(Fry in Fauntleroy Creek – photo by Dave Gershgorn)

By Judy Pickens
Special to West Seattle Blog

Three Fauntleroy Creek events this week signal that winter is on the wane:

– “Home hatch” coho started emerging to feed in the creek.
– Skunk-cabbage blossoms started dotting the streambank.
– Teachers started signing up for salmon releases.

(Skunk cabbage along Fauntleroy Creek – photo by Dave Gershgorn)

Two weeks ago, volunteers began monitoring the lower creek for evidence that eggs left in November by a record number of spawners (347) had survived. Yesterday (2/26) they sighted 15 active fry darting around in the water.

Last fall, spawners hid their eggs under a blanket of loose gravel for protection. After a few weeks, the eggs hatched into alevin equipped with a yolk sac to sustain them until they were mature enough to emerge from the gravel and forage for themselves. In a year’s time, they will have grown into 4”-5” smolts, ready to leave the creek for two years in saltwater.

This same transformation is playing out across West Seattle as students in the Salmon in the Schools program rear their own coho. Come May, Fauntleroy Watershed Council volunteers will host 18 field trips to Fauntleroy Park, where students will release their fry and explore habitat.