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t is a beautiful, calm, sunny day. S joined me for the first hour. She hadn't seen the swans or even been out in the canoe for a month or so. Since yesterday, one of the swans has died (in the photo). I was picking trash in this area, so I am sure it happened within the last 24 hours. Tried to contact the Burke Museum to see if their zoology or ornithology folks might want the carcass, but couldn't get through to anyone. There are coyotes in the area and I would expect them to find it soon. I took a close look and didn't see anything obvious. There aren't any power lines or real flight hazards near, so who knows... Anyway, I just stayed out and paddled as it was so nice. Went over to the south end of Portage Bay, which is a bit natural, but nothing interesting there, yet. So, I did another lap around the bay. The eagles showed up then. The ducks are much more wary than they used to be. They hang in mid-bay now and take flight when the eagles are in the air, even when they are at a distance.
Made art with a full head of steam all morning, but when the sun showed up for the first time in many days, it was lake time. It was calm and in the 40's, but the sun makes it feel warmer. I didn't see the eagles at all today, they may have eaten early. The swans were out, looks like they are here for the winter. The ducks are hanging in mid-bay, where the eagles can't use the cattails to sneak up on them. I headed straight across the bay to retrieve a 40 gallon garbage can that has been annoying me for some time. Once I had the garbage can, I decided I might as well fill it up, so I spent half of my lake time walking drift logs and fetching foam, bottles and cans. The old tars were out in their big motorboats, it being a Saturday and sunny. You have to watch out for them, their not like the pros that drive tugs and fishing boats. The pro boat drivers always seem to have eye contact with me when they are near - the amateurs rarely turn their heads at all, except perhaps to pour a drink. You know, it's a rare known fact, but Captain Ahab never went whaling when it was cloudy. Still, it was a fine day to put a paddle to the water.
Very calm today, maybe 40 degrees and very gray with a thick overcast and light fog. Entering the main bay from the marsh, I spot twelve mature swans near the lunch counter (the NE corner). As I cross the bay, I spot one eagle (right) in one of their favorite perches, a stunted birch tree that grows out of a small island on the west side of the bay. The three immature swans swim across my bow from the NW corner of the bay. They take off when I'm about 60 yds away and fly low over a couple flocks of ducks that are in mid-bay. The ducks don't move an inch - ducks apparently can tell the difference between an eagle and a swan. Once on the N shore, I spot the other eagle in a common perch near the lunch counter. I run into C, an avid birdwatcher that I've talked with once before. She spotted over 170 bird species in the bay last year and has counted over 60 since the first of the year. Now I know how to differentiate between a redhead duck and a canvasback. I collect 1/3 canoe of foam and junk from the N shore, including 13 tennis balls. At least I have to get out of my canoe and walk drift logs to do it - I use to be able to collect that much right from the boat.. Once at my usual dump site, a coach-like guy invites me to dump the trash in his garbage cans. I just let it go that I've been doing it all along... but I appreciate the ok just the same. Neither eagle moved an inch during the two hours I was in the bay. Maybe they already ate.
A clear morning, but clouds come in by 10. It's almost calm and in the 40's. Today, I need a different view, so I head to the north end of the lake and paddle up the Sammamish River.
I was last here in October, when the river current is almost imperceptible. Today there is a 2 to 3 mph current, but by paddling the insides of bends I move upstream fairly well. Some grebes and common mergansers are near the river mouth. There are quite a few herons all along the days trip. I eat my lunch in a small backwater where I watch a northern flicker, a stellars jay and a kingfisher all sitting in the same tree. The river alternates between undeveloped shoreline, million dollar houses,
trailerpark and golfcourses. Paddling is most difficult near the fancy houses as they have "improved" shoreline that funnels the current and prevents shallows from forming. After an hour of paddling upstream I return in half the time, sometimes topping 6 mph (I checked with my GPS).
Big rainstorms and a cold have kept me off the lake for a week. I paddle out today to look for a couple storm sewer outlets for an art project that I am working on. I start west along Stitici, an island that was a Native American burial ground. It's now called Foster Island and the state has a major highway running through it. A highway I might add, that many view as cursed - it is a traffic nightmare more often than not. Two eagles cruise over as I get to the main bay. As I move north towards the Lunchcounter, I can see 8 swans from about 3/4 mile. As I close in, I see 3 immature swans (they are gray) and two eagles in the trees. The Diver School boat is out in the main lake. It is a very slow boat and I could probably outdo it with little problem in my canoe. Something spyhops me at the lunchcounter, it is probably a lone otter, but I don't see it again. The eagle gets up when I get too close and flys low towards the swans out in the bay, but it seems to be using them as a diversion as it turns toward a flock of ducks. The eagle sets sights on the last duck and it is forced to dive to the water to keep from being picked out of the air. Then the usual circling and diving hunting game proceeds with a second eagle coming in to help out. The duck gets away, this time. Along the way I see that someone has set traps for the nutrea. I also spot two muskrats and a lone western grebe. In the photo - while I'm at it, I pick up a chunk of foam and an abandoned speed limit buoy. The buoy has been sitting in the weeds for years and whatever government agency it belongs to is out of luck and should take better care of their toys.
It is very gray today. I don't even get a photo worth printing. Last night, it snowed about 3 inches. It was wet sloppy stuff, the snow that breaks branches off and knocks alder saplings into an impenetrable haystack weave. This same stuff normally disappears fast as it is often accompanied by weather that climbs into the 40's. It did, and it did.
As I started today, I did not see the heron that usually sits in the trees near the put-in. Of course, after I paddled 50 yards, it took off "out of nowhere" right over my head. The ducks are still in large flocks in the center of the bay. I don't see the eagles, but I'm pretty sure they are around as the entire flock suddenly lifts off and moves to the east. I spot six swan on the east side of the bay - I am on the west side - they are about 1 mile distant. This is a short trip today. I've been doing paperwork (the secret fun part of being an artist) and my brain needs a reboot. I spot the eagles in the NW corner of the bay, but they move off. They are hunting, but too far away for me to observe. I stay near the marshy islands as a stiff wind will be blowing in my face when I paddle out. No one else is around. Everyone can tell you what the bay is like when it is sunny, when it is calm, when it hasn't snowed. I circle Foster Island. It was once a burial ground, although the burials were in boxes placed in trees. That was a long time ago when the lake was deeper and the bay was larger and one could not find old tennis balls in the cattails.
It is in the low 40's with a gray sky and a 10-15 mph wind. The weather report says the wind is out of the SE, but as typical, it comes from a different direction out on the bay. Most of the ice is gone and the east channel around Foster Island (see photo) is surprisingly ice free. The ducks are still gathered in large flocks out in the bay, especially near the west shoreline, which is more protected from a wind out of the NW. I see 5 swan in mid-bay and later count at least 8 - there may be a few more, but I am 3/4 mile distant. There is an immature eagle perched in a tree on the west shore. I don't see the mating eagle pair. Otherwise, today I GPS beaver lodges for a possible art project and end up picking trash when opportunity unexpectedly appears. I wrestled about half of a reinforced construction tarp ie one of those cheap blue tarps. It is deteriorating (not biodegrading) and I discover that all of those reinforcing fibers come loose and leave an awful tangle that will probably trap an animal someday.
But, the day is cold and blustery and the days trip clears my head just as I thought it might.
