Old River Birding Trip
Dec. 27, 2016
by Harmon Everett

 

First, the morning was VERRY FOGGGY. Second, the turnout at the 1409 Bridge over Old River had a dead, and VERY ROTTEN hog carcass dumped at it. It STUNK. I think I must have driven over some of it, because my truck now stinks and it has been 3 days. Going to have to go wash it at the power wash.



Bruce Bodson has run these Bird Count trips for several years, and this one for December 27 was scheduled to start on Pickett’s Bayou, run down across the Cutoff, and then end up going on Old River for a couple of miles to end up at the 1409 Bridge.

It was a very warm December morning and Christy Long, David Portz, myself, and Bruce showed up at the very smelly Old River Bridge. After waiting to see if anybody else was going to show, we followed Bruce to the put in at the Champion Lake Boat ramp in the Trinity River NWR. It was profoundly foggy. We put in and began paddling down Pickett’s Bayou.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw several Great Blue Heron, a couple of flocks of Red Winged Blackbirds, Robins, Cormorants, Anhingas, Blue Jays, and 30 other different kinds of birds. You’ll have to ask Bruce for the complete list.

The Sun eventually reluctantly came out and we paddled in some of the more remote little byways in the swamp through there.

Dave kept looking for any owls, but was not successful.

I hadn’t paddled stern in years, and it was a pleasure paddling with Christy supporting from the bow.

 

We stopped for lunch on a short muddy bank. When it was time to launch back out again, Christy spent some time looking for old branches with lots of sphagnum moss on them, and sticks and limbs to pile up next to the boat for a makeshift mat or ramp to walk on, and not sink into the mud getting into the boat. I’ll have to remember that trick, it worked great.

After a full and fascinating day learning about birds with Bruce, we came back to the bridge at 1409 and the smelly carcass. I don’t have pictures of that, as I was intent on getting out of there as fast as possible.

 

The author, Harmon Everett