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Wildlife abounds in the Boston area, specifically in the Swift River and Wachusett Reservoir. Unseasonably warm weather means people are heading outdoors to take advantage of all the activities they will soon be unable to enjoy, like fishing. All along the lower portion of the Swift River, Ted Merchant and Larry Bush, from Trout Unlimited, have been catching plenty of fish from the usually productive region of the river. Less common, however, are the loads of salmon being caught farther upstream. In addition to unusual numbers of fish, there are also reports of alarmingly large populations of seagulls gathering around the Wachusett Reservoir. Scientists are using GPS tracking, among other things, to understand where the gulls are coming from and why.

Just above the Route 9 bridge in Belchertown, the Swift River is home to dozens of landlocked salmon. The excess of salmon was brought to the area by natural causes. The large amounts of rainfall brought on the area by Tropical Storm Irene caused flooding which carried the salmon from the reservoir over the spillway. The team from Trout Unlimited have had success catching some surprisingly large salmon using proven fly fishing techniques. In fact, they’ve had so much success, that they are offering free fly-tying workshops every Thursday at 6 p.m.. The workshops are open to the public and held at the Mass Audubon’s Broadmeadow Brook Sanctuary.

The dense population of gulls congregating at the Wachusett Reservior, however, is believed to be caused by human influence and likely has much more serious consequences. DCR scientist Dan Clark is leading a team to study the massive influx of gulls. He’s attached GPS tracking devices to study the migration habits of the birds.

The GPS tracking has shown that the gulls have travelled from as far as Iceland, stopping at the reservoir in order to feed on their way back from breeding at the Great Lakes. The over-population is believed to be due to people illegally feeding the gulls. It is dangerous for too many birds to gather at reservoirs, as their feces and parasites contaminate our drinking water.

Photo Courtesy of xlibber (creative commons)