East River

I started late with my put in timed perfectly so that I would be paddling against the fastest of the ebb current.  It is mostly cloudy with a moderate wind that is so comfortable after a week of sticky hot weather that it would be wrong to complain.  I notice that many of the trees are already changing color.  The summer heat this year must have been a stressor.

Yesterday, a narrow band of fairly severe thunderstorms sliced through the area.  As I headed to the river I passed through a 1/4 mile of wind damaged forest some ten miles before getting to the East River.

T and his wife were taking out at the launch point just as I arrived.  He recognized me.  A couple years ago, since they are actually canoeists, I had tipped them off about the Sneak.  I tend to keep that route a minor secret.  A canoe might get you in the club.

As I head up the river a flock of six Willets come in and land on the bank.  The tide is still high enough that the water comes to the base of the tall spartina, but in a half hour or so the silt will be exposed and I suppose the Willets are getting in line for protein.   A small flock of Yellow Legs flush out of an unseen spot back in the marsh.  I notice the silhouette of a hawk a few seconds after.

Yellow Legs

 

The current is 2:1.  I almost always paddle out and back, so I track on river currents with a ratio.  2:1 means if I paddle 2 hours out, it will take 1 hour to return.  A 3:1 current is a tough day and a 4:1 had better not last for very long.

A clucking just before the Post Road bridge - Green Heron crosses the river.

The current eases off some before I get to the Big Bends.

Just below the Arch Bridge I spot a mature Bald Eagle being scolded relentlessly by a pair of Osprey.  Above the Arch Bridge the Kingfishers are out in force.  The Bald Eagle leaves the area.

I spot a rather bold Green Heron in the bend above the sawmill dam ruins.  As it seems to tolerate me, I nudge the canoe into the silt on the far side of the river and watch for awhile.  It is a hard bird to spot when backed by marsh grasses.  When a Green Heron stretches out in the right light, it seems to have more colors than any rainbow.

Green Heron

 

I turn back at the Gravel Flats.  The tide is getting low and if I go up to Foote Bridge I will probably being wading part of the way out.

Two bends above my take out I spot a young Snowy Egret, oddly the first of the day.  Then, just around that bend, a Harrier.  A stealth hunter that flies low over the marsh looking for prey, the Harrier is coasting quite fast with the wind following the river's edge about 6 to 8 ft above the spartina.  Unfortunately, it is gone before I can even think about getting a photo.

A young Snowy Egret is identified by the green legs.  Adults have bright yellow rain boots