Saturday, July 5, 2008

Sudbury River- Rt. 62 to Sherman's Bridge & Back

Patrolled the Sudbury River at sunrise on this very quiet morning after the 4th of July. Conditions were cloudy skies, some low hanging fog/mist, river smooth as glass, and little to no wind. Because of the misty conditions, objects gradually emerged out of the blurry background. There were no sharp contrasts. Two spotted fawns thus materialized just downstream of the Route 2 bridge. They were bedded down in the marsh grass. Also observed numerous red-winded blackbirds, a few belted kingfishers, 1 eastern kingbird, mumerous tree swallows, great blue herons, 1 green heron, 1 muskquash, and the usual geese and ducks. Most of the trash was in the area of the Sudbury Road bridge, as usual. Had 26 empty containers before going under the bridge. From there all the way to Sherman's Bridge, there was only 1 plastic bag.
Once again, the I had the river pretty much to myself. I encountered 1 person fishing from a blue kayak in Fairhaven Bay. No motor boats at all. At Sherman's Bridge, there were 4 guys sitting in lawn chairs. They had their fishing poles attached to the bridge and it looked like they were fishing on the bottom, perhaps for carp. After passing under the bridge, I turned around at the buoy and began heading back downriver. Reaching the Route 2 bridge, I came across the same 2 spotted fawns, but this time their mother was with them. Then just before the railroad bridge, I spotted another doe bedded down in the grass.
Today's paddle was quite different than the paddling I'll be doing at the same time next saturday. Then, my paddle blades will be dipping into the salty water of Cape Ann as I participate in the annual Blackburn Challenge in Gloucester, MA. Participants circumnavigate Cape Ann in human powered boats of all kinds. Check it out at: www.blackburnchallenge.com
At my take-out location, I had 27 empty containers, 18 of which were recycleable. YTD = 1410

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