Water sampling with the Hydrolab

Last week Julie trained Cait, Bruce (a wonderful local volunteer), and me to use the Hydrolab. It's basically a pole that's about 4 feet long with various probes on one end and a really long cord on the other that connects to a computer to store the data we collect. It's quite a cool piece of equipment that simultaenously measures a bunch of variables we consider for water sampling; important to us are pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, and phycocyanin levels.

Today we were scheduled to go into the field for the first time with the Hydrolab, but with Julie away at a conference, the three of us were left to our own devices. Thanks to our wonderful teamwork we successfully (we think) completed the routine prepwork of washes and calibrations in the office and were ready to tackle the river!

Bruce had selected four sampling sites along the Charles for that are accessible from the shore. After making sure we had all the necessary equipment - the probe, field notebook, and a piece we seem to have dubbed the "hole-y thing" (due to, well, the holes in the structure that allow water to pass through it when taking measurements) - we arrived at our first site: a dock on Ware's Cove.

The sun was a bit spotty, shining down some moments and hiding behind the clouds other, but luckily it didn't rain. While recalibrating the DO probe with river water we were graced by the company of some onlookers. A nearby family of swans decided to see what we were up to and swam towards us! Cait was particularly enthralled by this; check out her blog post to read more about those lovely birds!

The next site was a dock at the Charles River Canoe and Kayak (CRCK) location on Commonwealth Avenue. Though nothing particularly exciting happened here, Cait and I felt inspired and agreed return in the afternoon (in about 15 minutes to be exact) and go for a little canoeing adventure!

The third site was located at a parking lot just across the river from CRCK. The geese there made their presence well known with their odor and poop that seemed to be everywhere. Additionally we spotted a single duck and the mechanical water chestnut harvester returning from a day of work.

The last site was right along a path that I actually had walked by before, near Brandeis, where Cait and I both go to school! Since the site was located in Bruce's neighborhood a few friendly neighbors stopped by to chat and check in on the work we were doing.

Overall it was a great morning and I look forward to many more sampling days this month with Cait and Bruce!

- Ingrid

Wildlife Viewing on the Charles (In Less Professional Terms, Baby Swans are Cute)

One often thinks that he or she needs to go to Africa or Yellowstone to see “real” wildlife. While the wildlife (especially megafauna) of both locations is spectacular, one can also see nature and wildlife here, in the greater Boston area. 

On Wednesday, Intern Ingrid, Volunteer Bruce, and I (Intern Cait) went into the field to do water quality testing (for more information on water testing, see Ingrid's blog post). At our first stop, we met a family of swans, seven Cygnets and a Parent Swan. (Young swans are called cygnets or swanlings). This was not the first time I had come across this swan family. I first saw them mid-May while running on Forest Grove Road in Waltham, Ma. The swanlings, who were swimming in a line behind their parent, were very small and fuzzy. The Parent Swan seemed to be concerned with the safety of his or her children as he or she would stop every so often, turning around to make sure they were all in the line.

In June, on our water testing day, the swans were still grey, but were bigger. This time, instead of only swimming behind their parent, the Cygnets played with each other. They splashed each other and seemed to try to cut in front of their swimming siblings. Like most baby animals, they were cute. I hope to follow this swan family throughout the summer and fall, watching as the the Cygnets trade their grey feathers for adult plumage. 

Swans were not the only wildlife that we saw. There were jumping fish, ducks, geese, swanling-less swans, and squirrels. If we had stayed longer, or looked closer, we would have seen many other animals, including insects, frogs, and other amphibians. There were also many different plant species and fungi. One only need travel to his or her backyard or the Charles River to see wildlife.

While it is sometimes difficult to visit a specific type of nature (like a specific river), here is a list of local, easily-accessible nature spots that, in my opinion, are worth visiting: 

• Ponkapoag Bog in Canton (http://www.yelp.com/biz/ponkapoag-trails-canton
• The Blue Hills Reservation in Milton (http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/blue.htm)  
• Walden Pond in Concord (http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/walden/) 
• The Boston Harbor Islands (http://www.nps.gov/boha/index.htm)
• Storer Conservation Lands in Waltham (http://www.stonehurstwaltham.org/news_events.htm#quests
• Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord (http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatmeadows/) 
• Cold Spring Park in Newton (http://www.newtonconservators.org/14coldspring.htm)
• The Arnold Arboretum in Boston (http://arboretum.harvard.edu/visit/directions/)
• Boston Common (http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/bostoncommon.asp) 
• Jamaica Pond  in Jamaica Plain (http://www.yelp.com/biz/jamaica-pond-jamaica-plain) 

 Happy nature finding!
Cait