We saw spawning chum salmon dancing in Byrne Creek today. It's incredibly moving to watch them giving up their lives so a new generation of salmon can live.
The females flip sideways and flail at the gravel with their tails, digging out depressions in the streambed called "redds" in which to deposit their eggs, while accompanying males circle them.
They are choosy -- they need a certain size of gravel or cobble for their eggs to survive, and if you look closely, you can see they have tested several areas in the creek.
I find myself moved nearly to tears as I watch these wonderful fish spawn in my own back yard, in the middle of a growing city.
We can do it. We can preserve and enhance habitat, even in urban areas. We just need the will, the effort, and the discipline.
It's amazing to hear the call of the wild, just steps from our back doors.