Living next to Blue Mountain Reservation, we regularly walk by and play in Dickey Brook. Beyond the crayfish and dace we see, I’ve been curious what else lives in there. The Big Apple Brook Trout project uses environmental DNA testing kits from Jonah Ventures, so I decided to buy my own kit and test out Dickey Brook.
Dickey Brook contains some deep pools, has lots of cover, and stays decently cool year-round. I was hopeful there might be some brook trout hiding below some of the deadfalls.
Charlie and I took a sample in late April. He loves trying to catch things with my net, so he worked on that while I pushed the water sample through the filter. In short order he caught some tiny snails, a frog, and a Blacknose Dace!
We got the results back a month later. Sadly, no trout detected from this sample, but what we got was surprising. Here is what it detected in Dickey Brook:
American Eel
Anguilla rostrata
I was genuinely surprised by this one. I’ve never seen an eel in the brook and I didn’t realize the brook connects all the way down to the Hudson River, which is surely where the eels come in. I checked the maps, and after it goes into the ponds in Blue Mountain, there is an outflow that empties into Lents Cove, down by Charles Point / River Outpost Brewing.
Northern Two-lined Salamander
Eurycea bislineata
I love salamanders, but haven’t seen this species near us. We’ll have to go out and flip some rocks to find some.
Eastern Blacknose Dace
Rhinichthys atratulus
I knew these were in the creek. We see them all the time and Charlie netted one while we were sampling.
White Sucker
Catostomus commersonii
Green Sunfish
Lepomis cyanellus
FishBase · USGS NAS · Wikipedia
Bluegill
Lepomis macrochirus
Not surprised about this, they are everywhere.
Fathead Minnow
Pimephales promelas
FishBase · USGS NAS · Wikipedia
Curious what lives in the creeks near you? Get a kit from Jonah Ventures and find out.
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