Thanksgiving Dinner

The day was simply too nice to not take advantage of.  I put in on my favorite short river, the East and took my usual route up through the Sneak.  Everyone was as they should be.  Willets were calling out from the spartina and ten Osprey were circling over the Neck River.  The tide was still coming in and there was a fresh breeze to take the heat off.  I spotted a pair of Oyster Catchers and when I looked back to take their photo, spotted a much larger oyster catcher coming in to dredge the main river.

Oyster Catcher

Oyster catcher

I made my way up to Foote Bridge, stopping to cut the crown off of a tree that fell and blocks most of the river just below that landmark.  It was a simple sawing of about a half dozen two inch branches and that should leave the river open enough for anyone else that comes this way.

On the return, still above the Big Bends, I paddled up quite close to a Great Blue Heron.  It turned to walk away...walk away?  ...and it turned and I spotted the two foot long eel in its bill.  Too heavy to fly with and not something that the Heron could quickly gobble down, it was not about to let loose of it.  In fact, it was still alive.  Now, I've seen Herons swallow hand sized fish but this was longer than the Heron's throat and I can't imagine that having the head of the eel in the stomach while the tail was still in the mouth was going to work out.  The Heron wandered off for some privacy and the equivalent of three Thanksgiving dinners.

I finished my return via the Long Cut, making use of the peak of the high tide.