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Creek Watch

The following are observations, thoughts and sightings on the Creek and in the watershed. Please let us know if you've seen birds, fish, other animals or just changes in the creek. (Please be sure to let us know if we can use your name!). We'd love to get reports (and photos!) from all parts of the Spruce Creek watershed.

You should come and stand on our dock at high tide and be amazed at the staggering abundance of tiny silver fish that are so densely packed as to make impossible to se the bottom through their swirling shoals. Many near the surface glint as they turn and reflect the light from the sky. Last evening when I came home the sky was a clear blue and the sea was flat calm except for the rain splashing on the surface. Except that it was not rain but the eddies made by the little fish. Tonight they are still there but the peace is often shattered by the frenzied jumping of mackerel stepping up the food chain! Congratulations to all who strive to keep Spruce Creek in increasing health.

Saw a bald eagle flying down the creek as I crossed the Route 103 bridge towards Kittery. Also heard that there is a pair that is making a nesting attempt on a tree behind the Commandants quarters on the Shipyard.

Fox on the Shore of Spruce Creek
October 11, 2008 - From Dick Loehr

When I was kayaking on the Spruce Creek estuary this morning, a great blue heron startled and flew off. I thought I was the culprit, then I saw this fox in the tall grass at the shoreline.

We went looking for the eagles today but only saw lots of seals instead. One of the seals swam by my kayak, just about 15 feet away, and did not go under water. Here is that photo and also a photo of a small gull (Bonaparte?). There are lots of these type of gulls in the water in the creek now. They don't seem to be bothered much by the kayaks and you can drift within 10 feet of them before they paddle away.

Hi Phyllis!! that email I sent was a bit early! Yes..........I see quite a bit [of herons] this year. More young ones this year. There was one large curious individual I swam with for 2 seasons, but not here this year. More young ones though. I am thankful and blessed...... this morning swimming I saw a beautiful bald eagle in a short tree at the intersection of the Shepherd Cove condo cove and the main part of the creek....

It is real cool also seeing seals in the broad part of the creek. they spook me because they appear and just disappear. They were water skiing with a jet ski in Shepherd Cove....yikes!

The water was still dirty today from the hurricane. I'm embarrassed to tell you these things, but my body seems to be a barometer for pollutants. last week had another strange scab on my skin. I have to admit though when we had that stretch of sunny dry weather........the water was very clear and clean.

Hi folks.......hope you all have a chance to enjoy the creek this summer. after swimming i thought that i'd share one small sad observation. every year i look so forward to the return of the family of heron to the upper part of the creek. they were there earlier this spring, but now there is quite a lot of water skiing activity in the upper part of spruce creek up in your neck of the woods Dick ( nearly everyday).........i am sad to say that i haven't seen them since. There were 3.........have any of you spotted them this year?

Update (September 2008) - In the past month or so our water monitoring volunteers have spotted 18, 12 and 15 herons while heading up the creek. Hopefully your family are among them!

This afternoon I went kayaking with Janet and Randy, and then back out again with Janet. She suggested we paddle up towards Route 1 and then follow the Spruce Creek estuary north behind the malls.

Ahead of us a dog jumped into the water from the east side, swam across, but could not climb back up the muddy bank as the tide was still low.

Janet insisted we help the dog. I was concerned, but I was also thinking about our local vet who recently had a dog bite his face. We paddled closer and saw the exhausted dog struggling. As we were talking about how to help (paddle float? bracing the kayak?), the dog swam to me and I lifted it in my kayak. Good thing I am still paddling my wide open Loon kayak!!

Janet called 911 and the Kittery police said they would meet us behind Robert's restaurant. As the officer was trying to lead "Rusty" (Janet's name for the dog) up the bank, it slipped out of it's collar and jumped back into my kayak. I had to get out of the kayak and walk to the patrol car with Rusty and the officer. Rusty had a rabies tag from New Hampshire, so hopefully the owners can be located.

Here is Rusty shortly after his rescue - soggy, but happy!!

Update: The police later were notified by some visitors from NH who were up at the outlet malls that they're dog had run away. Nah, he just went for a swim and a ride!

The new sidewalk is quite beautiful and check out the lovely bench to sit and enjoy the creek. I've posted some other photos of the sidewalk and guardrails, as well as the recently-fixed scour hole just south of the culvert.

Quite an engineering feat - the Maine DOT created a ramp of rip-rap to access the culvert. The rocks used seem much larger and are doing a good job of dispersing the flow. Very interesting - enjoy the photos.

