The Nell's Island Maze

I headed into the Wheeler Marsh. I'm making a map and needed a better idea of where the cut banks are and where the shoreline tends toward mudflat. I put in about 2 hours before high tide on a sunny day with a fresh breeze coming downriver. 

When I reach the marsh, I realize that this isn't the best time to be assessing the banks, as they are already mostly submerged.

I head up my inner sneak to the Central Phragmites patsh, finding a drift log blocking the last fifty yards. It is not really a drift log, it just looks like one. There is a rusty eyebolt and hook on the back side of the log, and it would be a pretty rare occurrence for a log to get where it is. Hunting season is just starting and I am pretty sure that this is a "road block" from the fish and game people. This location is a popular site for the Night Herons, and the log is probably a clever way to prevent someone from setting up a hunting blind on Night Heron turf. 

Mylar balloon stabathon...before and after

 

Night Herons are definitely the most numerous bird today, and i will spot a total of about fifty. Most are young, but there are also some adults - both Yellow Crowns and Black Crowns. 

I head out and continue around the marsh. I find a pair of Goose hunters in the lower marsh. They are wading about for some unknown reason, and figuring out that they don't want to wade in the Wheeler muck. I continue on to Nell's Channel. With the tide still rising, this is a perfect time to explore the interior of the island, which is a maze of channels and ponds. And, it really is a maze.

It is possible to cross the island, and I have done it west to east.  It is more challenging east to west, however. There are a good number of birds on the island - largely because I am probably the only person to come in here in a month or more. I flush a flock of 10 Green Wing Teal, many more Night Herons, severl Mallards, and when I stand up to see if I can find the exit channel, eight Great Blue Herons from a fairly small area. I do notice that the main interior channel on the island has cut banks, so I need to come in here when the water is lower.

After a half dozen wrong guesses, I find my way out into the main river , and head back upstream.