ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:28 PM: Just got the word from Judy Pickens — salmon drumming at the Fauntleroy Creek overlook (SW Director & upper Fauntleroy Way) is a go for 5 pm. Judy adds, “In the event of rain, come to the green house below the viewpoint and we’ll drum briefly from the porch. The spawners we know to be in the cove will surely hear!” See you there.
Gathering to sing and drum coho home to Fauntleroy Creek moves to a covered porch. pic.twitter.com/9jP62GGiSX
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 31, 2016
8:38 PM: Adding video and photos.
About 30 people gathered on and around the porch to listen to Pickens tell the story of the salmon along with a few rounds of drumming and singing led by Jamie Shilling.
While no coho have been seen in the creek since five ventured in (and apparently out) briefly almost two weeks ago, Pickens told the gathering that some have been seen circling the mouth of the creek in Fauntleroy Cove. “The intent (of the singing/drumming) is to honor the determination of these fish to get to fresh water.”
Volunteers are watching the creek, and if any spawners are seen, the locations will be noted with ribbons, and then those spots will be checked early next year for possible hatches. A few months later, hundreds of local students will visit to release 2,000+ salmon they’ve raised from hatchery eggs, as part of the Salmon in the Schools program, which Pickens and husband Phil Sweetland shepherd locally. The program was in danger earlier this year but as reported here recently, has been spared.
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