Sunday, May 30, 2010

Sudbury River - River Rd. to Power Lines & Back

This quiet Sunday morning was enjoyed while trash patrolling the Sudbury River from River Road to the power lines near the Allen H. Morgan Avian Study Area.   Construction at the Route 20 bridge is just about complete as the photo at left shows.  The area looks nice and the boat launch was being used despite the silt fence still being in place.

Trash was light until Indian Point and the outflow of Heard Pond where the numbers began to add up.  Most of what was recovered today looked pretty old and may have been repositioned by the March floods.

A little ways past the outlet from Heard Pond, I came upon this unfortunate male wood duck...
 
It appeared he was unable to fly and also had trouble keeping afloat. A female wood duck was just around the bend and seemed to be staying nearby.


Not too far away was this large snapping turtle with a head as big as my hand...
Other wildlife seen today were eastern kingbirds, red-winged blackbirds, belted kingfishers, tree swallows, robins, red-tailed hawks, blue herons, a great egret, painted turtles, and mallards.

On the return trip the river was much busier with folks fishing, canoeing and kayaking.

Today's trash haul spread out on a rare section of rocky (less muddy) shore...
The count for the day was 114 and it broke down as follows: 46 recyclable containers (4 redeemable) and 68 pieces of miscellaneous rubbish such as tennis balls, a softball, styrofoam cups/pieces, plastic bags, and nip bottles.  YTD total stands at 2710.

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