September, 2016

Post date: Sep 15, 2016 1:58:17 AM

Welcome to the first installment of Watergate Life, which I hope will be a regular feature on Watergate Online. Currently, I expect that the column will tend to focus on the seasons and our encounters with nature, since that’s one of the things about living here that gives me the most pleasure.

Please pass on your suggestions for other topics. Better yet, send me your own story, reflection or other short text about life in the neighborhood. No need to worry too much about “quality,” style, grammar, or mechanics. Andrew or I will edit as needed.

June “Water-Slaps”

Now that the heat of August has broken, I find myself thinking back to a lazy kayak ride I took on Fishing Creek in June. There wasn’t any real wind, and for a while the ripples from my paddle were almost the only things disturbing the mirror-like surface of the creek. Then, from somewhere behind me I heard a loud, wet smack. In a few seconds, another smack a little further away. Then, ahead of me a gray fin rose out of the water and sort of waved. I had paddled into a school of rays. They were lifting their wing-like dorsal fins out of the water and slapping the surface for some reason. I stopped paddling and drifted for as long as I could, trying to understand the behavior. Sometimes, I noticed some chaotic splashing after the water-slap. Several neighbors later told me they saw the same thing on Fishing Creek just inside of the green # 5 marker.

My Google search revealed they’re Cow Nose Rays, and they mate in June. The females signal their readiness by slapping the surface with their dorsal fins. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation web site said they were especially plentiful this year in the middle bay, especially around Thomas Point. (See the photo below from CBF's website.) Although not technically a stingray, their tails do have stingers – another reason for kids to wear sneakers or water shoes while wading!

Have you had an interesting encounter with wildlife in the neighborhood? A question about something you’ve seen. Send it to me at cbouwman95@gmail.com and we’ll share it next month.

Clark Bouwman