Further along the way, I stopped to admire a patch of unusually-tall thistles growing near the path - spiked giants plumed like royalty, each with a vivid purple crown. With a sense of nostalgic recall, I remembered my childhood growing up in the UK where I would often come across them. Around me, I could feel the marsh resounding with many ‘conkaree’ calls of male Red-winged Blackbirds. There must have been at least 20 flying about calling and displaying, and was surprised that a smallish marsh like this could support so many. A few females were around too but I expect most of them would be on their nests in amongst the thicker verbiage. More distant and from opposite sides of the marsh were two Common Yellowthroat’s singing, and I could hear the twittering of Chimney Swifts from high above me. I stood for a while as the sweet scent of summer grasses drifted around me and a faint hint of flowers hung in the heavy humid air, almost like a memory. Over to my right was a large expanse of cattails and tall marsh grasses. Pickerelweed and yellow pond lilies were in and around the deeper water channels in front and to the left of me. I had often seen herons and egrets fishing here but they were absent today. The tall grass meant that it was often difficult to see into the water which teemed in places with small fish, and the swirl of what could have been a much larger one. Occasionally I have seen Ospreys overhead but they seldom seem to catch anything. In the shorter grass, I found a Red-eared Terrapin with some damage to the rear of its shell. This didn’t seem to hinder it though and as I turned it over in my hands to examine the underside, it gave out a long stream of urine (a defense mechanism I believe). After concluding that it was healthy, I put it back on the grass again and I left it to continue on its way.
Where the mud opened out a little on the right, I spied a female Wood Duck through a gap in the cattails. It stretched its neck but didn’t fly preferring to slowly slide into thicker vegetation until it was hidden. Barn Swallows were very active and were nesting under the boardwalk where I could hear excited calls coming from their young. They flitted in and around the bridge where a short water channel cut across the main walkway giving me some close views of the adults.
There are also a lot of non-breeding Canada Geese around this year, at least 25 or so were present resting further away on my left but I counted over 60 in the river last week. Having started going through their wing moult, they are all flightless now and the ones I come across near the river bank are understandably cautious, quickly heading back to water whenever one gets close. Last year there were many young ducklings and goslings in the marsh but this year, the few that did breed had only two or three chicks with them – perhaps this was due to more predators about. Later, the female Wood Duck flew in giving its mournful cries. These were answered excitedly by her 3 chicks which had been hidden amongst the vegetation and surged towards her as she landed – a touching sight. Eventually though, after discovering most of what the marsh had to offer that day, I made my way back along the boardwalk looking for the killdeer again.
I didn’t see it until I was so close that it flushed and flew a short distance away to another area of the marsh giving its usual strident ‘kildee dee dee’ calls. Returning home again in a much better frame of mind, I had plenty of new inspiring material to get on with.
All watercolor studies done in my Grumbacher sketchbook.
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