What's Up in the Marsh

Like usual, I head down from under the highway bridge. It is peak high tide with cloudy skies, a temperature of 60-ish and a light wind that has no effect other than to cool the skin. 

At the top of the marsh, the Swan is busy adding a level to her nest to keep the eggs out of the water. I head, first, up into Beaver Creek. I have spotted a half dozen Yellow Crowned Night Herons almost right away, and at the next bend, just when I'm thinking I've seen a dozen, one that I am watching flushes and four more that I didn't see take off. Almost all the way in, I find a Black Crowned Night Heron up in a tree. It is my first BC of the spring. I see fewer Black Crowns in general, which I don't think reflects the actual population. The two birds have different feeding and perching habits, and I suspect that my canoe habit dovetails better with the Yellow Crowns than with the Black Crowns. 

Black Crowned Night Heron

I head to the Central Phragmites Patch and while retrieving some junk, I notice that the nearby Swan nest is empty, in fact, I can't actually pick it out from the rest of the marsh. But, the resident Swan comes out from behind a stand of reeds to see what I am up to. I suspect that there are brand new cygnets in there, and I back away.

The third nest, near the Refuge boat launch, is empty as well. The adult pair is about 50 yards away herding four small cygnets, which are probably less than a week old.

Great Egret

Otherwise -
With the high tide, I can scan across the top of the spartina, which is no more than 8 inches tall. There are quite a few Mallards out away from the main channels. It's easy to spot their heads in the grass. They are not in flocks, but in pairs.
Least Terns are back. I spot four during the trip.
I see just 3 Yellow Legs. On my previous trips I have seen flocks of 12-20 at a time. So, it seems that they have headed up into Quebec for nesting.
Over near the bottom of Nell's channel, a Black Bellied Plover flies by. The Willets are around here as well, by the sound of their calls.
There are more Osprey in the area than can be accounted for by the local known nests. Most of them are on the east side, either in the trees or soaring high overhead.

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

Midway through the two hour paddle, the skies clear and the wind shifts, now coming out of the south. So, I have a nice tailwind as I paddle out.