Nest Check

A couple hundred yards before the Boulder Swamp, I spot a mature Bald Eagle soaring in a thermal about 300 ft up. The only wing motion over the next couple minutes is a subtle dip of one wing to adjust its turn. When I reach the Boulder Swamp, the Eagle is directly overhead and about a 100 ft higher.  Then, it turns east and glides off until disappearing behind the trees. In another minute, another mature Bald Eagle comes in from the north.  It heads towards a nest that I am familiar with.  I get to the nest just in time to see the Eagles do a shift change, trading off the hunting and egg sitting roles.

The old mill race, which is about the same size as the river at this point

I make my way through the Boulder Swamp. At a lower tide one has to slow down to avoid pasting one of the many barely submerged boulders, which I assume are substantial leftovers from the ice age. The Lieutenant River narrows significantly after the boulders, coming down from Rogers Lake as little more than a steep creek. The river presents its usual M O. with the channel blocked by a good sized deadfall. I have only once made it up the next 1/3 of a mile to a old mill dam. I don't need to go up there bad enough to clamber over this deadfall. On a positive note, the deadfall is the result of beaver gnawing halfway through the trunk.

Common Merganser - male

I back out and take the other arm, a meandering dead end  that heads into a dense cattail marsh.  I flush some Black Ducks and several Wood Duck pairs. Then, I back out of there and head down river, passing my put-in with intentions of going to the Watch Rocks. I retrieve a wandering paddleboard, which is in new condition.  I deposit it on the nearest dock as it should belong to someone nearby. The winter winds have been tough this year - (I noticed that the canoe abuse guy at the top of the Boulder Swamp - he owns an high quality canoe that he leaves outside to rot in the UV light... the new discoloration in the kevlar laminate looks like it must have gone sailing around his property)

There is a Red Throated Loon at the railroad bridge. It is actively fishing and with each dive it moves away from me. It's the first Red Throated of the spring. 

Green Wing Teal

I's quiet down to the Watch Rocks. But then, there are about a hundred Green Wing Teal in the bay just above the rocks. I take a short break on an island near the rocks, and then wander back exploring some side channels, which it turns out, connect.