Salmon River Lodge Check

I have a brief talk with a bird watcher who is eyeing the nearest Osprey nest, which is not much more than a 150 yards away, on the tip of Haddam Neck. He thinks that the hatchlings will be showing their heads in the next couple of days.  I don't say anything, but I figure they won't hatch for another week, and they rarely show their heads for a few more weeks. The Osprey started returning to their nests early this month, and it usually takes about 4 weeks for hatching. Of course, Eagles, Osprey, Hawks and other such birds start nesting early as the young birds have a lot of growing to get near adult size and be able to fly before they can leave the nest. 

It is a sunny and warm day with a fairly stiff wind out of the north. I head across the channel to the tip of Haddam Neck and follow the shoreline closely. The Neck has very little in the way of dry land.  It is mostly swamp, which is defined as marshland with trees. There are two very large beaver lodges, both of which can be seen from water. These lodges are particularly interesting as the colonies have built dams around the lodges with the purpose of capturing water from very high tides or high river levels - there are not any streams running through the Neck.

The Big Lodge Dam with the new second lodge in the background. 
The Big Lodge is out of the photo to the left

 
The Big Lodge is in good condition and the associated dam is looking very solid, better than I've ever seen it.  The water level behind the dam is 20 inches higher than cove level.  There is a new second lodge just 15 yards from the Big Lodge.  I don't know how this works as beaver are normally territorial and lodges usually have more space between them.  

The "haystack" pile is the abandoned 2nd Big Lodge.
Broken Dam in the foreground

The second big lodge, which is in the outside corner of the cove, is abandoned.  Although still standing at full height, it is a mess and the dam is broken.

The Dibble Creek Lodge

I head next to the Dibble Creek Dam, about another 200 yards in.  Dibble Creek drains out of a ravine in the no trespassing National Wildlife Refuge. There is an archaeological site in there that was a hunting camp from a few thousand years ago - atlatl people.  The dam is in a little bay below where the creek tumbles down in a short waterfall.  I think it is an old and well built dam as it has saplings growing from the actual dam. Today, all of the saplings have been gnawed off, but I have been here when it looks more like a growing fence.  I find a lodge on the west end of the dam, upstream of the dam, of course.  I wondered before where the lodge was and I'm surprised how close it is, but maybe it was hidden by cattails and shrubs when I was last here.

I head up the cove against the wind.  I flush a few Wood Ducks and spot a Green Heron a few yards in from the water.  When I get to the top of the cove I head direct up the Salmon River.  Spot a mature Bald Eagle and a couple of Osprey that are busy fishing. Up in the river, there are a dozen or so Common Mergansers well scattered.  

I turn back from the Leesville Dam, which has a good flow of water coming over it.  The water is high enough that all of the boulders below the dam are submerged. I head back following the main channel. Back at the cove, I head over to the Moodus and ascend up to Johnsonville without any trouble. I find one lodge as I head out plus the expected beaver sign.

The Moodus Lodge, mostly hidden by brush on the right

The wind has mellowed, but it is still out of the north. It is an easy paddle down the cove.