The more I swim Spruce Creek the more fascinating it becomes. The other day swimming I was followed by a heron all the way up to Route 1. I also am fascinated by the seals who continually check me out. I've been training for a future winter swim to the Isle of Shoals so I have been doing the entire perimeter of Spruce Creek. There is the most beautiful family of 3 great blue heron who live next to Chick Brine Cove across from the Shepherd's Cove condos. They are used to seeing me. It truly is an ornithologist's paradise!

This leads to a question which I know could cause me some trouble here in town. I was quite angered the other day when I was swimming along the shore line several hours after high tide. I couldn't believe how fast a boater was going up and down the creek. On the way back I was waving my arms to him to slow down. He saw me... waved his hands at me as if he were asking what's the big deal... and purposely hit the throttle to make a huge wave at me. I was shocked at the lack of respect. Actually I was quite shocked at many boaters this past summer on their lack of respect for pedestrians in the water... such as kayakers. Which rich wildlife in the creek... is it possible to lobby for a speed limit for Spruce Creek?? I can't help but think of the seals who come into the creek and the habitat for the heron. Most of all I am angered by the lack of respect by boaters. Pretty easy to be a tough guy when you are in a boat and have a huge horse power motor. If this is to be an estuary to be preserved, this issue needs to be addressed. Thanks!

Reply from John McCollett, Kittery Harbor Master: "The state does have a law regarding speed within 250ft. of shore. Headway only,this is called the water saftey zone. Water saftey zone is headway speed only!!!! If posted the wardens will help me inforce it."

The changes are subtle but there… One or more blue herons in our little section most days, and some egrets hanging around lately. In the spring I watched the periwinkle population really expand, and over the summer there seem to be lots more mud snails, which is a good thing – detritus cleaners for a healthy estuary. Small bluefish reported on the KTP side of Rt 1, by the way, and if you look at the water temperatures recently, I expect that our oysters may have been spawning, which is excellent. Bluefish are pretty common this time of year, but they're top predators, so where there are bluefish there's baitfish in healthy numbers. Lots of osprey sightings (I found a feather on the KTP lawn!) I'd also note lots and lots of very small barnacles that weren't there last year…

A message from the birds of Spruce Creek on August 23
During my kayak outing today I photographed birds in the Spruce Creek area. I thought about the June, 2006, report on pollution, and wondered what the birds might think about it. I hope you enjoy the photographs!

Dad and I went on a morning avon ride up the creek from the Smith's dock on Wednesday June 21. On our way back down the creek we took a detour over towards [Goose Point] even though the retreating tide was making the already shallow bottom even more so. I was looking at the clusters of muscles and rocks on the bottom when I saw the large flounder dart along the bottom and quickly away from us into deeper water. It reminded me of the good ole days when Mom and Chad and I would go flounder fishing out by the bridge. Yum Yum!

[What do you know] about the horseshoe crab or lack of since the wide dam was removed? Back in 1958 they used to line the shore. They used to mate and move upstream towards Picott Road and also along Route 1 by the malls. The area just above the KTP docks used to be a beach. Gary Adams and the rest of us Nor Kittery dubs used to swim from there.

Response from Justin Kane, Seminar Coordinator, Kittery Trading Post (April 12, 2006):
Interesting... I had noticed that there was not a lot of Horseshoe Crab debris in the little section of the creek I look at every day (between the highways). Off the cuff, horseshoes need a beach to lay their eggs on - between the tide lines - and in the upper creek the marsh tends to form a bench above the lower tide mud, rather than beaches. That might make it undesirable for them... They certainly tolerate varying salinity levels, and pollution doesn't slow them down much (you don't survive 300,000,000 years by being delicate). I'll see if I can find anything out.

In the meantime, it's a little early in the season, but certainly for May and June if you have any members who are curious, they could go out during the evening high tides of the full and new moon and look about in the shallows of the creek. Those tides will be April 12 & 27, May 13 & 27, June 11 & 25, and all will fall between 11:30pm and midnight (at Kittery Point). These months will be our best chance to see them if they're here...maybe members can report any sightings, just for fun?

Update from Phyllis Merikallio (April 14, 2006):
I was chatting with a woman working at the Trading Post customer service desk yesterday and she says she does see horseshoe crabs in that portion of the creek. So perhaps we'll see more now that the restriction has been removed.

