State Fish Hatchery In Chateaugay, NY-Part 2

I had just walked around the outdoor ponds at the hatchery (see yesterday's post) and was heading back to the buildings when I saw the "Display Pond," with what I guessed to be the boss's house up on the hill:

The pond was small but deep, and filled with giant Rainbow Trout, some of them at least 3 feet long. Sadly, none of the photos I took of them were use usable:

Then I walked farther, over to some giant blue tanks which were also filled with large trout. I particularly liked the yellow albino fish:

These were Rainbow Trout and very large, at least 2 feet long:

I tried to get a closeup of the albinos, but this was the best I could do:

Then I went inside, where the fish are hatched and begin their lives. A handsome and personable young fisheries man showed me around:


He explained that these indoor tanks were where the hatchlings begin their lives before being moved outdoors:

And these drawers were for hatching the eggs:

He took me back outside and explained that the yellow albinos I liked so much were Lake Trout:

Most of the other big fish were Rainbow Trout. He was very helpful and we talked for awhile. Then I thanked him and headed for home:

A Visit To A New York State Trout Hatchery

We'd endured five days of chilly, rainy weather and at last we were promised a dry day. It was still cloudy, but I drove east to the town of Chateaugay to visit the New York State Trout Hatchery:

The hatchery was located in flat farm country, but was surrounded by pines and spruces. The Chateaugay River flowed just beyond those trees. Before entering the building, I explored the many "ponds" outdoors. Cold, clean water flowed through all of them continuously, and the first set were entirely covered with boards. I was told later that the young fish liked shade - and it also helped keep out predators:

The next set of ponds were open and contained 6-8" trout - many thousands of them:

Each pond was filled with baby trout:

And each pond was covered with wire, presumably to hold netting or tarps in the winter, and fed by a lively waterfall to keep fresh, aerated water moving at all times:

I walked up toward the building, stopping on the way to see the small display pond. It also was continuously fed with cold, aerated water:

Inside the display pond were very large trout, each of them two to three feet long:

I walked toward the buildings but first stopped to examine two large, circular tanks and one long, rectangular tank. The fish inside were huge and there were several golden, albino trout. I later learned that albinos are hatched every year, but most are stocked along with the normally colored fish. These were kept as a display:

I never learned to tell one species of trout from another, but I was told that they breed Rainbow, Lake and Brook Trout:

I entered the building and found many large, rectangular tanks and one worker:

The tanks had small fingerlings inside:

And the worker was cleaning Rainbow Trout eggs with a feather. The eggs at the hinged side were not yet cleaned, while the eggs closer to her were cleaned and ready to go. I thanked her for the helpful information she provided and began the drive home. But that also was interesting, and I'll post about the drive home tomorrow:

Chapter Two - The Wild Center!

I continued my tour of the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. I was especially interested in the mushrooms, as I so often see and photograph them while hiking. I have only once seen a green mushroom and I don't think it was these, but I'll now be able to identify one if I see it in the future:

There were lots of wetland displays as the Adirondacks is filled with bogs, ponds, lakes, creeks and rivers. Water, water, everywhere:

The displays on the right were about peat bogs and that giant fish tank on the left contained several indigenous species:

Including Lake Trout:

And Sturgeon:

There was a giant Pitcher Plant display:

And all about flooding, shallow water fish and nighttime species:

More about wetlands:

And Brook Trout:

This was the otter display, a big favorite. The swim tank was very large and L-shaped. The part you see here was merely a small portion of it. The happy, playful otters also had dry land on which to live and you can see that over on the right, above that cave opening. The cave was for children to explore:

I took many photos of the otters but they were moving so rapidly that none of them were useable. So I admit that this photo and the next one are from the internet:

When I studied Wildlife Biology in college, my Adviser specialized in River Otters and kept several of them as research animals which, I could tell, were secretly pets as well. I had my photo taken with them and it appeared on the cover of a pamphlet about the Honors Program. But there was still more to see at the Wild Center and I'll post Chapter Three tomorrow: