The Lake Hodges / Del Dios June Town Council meeting is Wednesday June 12th at the Firehouse at
Agenda June 12, 2019
1) 4th of July picnic planning. Update from Braden Clemshaw.
2) Preparing for the unexpected: got plans A, B and C? Update from Kevin Kidd-Tackaberry
3) The lowering of the Lake's water level and its impact on the Grebe nesting season:
what's being done by Del Dians? Update from Brian Caldwell.
"Lake Hodges in Escondido, California is a reservoir that supplies water to a handful of districts, and utilizes its water to run a power plant for the local utility. It is also now a very active nesting area for breeding Western and Clark Grebes. When the government dropped the water level by seven feet in recent months, approximately 100 eggs were lost because the parents that had bred early in the season could no longer reach them. ( Grebes are low awkward flyers who build their nests on trees at water level, and climb on to incubate the eggs) . I learned of this this May 28, 2019, when I hired Brian Caldwell of Lake Hodges Photo Tours, to take me onto the lake to photograph the usually large colony of Grebes with plentiful chicks. We could only find six sets of new chicks, when usually that would be a number multiplied by at least 20 this time of year. Most importantly, Brian was visibly shook by the fact that the night before, the lake had been lowered another foot, threatening the remaining 62 nests with eggs from later breeders. After taking images of the chicks that had survived, and the failed nests of the non-survivors, that day I joined Brian in his letter writing campaign to public officials and by calling newspapers and television stations, including in our communications, photos of what we saw. The campaign worked. Today, three days later, the Water Authority that governs the lake agreed not to lower the water again until the end of the June hatching season! Here's to more Grebe Chicks!! And to Brian Caldwell who deserves the credit for coming to their rescue!" - Carla Dedominicis
Photo below credit to Carla Dedominicis and to Brian Caldwell for positioning her to take this perfect shot
https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/gallery/submission/625708-all-aboard/