Dwarf Wedge Mussel (left), Eastern Elliptio (top), and Eastern Lampmussel (right.)

Yesterday I went to Keene, NH, to work on our Connecticut River watershed photo project.  In the morning, I tagged along with Ethan Nedeau and his assistant Carson Mitchell on a freshwater mussel survey they were conducting on the Ashuelot River, just south of the wastewater treament plant in Keene.  Ethan spends his summers conducting these surveys all over New England for various wildlife agencies and conservation groups.  Freshwater mussels are an important indicator animal when it comes to river health.  The find of the day from my perspective was a dwarf wedge mussel, which is a federally endangered species that lives in only a dozen or so rivers in eastern North America.  From the picture above, you can see that they are relatively small compared to other mussels.


Carson Mitchell and Ethan Nedeau surveying the Ashuelot River in Keene.


Ethan with some mussels.

Carson gets vertical.


Ethan checks out an Eastern Lampmussel.

The above shot is one of my first serious attempts to do underwater photography.  For that shot (and those below) I stuck a Canon EOS 20D in a Ewa Marine underwater housing.  The hardest part was trying not to stir up the muck on the river bottom too much as I searched for photos.  I think I'll also bring a snorkel and mask the next time I try this.



Eastern Lampmussel and trail.


Eastern lampmussel and fallen silver maple leaf.


Looking up at a silver maple leaf from underwater.  The leaf is floating on the surface.

The above shot was interesting to me in that it doesn't look like it was shot underwater.  It looks as if I could have been shooting from above the water and that the trees in the background were reflecting on the water's surface.  The camera was actually underwater looking up at the leaf as it floated.


Sawyer's Crossing Bridge from the Ashuelot River.

Around noon, I left Ethan and Carson and had a little lunch in Keene before heading west a few miles to the Chesterfield Gorge.  With clouds and showers moving in, it made sense to shoot some waterfall/gorge scenes in the nice even light.  Here are a couple of shots from the gorge:





All in all, it was a productive day, though not terribly dramatic.

Until next time....

-Jerry

 

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