Old Friends

Lord Cove -
Some places that I paddle are like old friends. I listen to them, and perhaps they listen to me.  I take away a bit of the garbage they must deal with, and they take away some of the garbage that comes my way. There's no arguing.  We get along.

I put in at Pilgrim Landing. There are billowy clouds that don't seem to be long for the day.  It will be sunny and warm with a light wind of no consequence. Four people are just getting back from a morning of river trash collecting. Today, there is an organized effort of trash pick up.  I do it all the time on my own, and not being particular to being organized, I did not join in.  It is good to see.

I head up into the cove.  Cormorants are the most numerous bird as I head in.  In fact, there are few other birds to note.  As I get nearer to Cout's Hole, the Great Blue Herons start to add up.  I head up one of the dead ends towards the top of the cove, flushing more Great Blues and fewer Cormorants as I go, and the Great Blue Herons soon outnumber the Cormorants.  I come back and drift over to the old Eagle nest.  I did not see any activity this year in this large old nest. 

When I head over to the bridge - there is only one bridge in the entire cove - I start flushing Mallards, the first that I have seen today.  I figure it'll just be that first eight or ten, but then it's another dozen, and another fifteen, and some more, and some more.  Seems like fifty or so by the time I go under the bridge. I didn't count because I figured each flush was the last flush.

The cattails are browning out.  If one looks carefully, there are some green cattail spears, but almost all of them are in fall color. 

I spot an Osprey on the way out.  Getting a little late for Osprey, but there's always a couple that hang on until it gets cold.  Back to Goose Bay, there are a half dozen Osprey in the air.  I get to watch three good dives. I spot an Eagle chasing an Osprey, and then notice that there is a second Eagle - both are mature Baldies with white heads and tail feathers. 

I take the long way out, rounding the bay and exiting into the main river, crossing to Calf Island and returning to my start point.  I have had the cove to myself for a good three hours.