Littering is SO Un-neat

 Today, I found a beer can right next to the river. Other than that, the island was beautiful. Unfortunately it was absent of any ducks or geese that Ive seen in the past.

The Plum Island marsh is starting to look bland and absent of ice; spring is on it's way! Soon enough we will get to see a lot of phragmites and all sorts of other wildlife!

Today, I noticed this "foam" stuff on the top of the water. Even though i've been visiting Plum Island for the past 10 years, I actually had no idea what exactly this stuff was.
With a little bit of research, I found a little bit of information which seemed like a valid explanation of this "foam". I also learned that the foam is not necessarily from pollution.

"Lakes and streams are surrounded by living organisms, and many organisms live within the water itself. Both plants and animals produce lipids like simple fats — three fatty acids combined with a glycerol molecule. When any of these organisms die, they release fats, proteins, sugars and other molecules into the water. Nonpolar molecules like lipids float since they have a lower specific gravity than water and will not mix with water. As fats and other lipids break down, the released fatty acids also float to the surface. Thus, the surface of the water often has a thin, completely transparent layer of lipids on it. Through reactions similar to those used to make soap, the resulting molecules change the surface tension and, just like soap, they cause bubbles to form."

The quote above was taken from an article, if you would like to read more about this surface foam, here is the link.
http://redoubtreporter.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/science-of-the-seasons-bubbling-curiosity-%E2%80%94-most-water-foam-is-no-cause-for-concern/

Not so Neat Day

Another day closer to spring, another warm day. Today was absolutely beautiful. Warm enough to walk around in a tee-shirt.

There were NO ducks or geese at the usual spot on plum island, maybe they were somewhere else on the island. Maybe not. All we saw was a low tide and a lot of snow free marshland.

Day 15 Duck...Duck...GOOSE!

Some Geese in the distance that had just taken off from the marsh.

Another neat evening down on Plum Island. There were fewer Black ducks tonight than there were in the past but the Geese were everywhere. 

You might not be able to see them in the photos because of how far away they were, but they were indeed waddling around the marsh.

I asked my friend why there would be fewer black ducks this week and he gave a simple response "They must be in essex. It's the same marsh but there is a lot less traffic and activity." With his background in hunting with his Grandfather in essex, I trust his opinion.

Believe it or not, way off in the distance, there are about 60 Geese sitting in the water/mud.