November 06, 2011

Bonneville Hatchery and Salmon Spawning

Today I drove out to the Columbia River Gorge to check out Bonneville Fish Hatchery. The weather was gorgeous, but cold. I was surprised it was about 20 degrees cooler out there than at home.



The trout were my favorite. So much color!











People can buy pellets to toss to the fish. Apparently they are so tasty the ducks like them too. There were a number of Mallards begging. They were eating right out of people's hands.



The historic facility is very picturesque.



I had to find the hatchery icon: Herman the Sturgeon. Herman is 10 feet long and almost 70 years old!


He does look like a grumpy old man.

This is his home. Quaint.







After touring the hatchery I drove east to Eagle Creek. Here I could see the salmon spawning. I later realized that the thrashing about was the spawning and not necessarily the fish dieing. Although I really don't know. What I do know is that the gulls were going crazy.



Here you can see the gulls and the fish side by side in the water.









After watching the spawning, I drove across the Bridge of the Gods to Washington and headed home. Next time I'll show you some Gorge-ous photos!

2 comments:

  1. I love the Columbia Gorge and river basin and can't wait to see more of your photos. Have been by the Bonneville area but not to the hatchery so thank you for showing the photos.

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  2. A nice fishy outing! Can't believe that fish is 70 years old... That's just crazy. The gull action shot is awesome!

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