November Shows Up

It has been very windy and rainy for a few days, a spin-off from a powerful hurricane a long way south of here.  Today arrives sunny with a moderate wind.  I put in on the far side of town for a trip into the Wheeler Marsh.  The tide is an hour and a half past high, so I get an easy downriver ride to the good stuff.

It might be a bit late in tidal terms to make a run through the Nell's Island maze.  I probably could make it through most of the channels, but if I get misplaced, the narrower escape channels will already be closed off.  So, I run my simple clockwise circuit.

Ruddy Duck

I head down the channel that leads to the central phragmites patch.  I flush 15 or 20 Black Ducks and Mallards, and then a flock of fifty migratory Canada Geese.  This confirms that it is not hunting season, as those birds stick to the outer parts of the marsh where hunting is not allowed. As I make my way through the marsh over to Nell's channel, I flush a few more Ducks.  Near Nell's, I flush a juvenile Night Heron, and then spot a half dozen Brandts, then a Ruddy Duck in winter colors.  I don't see a lot of Ruddys and usually assume that the small low floating Duck is a Grebe until I can zoom in with a photo.

Brandt

I head out paddling up Nell's.  There are following waves in the river, a result of tide and wind opposing.