Surprise discovery in Prislow Woods

Stream dipping in the Bickham Stream, Prislow Woods

I was only slightly late arriving at Prislow Woods and the sound of excited children guided me towards a spot where the stream dipping was already in full swing. A group of parents were gathered on a bank with the children in the stream using nets to explore the water. Suddenly a roar of excitement came from upstream, an eel had been caught. A group of children came splashing down to deliver their prize to County ecologist Bruce Forest who was leading the event. All eyes watched as the eel was transferred to the finds tray and began to swim around. 

This eel could spend 20 years in the stream before return to the sea

This wonderful creature had begun life in the Sargasso sea on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Emerging from an egg the larvae can take three years to drift across the ocean to the UK, a distance of 4,000 miles. As the larvae approach the coast they develop into glass eels, then entering freshwater they darken and become elvers. Eels can spend up to twenty years in rivers and streams growing into mature adults before undertaking a one way journey back to the Sargasso sea to reproduce.

The European eel is listed as Critically Endangered, the number of glass eels arriving in Europe has fallen by 95% over the last forty years. So finding several juveniles in the Bickland stream highlights the importance of the conservation work being carried out by several local community groups to safeguard the stream. The Prislow wood group is hoping to receive training from  the South West Rivers Trust that will allow them to monitor the water quality in the stream.

County ecologist Bruce Forest led the stream dipping

Finding the eel was also significant as they have not been recorded in Falmouth before according to the National Biodiversity Network Map, see below. So not only did the children have plenty of fun that day, they also contributed valuable citizen science data.

NBN map showing records for the European Eel (Anguilla anguilla)

The stream dipping was organised by the community group #prislowwoods who carry out conservation work such as the removal of non-native invasive species in the woods. For more information visit their Facebook page at, https://www.facebook.com/groups/962446477276694/

Special thanks to Jennifer Carter for permission to use her photographs.