Bird Tour

It will be another warm day, so I pick out a route that will finish before the heat of the day. I put in on the Menunketusuck, from the usual spot, which is a half mile below the dam that holds back Chapman Pond, which is 3/4 of a mile long, which is the end of canoeable water on this river. But, I head downstream into the salt hay marsh. I am the first one in the water from this end, keeping in mind that the first one in sees the most wildlife. I spot a four-point buck in the shade of the trees at the edge of the marsh. He retreats into the forest before I can get my camera.

As I approach the widening of the marsh, where it goes to almost a half mile wide and a half mile long, I spot a fisherman with a small outboard working the river. It is crabbing season. He is setting small collapsible pots and retrieving them after 15 minutes or so. He might have flushed the birds from the bank, but a mixed flock of 40 is working over a panne that is inside the last big bend. The only wader missing from that group is the Glossy Ibis. There are several Great Egrets, 5 dark Little Blue Herons, with the rest being Snowy Egrets or young Little Blue Herons. It takes a clear view of the bills or feet to differentiate the Snowy Egrets from the young Little Blue Herons, both being about the same size and white.

Four Little Blue Herons

I head out to the end of the western side channel, spotting a small flock of Yellow Legs, a few Willets, a few Cormorants and an Osprey. The Willets are fairly sedate, so nesting is over. Otherwise they would be warning the world of my trespassing. One the way out, I flush a Glossy Ibis that had come in behind me.

I make a run up to the end of the eastern side channel. Some of the first mixed flock of 40 has settled in below Opera Singer Point, giving me a closer look. I spot a second Glossy Ibis in the mix. The rest of the channel is quiet with few birds.

Two Little Blue Herons, a Great Egret, a Glossy Ibis, a Little Blue Heron, and a Snowy Egret

I paddle out and down to the railroad bridge, but finding an angry herd of paddleboarders heading my way, I turn tail and head out. It looks like it is going to be a busy day here in this marsh.

At the very last bend, the one just below the put-in, a flock of fifteen Glossy Ibises fly in and land. They go to work right away stabbing their long curved beaks into the mud seeking out small critters for lunch. Busy with their heads down in the grass, they don't make for a good bird photo.