With wind gusts
predicted up to 31 mph this afternoon and freezing temperatures tonight we
decided we should get out early if we were going to do anything today.
The Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery in Branson is the largest trout-rearing facility operated
by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
They produce more than
one million trout each year. Both rainbow
and brown trout are raised at the hatchery.
Fish raceways.
Most of the trout go
into Lake Taneycomo. The remainder of
the fish are stocked in other Missouri trout management areas or Missouri’s
trout parks. All fish are released for
public fishing. No trout are sold.
Twenty-five cents for a hand full of food.
1,500 pounds of food
is fed daily.
Fish coming up to eat. Netting keeps the predators out.
Construction of the
hatchery began in 1957 and production of trout began in 1958 with the completion
of Table Rock Dam. This dam created
Table Rock Lake.
Table Rock Dam.
Missouri’s state bird
- the Eastern Bluebird.
Eastern Bluebird.
As the skies got
darker and darker, we took advantage of the hiking trails. There were a few birds out and about.
Bufflehead
Fish Crow
Lesser Scaup (Drakes)
Red-shouldered Hawk
White-breasted Nuthatch
There are some very
nice displays inside the hatchery visitor center.
This large aquarium is
30’ long, 6’ wide and 3’ deep. The
acrylic panes are 2 1/2 inches thick. It
holds 3,500 gallons and is kept between 48 - 52 degrees F.
There was a wonderful
display about litter in our waters along with this turtle that had been found
with a plastic 6-pack ring around it’s middle.
(I have been cutting up my 6-pack rings for years - it just takes a
second or two).
* * * WARNING - If you
find snakes creepy - quit scrolling down now!
(Serene Matthews - you have been warned) * * *
There were several
different snakes. I found it a little
sad that they were in such small containers.
There wasn’t any indication of how the hatchery acquired them.
Two-headed Western Ratsnake
Osage Copperhead
Speckled Kingsnake
Eastern Tiger
Salamander
After a very expensive
lunch at Gettin’ Basted (BBQ), we drove around a little to see some of the
interesting architecture.
King Kong
Restaurant entrance
Mount Rushmore with Fake Celebrity Heads
Titanic
The weather held out
until we got back to the trailer. We had
been back about 30 minutes when the winds hit and the temperature dropped 20
degrees in about 10 minutes.
We have one more day
here. The weather is supposed to be much
better tomorrow.
Teri
Ha! Guess I'm not too subtle in my fear of snakes. Thanks for the warning!
ReplyDeleteI always cut my plastic rings too - have forever. Too bad about the turtle, hopefully it gets along well.
The turtle is probably lucky he's living in an aquarium with easy food and no predators.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big snake fan either.
The Eastern Bluebird is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for warning Serene about the snakes. Interestingly, Serene's mom is okay with snakes, but is totally freaked out by mice. Serene is freaked out by both.
I'm ok with mice outside but NOT in the RV. Remember the pack rats we had at Ladd Marsh? Monsters!
Delete