On our thirteenth annual 'Day in the Life of the Hudson River' the day was crystal clear and dawned cool. Little rain had reached the estuary for the last month or more and so influences from the salt, entering at from the Atlantic Ocean at the southern reaches of the Hudson, were found well upriver. Atlantic Silversides, an ecological indicator of the leading edge of salt in the estuary, were netted up by Beacon and Newburgh (RM60). Perhaps one of the biggest surprises was the saltwater loving pipefish that made its way as far up as Norrie Point (RM84.5) where the water was well below what we would consider brackish. The student data reflects what the Hudson River fisheries crews have been finding this season, that the very dry end of summer and early fall had brought the a range of saltwater surprises well up into the estuary! Other surprises included an adult naked goby, not the juveniles we more often find in the estuary, netted in Verplanck, and a beautiful greensided darter in the Mohawk in Schoharie Creek.

Atlantic Silverside	Northern Pipefish	Adult Naked Goby	Greensided Darter