Fog

Low tide was just over two hours ago as I put in at Bear House Hill Road. But, there is a very high tide coefficient, which basically means there will be a very low tide and a very high tide. My timing is good however, as I expected to have to wade a couple times before clearing the Gravel Flats, and I manage to do that distance without stepping out of the canoe at all, although I do have to thread a few narrow gaps between boulders. 

It is foggy and somewhere near 50F. There is a very light wind coming up the river.  It sprinkles briefly, and very sparsely as if just a few random drops are forming in the overhead fog. I spot three Osprey before getting to the Clapboard Hill Bridge.

The only shorebirds that I see today are Yellow Legs, and they are quite regular in the stretch between Clapboard Hill Bridge and the railroad bridge. I see none in the salt marsh below the railroad. There are no Willets, yet. 

With the tide still low, I stay in the East River, enjoying the fog, which has erased any man-made visuals from the route. Most of the Osprey nests appear to have both of the mates.  

The fog lifts as I paddle up the Neck River and Bailey Creek.  Only then do I spot a few Great Egrets, which were invisible in the fog. I flush some Black Ducks and Green Wing Teal in the upper part of Bailey Creek.  Black Ducks seem to prefer this out of the way area and I find them here all winter long.

I take the Long Cut back across to the East River, the tide having filled the narrow channel for easy passage. I return back up the Eat River with a moderate flood current helping me along. I can power through right up to my start point, all of the boulders and deadfalls of the low tide well submerged.