We got about 2 inches of snow last night. But with it, the temperature started to warm. Yesterday morning it was 15F. Today, it will rise to over 40F. The snow will melt. It is, definitely, a winter canoe day with not only pleasant temperatures, but also no more than a 5mph wind.
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| Bufflehead Drake |
The big treat of the day comes just as I reach the marsh. A snipe takes off from the edge of the water, does a zig and a zag, as they do when flying, and settles down out of view in the grasses. I rarely see Snipe, and thinking about it, it has been in colder weather. I suppose the cold ground moves them closer to the water for food.
There are more Canada Geese and Ducks than normal, and they are more distributed over the marsh than usual. Ice up farther inland has pushed birds down here. It's often most noticeable by the number of Swans that show up, although today, they are somewhere I am not. By Cat Island, I flush a flock of a hundred Geese.
There's a pick up truck at the refuge launch and I find a hunter about 200 yards away. He waves me through his Goose decoys, hasn't had any luck yet, but he's only been sitting there for an hour.
There is little ice in the marsh and most of it is fully rotten salt water ice. The canoe doesn't cut through it but rather just mushes through as if paddling through a pond full of frozen peas.
I get over to Nell's Channel too soon, so I cut back through the center aiming for the Central Phragmites patch. There is some fir ice here as this is spot is protected from the wind and never sees a current of any account. I push up onto it, some breaks under the weight and some just gets pushed down. Then, I cut through the marsh over to Cat Island and head out and back up river.
