Marsh Coyote

I mow the lawn, and then put in for a high tide trip through the Wheeler.  It is cloudy with a quartering headwind coming up the river, and it is colder than I expected. 

A few Willets and a flock of 15 Yellow Legs greet me at the top of the marsh.  The water is very high and most of the marsh is flooded.  I head out into the middle of it following any open water channel that I desire.  At most water levels, even high tide, most of these channels are either too shallow to use, or they dead end.  

Yellow Legs

There is a large flock of Canada Geese in the lower marsh - I see them fly off from a fair distance.  I can hear that there are also a bunch of Brandts - they have a distinct and unmistak, mall flocks of Yellow Legs.  The one thing about being in the marsh at high tide is that the birds are "compressed".  With limited dry ground to stand on, one might see a lot more birds, birds that might actually be in the marsh at lower water levels, but widely dispersed - so a high tide count might be quite a bit more than a low tide count even though the actual number is equal.  

I stop at the Central Phragmites Patch and dig out my rarely used rain jacket to use as a wind breaker. 

I spot a Coyote as I head up the east side of the marsh.  It had to swim to get where it is, but it has been there long enough for its fur to dry.  We watch each other for fifteen minutes.  Eastern coyotes are a bit different than the western coyotes that I am more familiar with.  This one almost looks a little like a very large fox, but it behaves like a coyote, keeping an eye on me until I leave.

The wind has shifted and I have a quartering headwind as I head upriver.  This is nice on top of the 3mph ebb current.  I hug the shore taking advantage of slack water and eddies. 

The First Goslings - Lords Cove

I put in on Lord's Cove, a large marsh area off of the Connecticut River in the town of Lyme, you know, the town that the tick born disease is named after.  It is sunny and about 60F, the tide is high, and it is a lot windier than the weather forecast.  Last time I was here, there was still ice in the narrower channels.

I start at Pilgrim's Landing and head upriver into the cove.  The wind is from the NW at 15-20 mph, so I hug the shore, and while the wind is somewhat onshore, I get some benefit from the slight stagnation that happens when the wind hits the forested hillside.  But, I know that Goose Bay will be a half mile of fun with nowhere to hide and a spunky chop resulting from the shallow water.  

Four of the seven goslings are visible

The bay does not disappoint.  I spot my first Canada Goose goslings of the year.  The parents run herd on six or seven tiny fluffy yellow goslings.  They probably left the nest no more than a day or two before.

Once across the bay, the cove becomes a network of narrow channels and the wind is blocked by standing cattails and phragmites.  I work my way up as far north as possible, wanting to explore some of the dead end channels to see how close I can get to Elys Ferry Road.  I'm not going to do it today, but I have thought about making a circuit of the trip by using the road to portage and return down the main river.  I explore a few channels and find that I can get within about 30-50 yards of the road - just a short wade through the cattails.  

I find new nesting activity while I am in the upper part of the cove.   There was a huge Eagle nest in here, and the remains of it are still visible, although for some reason an Osprey is perched there.  On that same property is a new nest, which doesn't appear occupied, but I don't remember seeing it before.  And then, there is the Canada Goose nest built on an Osprey nest box.  Safe from predators, the first step for the goslings is going to be a big one, although they should bounce just fine when they hit the cattails.

The Osprey is in full view standing on the left side of the nest 

On the way out, I poke into the usual little bays just to see if anything is happening.  Then an even more fun crossing of Goose Bay with plenty of choppy non-rhythmic waves, and back to the landing.

 

Doing the Wash - Great Swamp

I put in on the Great Swamp from the Patterson launch.  It is partly sunny going to overcast with a temperature of 65F and a light wind coming up the river. The water is a little high, but still within the banks.

I head upstream.  Upstream from Patterson is always an iffy plan.  Few people head this way, so there is always a lot of dead wood in the river.  A year or two back, I made it all of the way to the beaver meadow at the "height of land".  The meadow has plenty water, but at the point it is in channels that are too small for a canoe.  The small pond just below the meadow is formed by a 2-3 ft high beaver dam.

Wood Turtle

Things go pretty much as expected for the first 2/3 of the upriver trip.  I end run or slide over all of the downed wood.  It is a slow paddle because I am constantly making tight turns either because of the channel or to avoid the logs. There are a lot of turtles out.  I am pretty sure that many of them are Wood Turtles -  a species of some concern. I flush Wood Duck pairs quite often.

Nearing the high point

About 45 minutes up, the river starts braiding into 2 or 3 smaller channels. The channels are more twisted and usually only one of them is clear of obstructions. Quickly enough, I can't continue without climbing over logs.  I get in three moderately awkward log hops before I get to a spot where I can walk a few yards up and look over the scene.  I can see more logs and an increasingly thinner channel. This isn't going to go today. This part of the river is in the "between" stage - beaver marsh moving towards becoming a beaver meadow.  I turn back.

I pass my start point and continue down river. I have not seen anyone since putting in.  It is peaceful and, as I've said before, one of the most beautiful places that I have paddled. The sky is bigger than in the upper section. The gray sticks stand farther back from the river.  I flush more Wood Ducks.  I don't count but it must be 50-60.  See a couple Great Blue Herons.  Pass a Canada Goose nest that has been built right at the river edge.   There are three very well maintained beaver lodges in this section, and some recent scent mounds.  I usually don't spot too many scent mounds in this area, unlike farther down in the forested section where scent mounds are everywhere.

