I rode my mountain bike up Eastern Canal yesterday before noon. The canal runs diagonally to the northwest from University Drive. I crossed Adobe, Brown Road, Lindsay Road and McKellips before I reached the intersection of Old Gilbert and Gilbert Road. From there, the canal makes a turn to the northeast. I followed it for a while, then turned back.

I was surprised when I saw fish in the canal. At first, I only saw the water swirl as the fish would dart away from the side of the canal as I approached. Then I got a good look at a white amur. The canal is operated and maintained by the Salt River Project (SRP) which is the local power utility. They have a permit to stock the canals with white amur fish, which are non-native. The fish must be contained in the canals to prevent them from proliferating and competing with native species. In the canals, they control aquatic plant growth as they are voracious eaters of aquatic plants.

I also saw a large common carp. The fish was big enough to resemble an eel. Its long, slender body with a dorsal fin that ran almost the length of the body gave this impression.

I stopped at one point and snapped a photo of a couple of ducks with my smartphone. These ducks were large – their bodies were a little bigger than the average mallard. They were dark, with brown on their sides and dark iridescent feathers on their back. When I returned home, I looked in my field guide and online but had no luck identifying these ducks. I’ve never seen them before. Anyone have any idea what they are?

Mystery ducks

Donna had an appointment for lab work and left around noon. A few rain showers fell while she was out. Later, she took off again for a book signing in Phoenix. By the time she left around 4pm, it was raining steadily.

The rain continued overnight and it looks like we have a rainy day ahead. I think I’ll hang out and read an Elmore Leonard western that I started yesterday.