04-04-09 Sad Shad

At the Northwest end of the Pymatuning reservoir, there was a great view of an eagle's nest. There were also views of dead/dying American shad. Click here for a video we shot of one of these fish struggling to survive.

A naturalist at the Linesville fish hatchery remarked that these fish were stocked in the reservoir, but were accustomed to a warmer clime, thus resulting in many deaths through the winter. You can check this Animal Diversity Web article for more interesting information on the American shad. The article mentions that 2-3 degrees C is the lower limit of temperature at which the fish can generally survive.
If you know your fish and determine that this is not a shad - please comment below or forever hold your peace. Jeff does not know his fish! This fish's personal identity has also been partially concealed by a strategically placed plant across the eye.

In the background of the above fish video, you can also hear spring peepers doing their thing (thang). There was a large pond with some open area in the back of the woods where the low rumbling call of leopard frogs was also heard.