I turn back when I am a bend or two up from the Rt 22 bridge.  I can hear the traffic and would just rather not look at it.   

I return to my start point thoroughly washed out.  

The Wheeler

I put in at noon.  The tide has been dropping for an hour and a half, it is 60F or thereabouts, there is a 5 mph wind out of the SE and a partially sunny sky is becoming a high and thin overcast.

The blocking drift log in the maze

I head into the top end of the maze, guessing that I have at least an hour to get through before the tide gets too low to pass.  A couple Willets are at the entrance, a few Yellow Legs as I continue, a couple of Yellow Crowned Night Herons, and a Canada Goose sitting on its nest.  I spot my first Marsh Wren, who gives away its position by singing. It is the only Marsh Wren that I see today. The water level is at the sweet spot where I can slip under the drift log that usually blocks the main, or most obvious route.

I exit at the bottom of the maze and head toward Milford Point.  Then, I paddle steady across the lower marsh, which will become mud flat in about an hour.  Quite a few Brandts in the marsh, usually see them closer to the point.  Pass an Oyster Catcher, and when I get to the east shore, either a Red-shouldered or Red-tail Hawk in a tree near the refuge launch. It looks like a young bird, and I'm not good enough to ID with the single view of it.

Brandts - a beautiful Goose

I cross the shallowest section with more than enough water, and head back up river. 

Oyster Catcher

In the Big Meanders

It is in the 60's and sunny with a light and pleasant wind coming down the river. The water is not particularly high and the current is perfectly do-able.  In fact, during high water the current in this section can be scary fast.

I head upstream.  This section of the river is three or four BIG meanders surrounded by flood plain farm land, which it has been for a few thousand years according to the archaeological record that has come out of those fields.

This stretch probably isn't big on most canoeists list, but it reminds me of the upper midwest rivers that I grew up near - the lower St. Croix and the Mississippi.  It can be a very peaceful place.

When I wrote, "BIG meanders", I meant turning slowly to the left for 50 minutes, then turning to the right for about the long, then back to the left.  

I spot a Wild Turkey not long after starting.  I chat with some fishermen - smart alec jokes back and forth.  Midwest humor translates completely here, one of the reasons I like this area.

I spot a pair of Bald Eagles as I near Glastonbury.  One is mature and the other is a first year and they are in a minor territorial spat.  When I cross the river over to the mouth of a big lagoon, I spot an Eagle nest at the far end of the lagoon, with a mature Eagle standing watch.  

There is a 1/4 mile stretch of willow saplings on the river-right bank just below Glastonbury.  I find a set of small beaver tracks as I approach.  The hind feet tracks and tail drag are fairly clear, but they come with the unmistakable scent of castoreum.  The willows are a popular feed zone and anything larger than a 1-inch diameter is rare with hundreds of beaver cut stumps and a lot of peeled sticks.  

New Beaver Buildings

Yesterday, I was blown out by unexpected wind in an area that didn't have any 2nd choices.  So today, I put in on the Mattebasset, which can be paddled in anything short of half a hurricane, if a tree doesn't fall on you, of course.  It is calm and overcast and about 50F, pretty much ideal canoe weather.  The water is a little high, but still well in the banks - there won't be any forest paddling, but I also won't be digging in the mud. 

I start upriver.  A pair of Wood Ducks, a few Mallards, two Great Blue Herons, and a few beaver peel sticks that probably drifted down as I don't see any obvious feed zones.  I get almost to the abandoned trestle.  The water is shallow and fast at this point and while I could get higher, the extra distance isn't worth the amount of work required to get there.  I turn back down.

I continue past my put in.  Another Great Blue Heron, an immature Bald Eagle, a few Mallards.  The Point Lodge has been refurbished.  The lodge has been flooded out a few times in the last year or so.  It was totally submerged on one of my trips.  Usually, beaver abandon a lodge that is flooded for any length of time, and the lodge begins to collapse.  The lodge looks like it has been rebuilt, a good sign.

The refurbished Point Lodge

There is a new lodge at the former Tepee Lodge site.  This is an all new construction put in since my last trip.  Tepee Lodge 3 stands just a few feet downriver from what little is left of the original.  The bank burrow on the opposite bank might also be in use, but I'll have to check back to be sure of that.

The brand new Tepee Lodge #3

I head up the Cognichaug getting almost to the power lines.  I forgot my saw or I would've been able to go higher.  Found another new beaver lodge near the high point.

On the way back I divert down to the meeting with the Connecticut River, just to see what is going on.  Then I begin my return. 

I find a gps watch that has been in the water for a few days at the put-in. 

Blow Out

I planned on a trip up to Lover's Leap.  It is sunny and in the 60's.  

I put in near the steel truss bridge that spans the river. It is windier than the weather forecast.  The wind is coming down the river and it looks dubious, but if I can find enough shelter along the shoreline it might go.

A half mile out, the river bends slightly.  The marginal shelter of the forested shoreline disappears altogether.  The wind is a steady 15-20 mph head on. My speed drops to something like a mile or a mile and a half per hour.  It will take a full half day to do the 6-1/2 miles to Lover's Leap.  If I had to get there, I could do it, but I don't have to get there.  

Time to call it a day.