Clear Lake Habitat

Clear Lake Habitat. . , Freshwater Marsh, A freshwater marsh once surrounded Bloody Island prior to land reclamation efforts that began in the late 19th century. Native plants within marshes around Clear Lake included tules (Scirpus acutus), rushes (Juncus sp.), sedges (Carex sp.), and cattails (Typha latifolia). Associated tree species consisted of cottonwood (Populus fremontii), willow (Salix sp.), and elderberry (Sambucus sp.). A dense expanse of tules and willows once stretched all the way from here to the city of Lakeport. The marshes flooded in the winter and spring but became dry in the summer months. This seasonal cycle and the ecosystem it supported were disrupted when land speculators and ranchers drained marshes to create agricultural fields.

Native Fish, The following fish species were native to Clear Lake: , Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) , Thicktail chub (Gila crassicauda) , Clear Lake splittail (Pogonichthys ciscoides) , Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis) , Sacramento sucker (Catostomus occidantalis) , Sacramento perch (Archoplites interruptus) , Sacramento blackfish (Orthodon microlepidotus) , Clear Lake Hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi) , Tule perch (Hysterocarpus traskii) , Prickly sculpin (Cottus asper)

Of these native species, only the blackfish, hitch, perch, and prickly sculpin are still common in Clear Lake. All other fish that are common in the lake today- including bass, carp, catfish, crappie and bluegill-are non-native, introduced species.

Birds of Clear Lake, Clear Lake contains a resident population of mallard ducks (Anas platyrhyn- chos), wood ducks (Aix sponsa), northern shoveler (Anas clypeata), green- winged teal (Anas crecca), American coot (Fulica americana), double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), great blue heron (Ardea Herodias), osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Clark's grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii), and western grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis). Additionally, the lake is along the western margin of the Pacific flyway, which is a major north-south route for migratory birds in the western part of North America. Migratory bird species in Clear Lake include Canadian geese (Branta canadensis), American white pelican (Pelecanus eryth- rorhynchos), canvasback (Aythya valisineria), ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis), northern pintail (Anas acuta), common merganser (Mergus merganser), hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), pied billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), and greater scaup (Aythya marila).