A great day to dip into the river upside down to search for food. Do ducks get angry when visitors do not bring them food? At sunset, what do ducks do to prepare their children for the night?
Anxious Seagulls Wait at the River
Friday, September 7, 2018 1030 am 91 degrees
As we moved farther into September, we are getting close to the arrival of our fall run of Chinook Salmon.
The river runs especially low as the weir is being installed in the river at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. The normally shallow area, I have often described as “the narrows” in previous blogs, is more rocks than water today. The rocky area pictured is a short walk from Fair Oaks Bridge.
How things will change in a month! Salmon will be swimming upriver to spawn, jumping and splashing through the narrow area.
Visitors are likely to see a dozen salmon swim through in less than an hour. Seagulls, Turkey Vultures, Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Canada Geese, Cormorants and ducks will all be watching for their turn to enjoy a salmon lunch or dinner.
I continue my bike ride on the Parkway until I reach the long paved path that veers off the bike trail and ends at the river. The island pictured attracts 100 seagulls and a dozen Turkey Vultures during the peak of salmon spawning.
I have often seen people wandering on the other side of the river with no idea how they get there. I recently walked with a Meetup group to Sailor’s Bar. For the first time, I saw the river from the other side. Sailor’s Bar is another beautiful series of easy walks around a large pond with access to the river.
Twenty seagulls are already waiting anxiously for salmon to arrive. For now, they float lazily on the water. Some fly to change their position. Turkey vultures patrol the island. I see these large birds flying across the sky and settling in trees on every walk along the river.