As of this morning, the sudden surge of spawning salmon into Fauntleroy Creek has brought this fall’s total to 87. The last 11-foot-plus high tide for a while is at 3 pm today, so this might be your last chance for a look – Judy Pickens of the Fauntleroy Watershed Council says instructions are the same as yesterday, at or after 2 pm:
If you want to take a chance on seeing spawners, come to the fish-ladder viewpoint (SW Director and upper Fauntleroy Way SW, overlooking the ferry terminal). Catch the attention of a salmon watcher below and you’ll be invited down to the creek. Children must come with a parent, and dogs must be on leash. You may stay as long as the watcher does.
In case you don’t see them or can’t go look, here’s video by Tom Trulin (who also took the top photo):
Last year, volunteer watchers only counted two entering the creek; the last big year was 2012, when 274 were counted, but other recent years have brought smaller showings, especially 2015, when none were seen. The creek’s mouth is on private property near the Fauntleroy ferry dock, and it’s undergrounded through a culvert beneath Fauntleroy Way, daylighting beneath the overlook mentioned above. The Fauntleroy Watershed Council stewards the creek – we reported on the group’s 20th anniversary, and its hopes for more community involvement, in September.
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