The Lake level is WAY up!
As soon as there is water at the historic nesting site, look at what begins. The precursor to nesting, the ‘weed ceremony’
Reflections indeed! The wintering ducks are still hanging around Hodges. Green-winged Teal.
Mr. and Mrs. Wigeon enjoying the tranquility of early morning in Southern California.
This White Pelican has quite the ornamentation. Ready to impress!
An update on the Dam repairs
The repair work on the lower section of the dam has been completed, and just in time… The recent rains have brought the Lake level several feet higher than the State mandated. As can be seen from the photograph, there is still work to be done at the higher elevations. The City are planning to open the reservoir to limited recreation as soon as possible, estimates range from the end of April to…..
Once the repair work is completed, the State has mandated that the reservoir never exceed the 280′ level, (actual 80′ deep at the dam), which means the pump station will be inoperable. In essence, until the new dam is constructed, the Lake will behave very much like it did before the pump station went into operation, be it at a lower water level – If it rains as it has this winter, there will be temporary a flood condition that will slowly subside as the water is released. If there is little or no rain, the Lake will slowly shrink in size.
How this will affect the Grebes nesting cycle is still unsure? The timeline for completion of the proposed new dam is currently 12 years. In that time frame new vegetation may grow and provide material for nest building, but the areas available for nesting may be too exposed to the wind and predators? Historically Grebes have not nested when the Lake levels have been this low. As a founding board member of the Friends of Lake Hodges, https://friendsoflakehodges.org/ I encourage you to take a look or better yet, get involved.
