Bird Check

I put in on the Munketusuck to search for the elusive Little Blue Herons and Glossy Ibises. Actually, they're not that elusive, but I figured out over the last few years that they must have nesting colonies near the Menunketusuck River. Occasionally, I have spotted the Glossy Ibises in the Wheeler Marsh and the East River, during the spring when they are migrating in. They would disappear once nesting began. As to the Little Blue Herons, this is area is the only place that I've seen them. The last couple years, I figured out that tthey were fairly plentiful in this area once their young had left the nest. I can't be sure, but I figure that they might be nesting on nearby Duck Island - about a mile distant. 

It is a calm day. The temperature is already about 60F, the sky overcast but looking like it won't stay that way. The tide peaked about a 1/2 hour before I set out, and it is a higher than average tide. The spartina is just barely awash throughout the marsh. This is a high salt marsh, so it has the short spartina variety, and only floods a few times each month. 

Little Blue Heron

Just before getting to Opera Singer Point, I spot a mature Little Blue Heron and four Snowy Egrets. The trip has paid off.  With the Snowys, I have to see the feet as a first year Little Blue Heron is a lookalike. The Snowy has very obvious bright yellow feet, which is a "for sure" identifier. 

 

Glossy Ibises

This marsh has the river running through with two branches, one on either side. To make this a worthwhile outing, I always paddle both branches, which takes in the full scope of the marsh. Near the outer end of the west branch, I spot four Glossy Ibises a bit over a hundred yards distant. Now, the trip has really paid off. The Ibises are head down working the mud with their long curved bills - kind of a slow sewing machine motion. There are also some Willets and a couple small flocks of Yellow Legs. 

I head back, finish of the bottom of the river as far as the railroad bridge, then head into the east branch. There is a mature Bald Eagle perched over the abandoned opera singer's house (I think it is now wildlife refuge land, and they will remove it when budget allows, as they have done to a couple nearby cabins). Considering that it is pretty good feeding, there aren't as many birds as normal by the point, which I imagine has something to do with the predator in the tree. Past that though, I spot several more Snowy's, and a few Great Egrets. 

With that, I head back out, pushing against a moderate ebb current until back to the put-in.