Bird Check

It seemed like a good day for a bird check.  Osprey are mostly in, a few Great Egrets have been seen, Yelow-Legs returned after the cold snap eased, and I spotted a single Yellow Crowned Night Heron on my last trip in here.

I put in from the usual under-the-highway-bridge spot.  The tide is about 15 minutes past low, so there is little if any current.  There is little wind in the river although I know that won't be the case when I am in the open.  It is sunny and just under 50F. A crew is putting the floating docks in at the boat ramp, so that the motorboat types don't have to get their feet all wet and icky.

It's an easy paddle down to the marsh and when I get there I find the wind.  It blows out of the east and there is a definite wind-chill.  It feels as if the night stored up its cold air until I arrived, and then released it to blow on me. 

Low Tide

The tide is low and my sight lines are limited.  I pass some Red Breasted Mergansers and a single Red Throated Loon at the top of the marsh.  Then, I make my way down the center of the marsh towards Milford Point.  I flush some Canada Geese and Ducks every so often, but there is not much else to report.

From Milford Point, I head back via the Nell's Island maze, passing through a stretched out flock of Brandts on the way.  The immature Bald Eagle that I saw on the last trip is on a log on the island.  It is pretty recognizable as an individual - the head mostly white with only a few flecks of white on the tail.  I think this ages it as a 2 to 3 year old and I bet that it has a white head and tail by the end of the season.

The maze doesn't go, running out of water about 2/3 of the way through.  I'd have to wait about an hour for the tide to catch up, so I head back the way I came.  Once back in Nell's Channel, I head back up the river. 

Yellow Legs