Long Time No See

I put in near low tide on a favorite river.  I suppose, as much as a river can be a friend, this is one.  I found this short tidal river sometime during the first year after moving to this area, and I've paddled it more than any other one body of water since.  Salt marsh, fresh marsh, and forest, high tides and low, with all the variety of birds and plants that go along with that. It is a place that never ceases to give.

Dunlin

Just as I get settled in the canoe, I spot a Yellow Legs on the far bank, some 50 yards away.  The Yellow Legs would have gone unnoticed but for the low autumn sun that made it sparkle against the brown silt bank.  Halfway up to the first bend, I spot a Pied Billed Grebe. At the bend is a Hawk, but I never get a good enough look at it for an identification.  After the next bend, I'm watching a pair of Yellow Legs when two Dunlin pop up from around a hummock.  There will be Yellow Legs and Dunlin every so often from here up through the Big Bends.

Beebe comes motoring down the river on his little green barge.  He has a small marina of two to three dozen boats up above the RR bridge, which guarantees that it will be a small marina as only runabouts can clear that low bridge, and even they can't get under at high tide.  We are familiar with each other and he tells me that he's going to Clinton to haul out moorings.  "Long drive in that boat," I say., although I suppose he'll get to Clinton in 30-45 minutes.  His barge is less than 10x25 ft, a chartreuse metal box with an outboard motor and a light duty crane and winch.  A few years back, I figure out that he knew me, at least by sight, when he commented on my paddling technique.  That stepped him up in my estimation as it showed to me that he was quite aware of his landscape, having taken notice of my once-in-awhile trips on the river.  I'm pretty sure he runs his marina and dock/mooring business because the office is so spectacular.  People that are connected that deeply to their surroundings stand out when you meet them.

I pass a Great Blue Heron at the RR bridge.  It is less than 2 canoe lengths off and typifies how docile and calm the birds in the marsh are today.

Just past Beebe's marina I tuck into an old blow out channel.  Until recently, it had some big culvert sections in it - big as in 4 ft. diameter.  Someone has hauled the wreckage out and I paddle up to a damaged tide gate.  It is a cement dam with a 2x2 ft hole where the gate should be. Behind is a low marsh bordered by buildings that are too damn near sea level. Now that I see the dam, I suspect that hurricane Sandy or Irene might have blown out the culvert.  Seawalls and dams are designed to hold water on one side.  When the water gets behind them it can tear things apart in no time. 

Above the Big Bends I spot three Killdeer feeding on the exposed silt. Just before the stone arch bridge I meet up with a male Hooded Merganser, who deftly dives and evades me before I can take a photo.

The wind is coming up.  I turn at the Duck Hole Farms.  The river is getting low and it is nice to have a full paddle blade of depth when you have to go against the wind.