Water is flowing fast and flooding the sandy banks, rocks and other land forms where people usually sit and picnic.
This part of the river is called San Juan Rapids because this area is very rocky and usually fairly shallow. Water is always moving swiftly here. Today, far faster and deeper than any other time.
During the summer I can sit on a rock and dangle my feet into shallow water to cool off. More water will come as melted snow rushes down navigates through the Sierra Nevada mountains into the American River.
To my far left, I catch a quick glance at a family of Canada Geese emerging from the rocks and walking into a quiet, shallow area between rocks for a swim. Nine tiny goslings and their parents. My first sighting of babies this year! On my ride back home, I see a skinny little snake about 12” long in the middle of the bike path. I dragged it to the dirt and the back half of its body wriggled and curved. The top half was still. I think it was near death. I let it lay in peace.Read more
Visitors crowd the Fair Oaks Bridge taking professional photographs using the American River as a scenic backdrop. The riverbanks are crowded with people enjoying picnic dinners. All people, no wildlife.
As I arrive at the cement bench that has been sitting on its back all year (and shown in my latest blog). The bench is upright again! Did someone read my post or is this an odd coincidence?
During the summer, this area is usually so shallow, we can walk at least 1/3 of the way across the river as water rises to our knees. Now a dozen feet of the riverbank is underwater.
I ride on and sit at the riverbank and picnic area where in the fall I watched 100 seagulls, on the opposite shore to my right, wait for salmon to come by and ducks swim, splash and dive near an island to my left. Now the river is running so high, all the islands are underwater and unseen, the waterfowl have moved somewhere else along the river corridor. This section is far too deep and moving too swiftly to find food.
Six Canada geese fly over and disappear as they fly further west. As I prepare to leave the shoreline and keep riding on, I see a Great Blue Heron appear over the water and continue its flight further west. My first sighting of the year!
Waterfowl are here…where to look remains the big question.
I pass by two ducks on a walk for food during a short bike ride on the American River Parkway. They stop to investigate what morsels they find in the dirt. Finding nothing, they cross the path. I continue to monitor the river to see what waterfowl have returned. The river is still too deep and the search for food remains a challenge.
Walking for food on a sunny afternoonWandering across the bike path
On my short bike ride this evening, I stop at the boat launch ramp nearby Fair Oaks Bridge to get a closer look at two new families of Canada Geese. I watch the goslings tiny webbed feet paddle through the water. An exciting day to see new life at the river!
Two families going for a swim.Tiny webbed feet paddle as fast as they can go.
Walking through Fair Oaks Village today, all the chickens are silent except for one.
One solo chicken hides in a tree on my way to the Fair Oaks Bridge. It calls every five seconds, over and over and over again. I hear its faint call from the bridge some 100 yards away.
“Where is everyone?” “I am awake!”
Dense clouds float above my head. It is a chilly and windy morning. I have already seen half dozen cyclists and several walkers. A lone boater was in the water and more preparing to enter the river. The water is calm. Pigeons coo as they straddle the upper bridge frame. Parts of the bridge are covered in spider webs blown apart by winds.
Even after 20 minutes of standing on the bridge, I still hear the chickens calling and the music of birds singing while hidden in nearby trees. Three ducks play in the water at the end of the boat ramp. I hear the distant honk of a single Canada Goose and see it fly under the bridge and continue its west facing flight. Pigeons are the only ones flying this morning. I watch a new family of Canada geese swim over to the riverbank, climb up and disappear into the shrubbery. The rocks are laid bare after the severe flooding washed away so many hiding places.Read more
Lovely, quiet morning. The air chilled, a slight breeze blowing. Scattered, puffy white clouds fill the sky.
I missed Fair Oaks Village and the chickens today. I rode my bike from home directly to the boat launch ramp. My morning melody is birds in trees chirping and twittering, combined with the distant buzz of motorcycles and humming cars crossing the Sunrise Blvd. bridge.
Canada geese and ducks are silent and still as they sit at the dry end of the boat ramp. Some ducks engaged in their morning clean up rituals. Sunrise is so early, the sun is well above the trees before I arrive. Pigeons wander the riverbank cooing and searching for nibbles. No people are here save a few boaters waiting on bites from shad.
Minutes later the geese and ducks wander up the boat launch ramp looking for breakfast. They approach me waiting for handouts.
I take a lot of photos walking and cycling along the American River Parkway. Here is a sampling of what I found in the past week that did not fit into other blog posts.
Slow and deliberate caterpillar moves head from side to side and slowly forward.
Roaming the boat launch ramp looking for breakfast
Rode my bike across the bridge this morning, so I missed the chicken’s morning serenade in Fair Oaks Village. Canada geese (all 70 of them) are roaming the grounds alongside Jim’s Bridge – now open! A visitor has marked the place by stacking rocks.
When I arrive at the boat launch ramp three mallards are sitting quietly at the far end barely in the water. A crowd of pigeons are standing on the road behind the ramp. They hear me come and with a flutter of feathers, they rise, scatter and fly away.
An ideal day to spend at the American River after a week of scorching heat all day and evening.
I approached Jim’s crossing over the river and see no waterfowl. Not a single one! Where are they? So much has changed since the winter floods to those who visit the river regularly and see the difference.
I ride to the boat launch ramp before riding up to the Fair Oaks Bridge. Fishermen are out in their boats, hoping to catch Shad Skippers. These men are the second group of fisherman out on the river in the past couple weeks trying their luck. Kayaks are launching into the river.
Two boats are already in the water with one more to launch. The boat sits in front of a backdrop composed of Canada Geese. From a distance it appears they are floating backwards. Maybe they are as the geese roll along with the current.Read more
One hundred cyclists pass me on the American River Parkway in groups of four to six all wearing cycling spandex with logos. Some casual riders pass without bicycle helmets.
Bridge is quiet and filled with spider webs and captured prey. Woodpeckers are flying through the dead tree, looking for breakfast. My first stop after crossing the bike bridge is the boat launch ramp and then Fair Oaks Bridge. Today another scorching day of least 100 degrees, so early morning is the best time to be outside.
Most of the Canada Geese (all 70 of them) wander their early morning hours at the rocky shore alongside Jim’s Bridge – the cycling/pedestrian bridge completely submerged during winter flooding. They scavenge the rocks for food and later enter the water for a leisurely swim.
Geese climb the boat ramp and beyond into the dirt searching for breakfast. Mallards fly in from the opposite shore. I watch a group of four of them glide into the water straightening their legs and using them as water skis to quickly come to a stop. I watch the action and miss the photos.
Using feet to balance while eating breakfast upside downBobbing for breakfast
Standing close to the water, I watch the Canada Geese and ducks and can see their feet paddling along under the water. I see all of them bobbing up and down in the water as they go. Their heads move forward and back. The once tiny goslings are big now. Their characteristic black stripe is darkening on their necks.
As I stand on the boat ramp, four of the ducks are engaged in morning cleaning rituals. Three others are sleeping with their head tucked under their wing. In the distance I hear one lonely chicken call.