Update from Justin Kane (May 10, 2006):
I found a pair of mating horseshoe crabs on Saturday, May 6 - they were working to get over the lip of the marsh a few minutes before high water, in the stretch of south bank just down creek from Rte. 1. We should see more as we get closer to the full moon tides on Friday and Saturday, particularly the evening tides. If you're up at 11 or 12:00 those evenings, a trip to the creek beaches with a flashlight should show lots of crabs in the shallows. I haven't seen any horseshoes above the Rte 1 culvert yet, but I'll let you know.

The smaller striped bass are in, following the baitfish (alewives and smaller stuff) up into the estuaries. People should be able to see the baitfish jumping towards the heads of the side creeks on the rising tides. If anyone has serviceberry (a great native shrub!) growing in their yard or creek buffer, they should be about ready to bloom: Serviceberry's also called Shadbush, or Shadblow, because when it blooms you know the shad are in the rivers, with the big striped bass right behind them.

I've also had a report of numbers of baby sturgeon taken (and released) as by-catch by an acquaintance dip-netting for elvers - baby eels - two years ago in Spruce Creek. That they were sturgeon was confirmed by a Mass. state biologist working on an eel study at the time. I don't believe anything was documented, however. If there are baby sturgeon here, perhaps there are still a few bigger ones...

I shed an extra suit today because the water is starting to warm up. Not that warm... The creek is around 42 degrees. I swam into Gerry's cove today (where the shepherd hill condo development is). I noticed the water temperature in that cove was around 10 degrees warmer. As I proceeded to grid I-1, I noticed fresh water springs (behind the police station) that water was ice cold!!! It's fascinating to feel 3 different temperature gradients in a short distance.
 

Spruce creek is so large that I found all winter I would get back at sunset or after. This is taken lying on my back in the vicinity of Mill and Broad Coves returning home to Dion Ave. The red sunset was reflecting in the window in the house across the creek.		Fresh water running in at grid I-2.
Taken at grid K-6 looking toward Route 1. Swimming on a real windy day. You can get a feel of how big the waves get smack in the middle of the creek. I actually love it when the water gets rough! Don't worry - winter is the only time I would hang out in the middle. Boat season - you won't find me there.		Creek man arriving at a home on Haley Rd. accessed by side creek (Wilson's creek) on grid E-5 to say hello to god daughter. Vaseline covers the exposed skin. Must use the full scuba mask for winter swimming to prevent frostbite to the nose. Quick hello to swim back to Dion Ave. on L-4. I don't use flippers!
F-5 you need to blow this up to see the trash/mess on the side. The ice prevented me from getting closer.		Lousy photo, but as you swim the entire creek you will notice small 'canals' or ditches in the sand on the bottom. These are left behind as the water exits the creek at low tide. It is also the place to look for shells and bottles. All large debris settles in these underwater channels.
Taken at H-2. Looks like that's as far as I could swim into that side creek that day. It was iced up and could not reach I-2.		Turning back at H-2 to head to the main body of the creek.

Photos from the Creek Man
April 4, 2006 - From Gary Sredzienski

Here is one boat. This is at dead low tide in the middle of the creek. It's pretty inaccessible when it's at this tide. The mud flats go a long way in each direction.. You can reach it by swimming there or kayak at dead low tide.		Here is the other boat which is visible at low tide and easily accessible by Eagle Point and Admiralty Village.
This photo came out awful. But it is one of two nets in the creek out side of Broad Cove. I asked the people living on the water near these nets to see if it were theirs. They said they were placed there some time ago to propagate the clam beds.		It was a sunny day and still the clarity of the photos was so poor. Golf ball trash.
Up by Route 1... The day was in the upper 30's. It's difficult to see, but when it gets above freezing notice the fresh water running in to this small side finger creek. Cattails in the back. A source of sediment.		Every February or early March I see these worms floating in both Spruce and Chauncey Creeks!!! No idea what they are! It just seems so weird... Everything in the creek is asleep. Even the crabs are under the mud sleeping. The first signs of life in early March are these worms suspended in the water.

1. There is now an increased speed to thef low of the water in the creek.
2. The birds now follow the incoming tide instead of just staying in places along the creek where I couldn't see them.
3. The water at low tide is not very deep because one day I observed a gull walking at midstream and water was just touching its belly.
4. The water at low tide varies in width from about 9 feet to about 20 feet from Picott to my property.
5. On January 18th, a bald eagle (the first I have evern seen here) flew down the creek. The next day I saw the eagle fly up the creek. I have not seen it since.
6. On January 31st there was a very high tide. The water from the cerek flowign into marsh under Mr. K's wooden bridge looked to be only a few inches from the bottom.
7. Birds seen: gulls, yellow legs, breat blue heron, mallards, black ducks, hooded mergansers, buffleheads, red breasted mergansers, canda geese, kingfishers, bald eagle.

