Still with the Night Herons

S has not been in the canoe for a good long time. We set out from under the highway bridge on a rather perfect day, light winds out of the southwest and temperatures in the 70's. The tide is still rising, and I am a bit surprised at how high it is. This morning I glanced at the tide coefficient, which is the difference between high and low, and it was not too high, but I suppose that I missed that the low tide might not have been as low as normal.

We follow the east shore down to the marsh, passing a few Great Egrets and Night Herons in that small triangle of marsh that is attached to the mainland. Then, we head over and into the secret passage that leads up to the central phragmites patch. The patch meets expectations, again, as we flush more than two dozen Night Herons. It is a mix of Black Crowns, Yellow Crowns, and juveniles, which are hard to differentiate without a good close look. 

Then, we head over to check the trees on the east shore, which is a favorite perch for the local wading birds. We spot, maybe a dozen, a mix of Egrets and Night Herons. Most are below the refuge launch site.

With that, we head out across the marsh and diagonal in a generally upriver direction, a little misplaced for a few minutes, but finding a known channel soon enough. And back up the river we go.