Sea Lamprey of the Chalk Streams

I've been a bit behind on the blog front having been filming for a new TV series for the past few weeks and when i got home i received a phone call from a river keeper on the Hampshire test about a species I've been wanting to photograph for years, the sea lamprey.

Not technically a fish but still classed under chordata, these primitive vertebrates spend most of there lives out at sea feeding off the blood of sharks, big fish and even cetaceans. They are the largest of the three species we have in the UK, Brook Lamprey being the smallest at 6in, River Lamprey the middle one around 10in - 16in (I'm still yet to photograph one of these) and the leviathan from the deeps the sea lamprey reaching a whooping 47in.

Despite its blood thirsty feeding habits they are surprisingly caring lovers with the male moving his mouth up the females back to encourage her to release eggs. I noticed other fish would wait behind the redd looking for dislodged inverts and lamprey eggs such as grayling, mullet and chub.

They don't stick around for long so as soon as i got the phone call i was there the next day in the water, they prefer quit fast moving water so wouldn't recommend going after these guys alone as one slip and i would of been floating down stream for a while!

This is a spent lamprey which is a bit battered and bruised after spawning and will most likely die much like pacific salmon do after spawning. These might not be the most beautiful fish species but i think that are absolutely incredible.

I also shot quite a bit of video of them spawning which I'm saving for something else but here's a exclusive sneak peak at it.

Sea Lamprey Sneak Peak

BBC Wildlife Local Patch Reporter
Jack Perks

@JackPerksPhoto
Facebook: Jack Perks Photography
Website: www.jackperksphotography.com

Trout and Grayling

The Brown Trout grow huge on scraps thrown in

So this week saw me traveling a little out of my local patch and going to the Peak District looking for Grayling spawning a member of the trout family they unlike salmon and brown trout spawn in the spring once the water starts to warm up and days get longer. Some huge brown trout were present and not camera shy for change normally they won't get close at all! all the images are screen grabs from filming.

While breeding they become so fixated with each other you can get very close to the fish

Here's a female Grayling other wise known as the lady of the stream sometimes seen as a pest to trout anglers i find them fabulous fish that deserve just as much admiration as brown trout.

The River Wye is one of the only rivers were rainbow trout breed in the UK.

Although the exact records are missing, it is believed that a consignment of very small fish was on its way to Scotland from the Washington state in the United States in 1910. for some reason they were put into a lake on the grounds of Ashford Hall to spend the winter. The river flooded that year and the rainbow trout found a new home.

The darker male and lighter female pairing up getting ready to breed. I'll be returning to get more footage of them hopefully breeding. While the Atlantic Salmon is the king of rivers the Grayling is called the lady of the stream and certainly deserves it title.

Even had a photobombing brown trout come into the video!

Video from last year of grayling

BBC Wildlife Local Patch Reporter
Jack Perks

@JackPerksPhoto
Facebook: Jack Perks Photography
Website: www.jackperksphotography.com

Love is in the air, or at least amplexus!

So not long after valentines day theres still a little loving going on, well i say loving primal instincts! (don't worry its not me) its my population of Common Frogs that have been in my garden for well over 10 years since i put in a pond and last year i extended it have a gradual decline and deeper area for hibernation. I also put plenty of water plants in which provides cover and keeps the water clear.

Ponds are without a doubt the best way to attract wildlife to your pond

Rocks provide shelter for the frogs and the bare patch of soil behind the pond has been sowed with wild flower seeds so in the spring and summer plenty of inverts for them to eat.

The frogs tend to be mainly nocturnal so going at night often means you see more 

On some of the rainy nights i could find them in Amplexus (latin for embrace) where the male holds on until the female releases the frogspawn which can be a few weeks depending on temperature.

The reddish skin colour is one of many colours they come in

Despite there name common frogs aren't all that common any more with a estimated 1 million ponds being lost in the last century in the UK these frogs prefer shallow weedy areas to hide from predators and give there young the best chance. One point with my frogs is a good few are reddish in colour a genetic quirk, these frogs come in all kinds of colours from black, brown to greenish tints.

Once together the frogs become very approachable with all thoughts on breeding

I have fond memories as a child keeping tadpoles in a tank and watching them grow and each year still get like a little kid watching them grow in my pond.

BBC Wildlife Local Patch Reporter
Jack Perks

@JackPerksPhoto
Facebook: Jack Perks Photography
Website: www.jackperksphotography.com