Check out this aerial photo of the creek up by route 1. The tiny little finger side creeks is where i have been finding bottles, but they are also areas where i have learned a little bit about where sediment is coming in from. Last week i couldn't get into the small finger creeks because they were frozen solid, but with the warmth they are once again opened up. What i noticed is that there are cattails and fresh water running off the ends into the creek. that's why it freezes because it is mostly fresh water. but when its warm, you can see all the fresh water pouring in. I have to photograph that. what is neat is that the bottles that i find up there have no barnacles on them!!!! the water is not saline enough for barnacles!

It explains why the visibility has been so poor this winter. when it's above freezing there is lots of runoff - sediment coming in. a few weeks back the visibility was becoming outstanding, but with the warmth and rains. can't see too much, but it gets clearer every day when the temps are cold. SO... pray for a solid week of 20 degree temps - no precipitation or wind!!

I have made it a habit to always swim with the camera now. I am always running into something interesting - always learning. came across some granite outcrops the other day and bubbles were coming out of them!!

Creek man pretty angry today! I can no longer contain myself and must speak up. I just got back from my daily swim and I am so tired of swimming over people's trash! And I am so sick and tired of picking up people's golf balls from the bottom of spruce and chauncey creeks. didn't know that creeks are driving ranges. Living next to the water is a privilege, but doesn't give anyone the right to trash the water ways.

And all the development coming in. Creek man is coming very close to writing an editorial to all the local newspapers. Very ticked off...

Update December 31, 2005 from Gary: last week the water was really clearing up and the visibility was getting outstanding, but the rain made it a bit cloudy... several thousand antique bottles are no longer on the bottom of the creek, but in my basement!!!! the more recent bottles i've cleaned off the bottom and brought to recycling. i've cleaned out all the golf balls from the bottom too!!! but i'm sure there's more. there are interesting things i can take pictures of.

I've made cleaning up trash off the bottom part of my swims. getting 2 things done at the same time. Chauncey creek needs the most help in regards to garbage collection. i asked several folks over there to give me a hand, but got no response. just needed someone to go in my kayak as i get brown beer bottles off the bottom. maybe someone in spring could help me over there???

Update January 2, 2006: I just came back from Walmart and purchased 2 underwater cameras! I look forward to start taking photos. I may have to wait though. I swam approximately 2.5 miles today and the visibility was poor. We had snow on New Year's eve. I also noticed runoff today coming off the banks because temps were above freezing. BUT!! up in Gerry's cove i found 2 bottles from the 1880s - one from the Auburn Drug and Chemical company. I emailed the Auburn library this evening to find out when the company was in existence. also a cork top type - Chesebrough Mfg. Co..Vaseline. 1880s/90s. Look forward to good conditions to take photos!

Update 11/15/05: According to Dana Morse of Maine Sea Grant and Don Card of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, moving the oysters seems to be the best plan. For now, they should not be in too much danger as the weather is remaining above freezing and, as of last night at least, there were no signs of raccoons or other predators getting the oysters. Don Card has offerred to assist John McCollett in the transfer of these oysters as he has the necessary state permit to do this work.

Additionally, Dana Morse would like to come down to speak about their "Oyster Garden Program" which helps communities learn to grow oysters in "community oyster gardens", get education about water quality, public health and safety, and helps to encourage these locally spawning populations. This would be a community activity with local leadership, authority and responsbility. If there are any Spruce Creek Association members or others who would be interested in participating in and/or leading this effort, please let us know. We'll work on inviting Dana down in January or February to present the program, which is already in place in Damariscotta and the Blue Hill/Brooklyn/Stonington area.

By the way, these do seem to be the native American osyter. According to Scott Feindel, a shellfish biologist of the Darling Marine Center who examined photos of the oysters, these are likely the "American (Eastern) oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and not a European (Ostrea edulis). The Europeans tend to be more round (pie-plate shaped) and "frilly" (with a shell sort of like a bumpy, corrageted roof) compared to C. virginica. There is a lot of shape variation in both species based on the sort of bottom they are growing on - but again I would say that it is an American oyster."

