Lieutenant River

When I drove over the high bridge, it appeared that there might still be some skim ice on the big river. This hardly seemed likely, as we've had a few warm enough days with some rain. Of course, it is most likely just the gentle wind lightly rippling the water surface so that the seemingly endless overcast clouds shimmer in an icy reflection.

I put in on the Lieutenant River. It is one of those old friend rivers, big enough to be interesting, but never so upset by the weather to be threatening. No one else is around, of course. It is in the mid 40's with a light north wind and a scatter of rain drops that don't meet the definition of rain. The drops seem more to be water that got tired of drifting above on the air currents and it is never so much as to show on my clothing.

The bird of the day is the Common Merganser. I spot several small groups of male Mergansers. There may be some females, but at their scare distance, the males stand out clearly in their tuxedo feathering. A very noisy Hawk flies over. It might be a Sharp Shin based on the squared off tail.

The tide is out, but with a low tide coefficient for the day, the water never got down to its usual bottom. I cautiously paddle through Boulder Swamp, watching for the barely submerged canoe bangers that I know are there. With no wind on the water, they are doubly hidden. The Bald Eagles have not returned to their nest yet. The nest is easy to spot in winter, but when the leaves are out, it takes some staring up into the trees to find it, and it is only 20 yards from the water.

Mill Brook

I head up the bottom of Mill Brook. Usually this does not go at low tide. The water is quite clear. There are quite a few small pieces of broken pottery, as usual. Most of it is unidentifiable, too small to show off a distinctive curve that would tell me that it is a tea cup or plate or vase. The water is too low to paddle under the bridge, so I call it, far enough. There is about another 500 yards of brook up to an 18th century dam, but the frequent deadfalls often make it too much torture for such a short distance. On the way back out, I pick out a porcelain tea cup fragment. It has a printed design of a building with the words, "Education Building Albany, N..."

I head up into the top of Lieutenant River, flushing more Mergansers and working through the meanders until the marsh closes in. Then, I head back down.

I continue past my put-in wanting to check out the conditions on the big river. I spot a Harrier on the way. There is no ice on the river, so it was a figment of my imagination. But, there are a couple Loons out in mid channel and a group of four Long Tail Ducks, and another Male Merganser. With that, I call it a day and head back.