The almanac uses observations written by naturalists, river lovers of all ages, and scientists to assemble a journal of the river's unique moments.

The almanac is printed by Purple Mountain Press, Ltd., (800-325-2665). It is available for $10, plus New York State sales tax, and $3.50 for shipping. E-mail address is: Purple@mail.catskill.net

Limited copies of The Hudson River Almanac: Volume II are also available at the same price. Volumes I and III are sold out.

These excerpts are taken, with permission from the publisher, from the Hudson River Almanac, Volume IV, 1997-98. Each month, we'll be adding another excerpt from the book that corresponds to the current month.

To contribute observations to the Hudson River Almanac, write to Tom Lake, 3 Steinhaus Lane, Wappinger Falls, NY 12590-3927, or fax: 297-8935 or e-mail to trlake@mailcity.com.

Those who wish to see more recent excerpts from the Hudson River Almanac may visit the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Web site at http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/hudson/monthly.html

April 1 - Croton Point - There was a magnificent trilling of American toads this morning, the strongest I have ever heard on this point of land. Dutchman's breeches were in bloom. Christopher Letts

April 4 - Croton Point - A wave of kestrels came in overnight and they were hunting hard on the landfill. From the top of the cap I could see a dozen at a time, but there were many more. In the old clay pits on the north side American toads were trilling. This was four days after they began to call on the sunnier south shore. Christopher Letts

April 12 - Poughkeepsie - We made our first drift of the season and caught 42 beautiful American shad for the market: 30 were roe, 12 were bucks. The river was a cool 46 degrees. John Mylod
(Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, for sure. I've heard shad called handsome, sleek, shiny, and colorfulÑtheir scales in the first light of evening, reflect a most lovely shade of lavender-lilac. Some shad exhibit a yellow color phase, believed to be a genetic variation. This amber to sunflower-yellow hue can be strikingly beautiful. Tom Lake)
Shad Bake: People have been celebrating the annual shad run for several millennia. There is archaeological evidence that Hudson Valley people baked shad on huge riverside "roasting platforms." Some of these were half an acre in size. Fires and hot coals were set around flat stones on which shad were placed for slow cooking and smoking. Millions of shad scales (Hudson River confetti) at such sites, and the associated charcoal, date to pre-ceramic times, 3,000 years ago.

April 15 - Piermont - A cast net fisherman trying for herring for striper bait caught a large blue crab, the first one of this spring. Lilacs had begun to bloom, about three weeks early. Christopher Letts

April 19 - Tarrytown - First goslings of the year. A pair of Canada geese led six balls of fluff up the bank to the sweet new grass on shore. Christopher Letts

April 22 - Cold Spring - It was a warm day on the turbid river. The Hudson River sloop Clearwater was in the heart of the Hudson Highlands dragging its trawl near the bottom of the river. When the net came up we found a delightful little Atlantic sturgeon, 11 3/4" long, probably a yearling. We kept it only long enough to measure and show the school kids on board. For them, it was their first sturgeon! Allyson Bizer, Erin Murphy
Baby Atlantic sturgeon are rare in the Hudson River estuary. So rare that the crew of the Clearwater was concerned the Almanac might think they were making this story up. At such a small size, their sturgeon was one of the rarest in the estuary. Commercial fishing for sturgeon in the Hudson River, and on most of the Atlantic coast, has been closed for three years, due in part to the fact that the spawning adults are not producing strong year classes of baby sturgeon. The brightest and best of fisheries biologists do not know why.
Croton Point - Barn swallows, chimney swifts, and house wrens had returned; violets, splurge and black mustard were in bloom. Christopher Letts

April 28 - Foundry Cove - It was a late afternoon flood tide as we watched the filling cove swell up into Foundry Brook. A pair of osprey were courting overhead. A pair of raucous Canada Geese paddled over to greet us in a display that appeared to be a diversion from their nest. It seemed every mullein stalk had a bluebird perched at its top, feeding on seeds or insects. Tom Lake, Phyllis Lake

April 29 - Foundry Brook - We set our herring research gillnet in the dark of early morning. At first light, we went out to check it. On the dawn flood tide several dozen white suckers, white perch, and a yellow perch had made their way up from Foundry Cove. The females among them were gravid with eggs; their spawning runs were in progress. As we released the fish back into the brook, to our surprise, there was not a herring to be found. Water temperature was 51 degrees. Tom Lake, Jim Rod