Update January 2006: Several bucketfuls of the oysters have been moved to a new home elsewhere in the Creek by John McCollett. Thanks, John!

Creek Man Has a New Creek!
November 8, 2005 - From Gary Sredzienski
I've already swam all of Spruce creek since I moved [to Dion Ave] 2 weeks ago. Swam under route 1 last week, and just found out about the news and the work to remove the dam!!! I've already found a very old ship wreck in the creek!! Will try to get one of those underwater disposable cameras and take pictures. also found a site with old bottles. I hope no one minds me swimming. I hug the sides and will not be a hassle to boaters. I know this sounds strange, but i just read in the article that the water quality is below standards at spruce creek. I have to say, Spruce creek appears much cleaner than chauncey creek!! I better join the creek association!! It's my new home.

Note: Paula has asked Jon Kachmar about these two rock obstructions, which seem to have been put there by neighborhood boys to trap eels in order to catch them.

Jon Kachmar has replied on 11/8: I stopped by the Rte. 1 culvert this morning. Everything looks good so far. If there is a known area of rocks in the channel upstream that can be moved without a lot of work, I would suggest doing it. Rocks in the channel can have a significant influence on tidal flow, so your thoughts are probably right on track.

11/9 Note: SCA is exploring removal options for these rocks. The photo below on the left is the view downstream of the culvert, and on the right is the view upstream. If anyone would like to volunteer for this effort, please let us know!

Update January 2006: Thanks soooo much to Gary Sredzienski, our volunteer member and "Creek Man" (perhaps you've seen him swimming Chauncey and now Spruce Creeks every day?). Back on November 25th, Gary moved the rocks to the side of the channel (under the art direction of Ron & Paula Ledgett) and the tidal flushing seems to be extending further up the creek.

May 15, 2005 - from Mary Craig
Hi There, I thought you might like to know that on May 9th we found a dead seal pup on the shore near our dock. We called the police and later that day a woman came from the Marine Animal Lifeline. The pup was a male, probably one of this seasons' earliest births, and did not show any signs of trauma (cuts, etc.) She measured and examined the seal carefully and told us the information will be entered into the appropriate data banks. She did not take the pup and the next day we sadly sent it to the sea.

Follow-Up:
Spending time on or around Spruce Creek means having lots of opportunities to see and observe wildlife. In addition to an array of birds, deer, muskrats and other furry critters, it's not uncommon occasionally to see marine mammals. Several residents have reported seeing seals in Spruce Creek - in the water or "beached" on rocks, shore or even floats. Unfortunately sometimes the reports have been that the animals are either disoriented or even dead.

If you see or encounter a seal in Spruce Creek - especially if it appears to be sick or stranded - there is an organization to call. Marine Mammal Lifeline has a network of trained volunteers and a 24-hour hotline at (207) 773-7377. The Lifeline volunteers are trained to assess and, if necessary, rescue, treat and rehabilitate at-risk sea mammals. Jennifer Herrick (jherrick@stranding.org), a Lifeline Animal Care Technician, advises that if you do find a stranded seal (alive or dead) the best thing to do is leave it alone and call the hotline number to report it. Because of the volunteer network, someone from Lifeline will usually be there to assess the animal within 20-25 minutes.

To learn more about Marine Animal Lifeline, to donate or become a trained volunteer, visit their web site at www.strandings.org. You can also e-mail them at volunteer@stranding.org or write to them at

Marine Animal Lifeline
PO Box 621
Portland, Maine 04104

The topography is very much like the portion of the Rachel Carson that is out by Cutts Island - skinny winding waterway among high marshes. There was definitely tidal movement all the way up as far as we got, which was about one mile from US Route 1, somewhere just past Wilson Road. There was both fresh and salt water vegetation pretty far along our way, and signs up on the grassy banks/marsh that a higher tide/storm had recently dumped seaweed up on the flat bits. There was one medium-sized hay field that seemed to come close to the marsh's edge and some dump-like materials on someone else's property (old fridge, car parts, etc.). We also crossed under the shiny new CMP power lines crossing, and that didn't seem too disturbed nor disturbing. There were very many birds and minnow-like fish (perhaps Paula can fill in details...) and we only picked up a few plastic bags and containers along the way.

All in all, great afternoon exploring more of this amazing watershed!

What can be done? Shrub and tree buffers along the shoreland help to absorb the fertilizers (and pesticides) that we put on our lawns and gardens. Please consider keeping your shoreland buffer healthy in order to protect Spruce Creek.

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