Friday, March 5, 2010

Sudbury River - Rt. 62 to Heaths Bridge & Return


While trash patrolling the Sudbury River between Rt.62 and Heaths Bridge (Sudbury Rd.) today, I noticed this damage to the Route 2 overpass near Emerson Hospital. Concord Police were notified and they're going to contact Mass Highway. Hopefully, the damage is only decorative and not structural.
It was kind of a weird day out on the water. In the brightening sky, the sun had a large ring similar to a rainbow completely surrounding it. The wind was still blowing out the north with a wintry bite. However, once out of the wind, the building warmth from the sun had a springlike feel. Kinda in between!
Thanks to the high water levels, floating trash was plentiful and accessible. A considerable amount of trash was gathered from alongside Route 2 near the wildlife underpasses.
After passing Clamshell Bank, I noticed what looked like two large birds on the ice in the distance...

At first I dismissed them as probably being stumps rising out of the water. Next, I spotted a large hawk in flight and while watching it through my binoculars discovered it was an eagle...

I watched it land on the ice next to the other two (not stumps) and then take flight again. Two of the three eagles seen had white heads and tails while the third did not and may have been an immature eagle. The three took off as I got nearer and shortly thereafter these four mergansers flew above me...

Just upstream of Heaths Bridge my boat and I made landfall for the purpose of transloading the day's catch and I noticed this sign where shore fishermen would gain access to the river...

It may be more effective if translated into the same langauges as the "Do Not Eat the Fish" signs nearby.
While ashore, all passengers, disembarked and enjoyed a brief leg-stretching in the mid-afternoon sunshine...

The total count for the day was 94 pieces of trash. Of these, 35 were recyclable (21 redeemable) and 59 were miscellaneous rubbish such as plastic bags, styrofoam in multiple forms, and some paper/cardboard. My YTD total stands at 579.
I've no idea why, but this morning I awoke thinking of my favorite passage from Thoreau's Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers..."By noon we were let down into the Merrimack through the locks at Middlesex, just above Pawtucket Falls, by a serene and liberal-minded man, who came quietly from his book, though his duties, we supposed, did not require him to open the locks on Sundays. With him we had a just and equal encounter of the eyes, as between two honest men."

3 comments:

Erik Eckilson said...

Wow – eagles – that’s pretty cool. They seem to be showing up in more and more places. I understand a pair has been seen a couple of times in southern RI.

Hey I did some trash picking yesterday on the Blackstone Canal in Lincoln, RI. My count doesn’t compare to your – 15 pieces of trash of these 13 were recyclable and 2 were miscellaneous rubbish. It’s a start.

Enjoy the warm days.


Erik

Al said...

Congrats fellow trash paddler! The Blackstone Canal is definitely cleaner for your efforts.
Only fair to warn you, though, it can become addictive!

Stephanie May said...

Thanks for your efforts on cleaning the river. I live on the Sudbury river very near Sherman's Bridge and also saw a trio of eagles like you described. Quite magnificent!