Mayfly in September

Met with Graham at 9am to do our regular riverfly check near the Ocean. Graham had added a new piece of equipment – a small portable table to examine the samples on instead of kneeling on the ground. This is a game changer, especially in the winter months. It’s a bit of extra bulk to carry the 15 minutes or so to the river, but well worth it. I took the sample, and the river level didn’t seem very much higher despite the small bit of rain we’d had in the previous days. But we were rewarded straight away with an unusual sight – a Mayfly at this time of year. I haven’t seen one since ... well May probably. But it turned out to not be a one-off – there were 14 in the sample. And plenty of other species too, including a caseless caddis. Overall a score of 9, which is a big boost from the slim pickings we’ve had at that site over the summer. Maybe an early indication that the river habitat is starting to recover from the drought conditions we’ve been experiencing in the last few months.