Some Westporters have been alarmed at the number of dead bunker washing up on the shores of the Saugatuck River, Compo and Old Mill Beaches and Sherwood Mill Pond.
Other Westporters say, “no big deal. Happens every year.”
Longtime Old Mill resident Don Bergmann sends along info — passed to him by town conservation director Alicia Mozian and compliance officer Gillian Carroll — that explains a lot about the phenomenon.
Bottom line: “This year, higher than usual numbers of the fish congregated in the Sound, and they missed their cue to start heading south because the water in the sound stayed warm into the fall. As the water temperature dropped in October and November, the supply of algae and plankton for bunker to eat diminished, leaving the fish hungry and cold and causing a small percentage to die and wash ashore.”
The good news: There are plenty of healthy, live bunker in our waters.
Click here to read the full report, in the CT Examiner. It’s fascinating!
Sherwood Mill Pond yesterday (Photo/Kendall Gardiner)
On Sunday, the New York Times published its annual “Year in Pictures” section.
It’s not complete without a contribution from a Westport photographer.
This one comes from Tyler Hicks. The Pulitzer Prize-winning 1988 Staples High School graduate captured the COVID pandemic in Manaus, Brazil, with a poignantly colorful shot, from high above, of newly dug graves. Up to 100 people died each day in the Amazon’s biggest city.
“Trees and brush were cleared to create more space for caskets as the death toll rose,” Hicks wrote.
“Private grave sites gave way to long trenches dug with earth-moving equipment.”
May 25, 2020, Manaus, Brazil (Tyler Hicks, for the New York Times)
No one likes deer in their yard. Except for these 2 on Soundview. They’re okay.
(Photo/Susan Ford)
Need help with heating bills? Connecticut’s Energy Assistance Program assists low-income home owners and renters
To qualify you must make below 60% of the median income ($72,394 for a family of 4).
Westport residents can call 203-384-6904 to apply. Residents in other Connecticut towns should call 1-800-842-1132.
For a month or so now, night after night, people all over town have heard tremendous BOOMS!
From Old Hill to Greens Farms, they awaken Westporters. They come in waves. They’re annoying — and very, very loud.
According to the best guesses on social media, they’re the result of some guy (it can’t be a woman) in a souped-up car engineered to piss people off. If that’s true, he’s succeeding.
And if not — well, what are those sonic blasts, anyway?
And finally … there’s lots o’ Christmas music in the air. But this song seems to have dropped out of the rotation.
What a shame. It’s a classic. It’s fun. And the message is timeless.
