the ledge. Ice on the spillways and around the open area somewhat melted back, with the only new ice a rim of clear knobs on the old edges. We waded the whole area, and back to the west shore. No Mudpuppies visible on the west side or from the Vantage Point, despite good views of the bottom and not-very-strong current. The water level is again falling, as there is a few cm of air below some of the ice shelves, and the new ice-knobs indicate that the water is 0 C. The water is very brown-tubid, and again lots of peat floccules on the bottom, doubtless from melting of frozen ice. The creek's hydrogen sulphide/Cat Fart odor is less strong than last week, but there's still a lot of bubbles and a 50 cm mound of foam at the downstream end of the open area.
We saw only 1 Necturus, on the E side flats, quiet in the water until I put the searchlight on it, when it walked quickly away, for about a metre or so, and then lost its grip on the bottom and began to drift - as if it had exhausted its an/aerobic capacity. No other animals seen.
23 March 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 2034-2106. AIR TEMP: 1, overcast, Beaufort light air. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler. 2001/023/aa, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 1 adult, seen. on E side flat, und thick ice floe, 60 cm deep, water 0 C, turbid. As always with these Necturus in oxgen-poor water, this fellow's grip on the bottom seemed weak. It was under a 5 x 10 x 0.3 m slab of ice in the east eddy, and was revealed only when I pushed the slab about 2 m aside.
Ice is gone from the E & W spillways, though a huge chunk of the ice from the W spillway remains in the midst of the flow on the bedrock below it. 10 cm water rushing over the Vantage Point - water very turbid, lots of foam, accumulated 30 cm deep under the bridge, where ice is still continuous across the stream. Water is 0 C, though there has obviously been a lot of melting-away of the ice. No Necturus seen on the W side.
(same location) TIME: 2034-2106. 2001/023/ab, Lontra canadensis (River Otter) (Mammal). 1+ adult, tracks. 2 trackways in soft new snow on W side ice.
30 March 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 1123. AIR TEMP: 2 ca, overcast, windy. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler. 2001/025/d, Sciurus carolinensis (Grey Squirrel) (Mammal). 1 adult, seen, drive. dark grey, on lawn. Water level in the creek here is rising, ice is gone from the spillways and from the east eddy.
31 March 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 1800-1815. AIR TEMP: 0 ca, calm, snowing. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler. 2001/026/b, Ondatra zibethicus (Muskrat) (Mammal). 1+ adult, seen, tracks. sev. trackways, E & W sides, in new 10 cm deep new snow. The tracks ways on the E side went directly upstream and over the dam, those on the W emerged from the water, and one went up to the driveway that leads to the dam, and disturbed a 70 cm area of bark and chips by some sort of foraging activity. It's rather late in the year for the first observation of activity by this species.
(same location) TIME: 2030-2110. AIR TEMP: 0 ca, calm, snowing. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Jennifer Helene Schueler, OHLA group. 2001/026/c, Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy). 1 adult, seen. only 1 seen, rising water level & current. About 15 cm of rushing water over the Vantage Point, with no drop where the water goes over the ledge. Ice gone from the spillways, and under the bridge, though there is a curtain of icicles on the old ice shelf edges. These are reduced to two big remaining stranded chunks of the west ice, with channels flowing behind and around them. On the east side the ice is reduced to a 3 m 'ogopogo' sculpture (strangly 3-dimensional) stranded in the shallow water.
The water must be >0 C, but we didn't measure it. The water is fairly clear and the hydrogen sulphide/Cat Fart odor is much weaker than last week. The current from the spillways is directed to the west of the pool, so much of the east side flats are free of strong current, though the deeper parts are not certainly searchable by light from shore - but we would have seen the pale bodies if they had been there. No wading, but we saw no Mudpuppies visible on the west side or from the Vantage Point, despite good views of the bottom where the current is relatively weak, and none in the 70 cm wide channels between and behind the stranded floes.
We saw only 1 Necturus, in 30 cm water on the east side, just below the parkinglot wall, on bedrock rather than among the flooded Grass. We watched it for a while, as it walked away from the searchlight beam. No other animals seen. Almost all of the homeschoolers came down to look for Mudpuppies, in two parties, but only the second group saw the one we did encounter. The snow is still foot- or knee-deep on the lawns and paths around the site.
10 April 2001
Oxford Mills Dam, Kemptville Creek. UTM 18TVE 464.5 790.5 44.96486N 75.67863W. TIME: 1100. AIR TEMP: 10 ca, clear, breezy. HABITAT: brown-water creek@limestone flats blw old milldam. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler. 2001/033/hb, visit () (E). nat.hist., seen, drive. creek at moderate spring levels, snow almost gone from fields. The east-side platform, below the dam, where Helisoma (Ramshorn Snail) drift accumulates, is just, or almost, awash now.
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