Upper Main Line YMCA -- July 25-28, 2006

When the group arrived on Sedge Island they started off by gathering data for PhD candidate John Wnek from Drexel University. We took terrapin nest temperature readings, with students gathering and recording data. We had a couple expert birders and headed out in the kayaks to get a closer look at the many fledging osprey around the marsh as well as the peregrine falcon. While in the mosquito ditches we discussed the rich history of the area and the ditches that were dug out in the 1930’s. While paddling along we disturbed a school of small fish and a few even jumped right into our kayaks!! We stopped in the Bahamas, beached our kayaks and went on the great clam dig.

The next day (Wed) we woke up at 5:30 anticipating a beautiful sunrise but all we saw were clouds. The weather report called for a beautiful day but with fog and gloomy skies we were a bit weary. After breakfast the weather cleared and we paddled out into a beautiful day. We headed down to the USACE Dike and along the way stopped to see succession in action and hunt for blue claw crabs and more clams. At the USACE Dike we examined the geotubes and the breakage and had a great discussion about marsh ecology and water quality. We headed to the beach and then returned through the dune pass noting the dune ecology, and many animal tracks.

Back at the sedge house we did some fishing and one student caught an 18-inch fluke, which he expertly filleted. We cleaned off our clam bags and spoke about clams and the goal of re seeding the Barnegat Bay.

On Thursday the wind was fierce and we stayed on the island the whole day. We went seining and caught many different species of fish, crabs and different sea life. The group identified all the species caught and wrote about their experiences in their journals. The group conducted scientific water quality testing and even circumnavigated the island picking up trash. For dinner that night the group feasted on flounder, crabs and clams they had caught throughout their trip.


Throughout the trip our expert birders kept us informed of their finds. On the last day, we saw a common loon, juvenile loon, great egret, blue heron and black skimmer. It was great having the group out on the marsh and we would like to thank Andrew, the group’s counselor, for being such a great addition to the Sedge Staff for the week.

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