The Riverfly Partnership Update

I have just re-posted the post on river fly monitor training which originally appeared here on July 2nd 2013, as we have good news on this subject.

Our original post attracted some interest and a large enough group of volunteers committed themselves for training to enable David to try and secure funding for the course and equipment needed by volunteers in order to collect their samples.

At the time it was hoped that this funding would come from The National Lottery Commission who had previously provided funding for training of monitors on the Wharfe, unfortunately funds proved unavailable.

Around Christmas time we were contacted by Kathleen Roberts, who had taken over from David as coordinator for the Wharfe monitoring group and acting coordinator for the fledgling Aire group to say that funding had been secured from the West Yorkshire Branch of The Salmon & Trout Assosciation and Aire Rivers Trust to run a training course at East Riddlesden Hall on March 7th for River Aire Monitors.

Vice Chairman Phill Andrew and myself were among the lucky dozen or so who received training on the day, and will now provide sample data on a monthly basis from sites chosen by the EA. As a result there are now sixteen sample sites on the Aire and its tributaries upstream of Leeds (I stand to be corrected on this figure) which include Myrtle Park and East Riddlesden Hall.
You can see a short film about the day which was made by Aire group coordinator Phil Sheridan here. Please visit www.riverflies.org to find out more about the riverfly partnership and their work and to view sample data from specific sites.

The photos below were taken today during our first sample at East Riddlesden Hall, as well as a host of scary looking bugs we netted a couple of Stone Loach. The sample data has been submitted and East Riddlesden Hall is now listed as an active site at www.riverflies.org , we will be sampling at Myrtle Park before the end of the month.

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Sorting the Sample.

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The Sorted Sample.

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Burrowing Mayfly nymphs (Ephemeridae).

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Flat-bodied up-wing fly nymphs (Heptageniidae), Stone Clingers.

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Cased Caddis Fly larva.

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Caseless Caddis Fly larva.