022 The Gritty Side of the River

Building a bridge is a messy business - like remodeling a house but the off-cuts and debris piles are much bigger and the penalty for miscalculation is much greater.

We decided to take a closer inspection of the under-construction river-crossing, and walked through this sidewalk "trough" to the river.



I think they want us to go around.



Birds don't have to obey the detour and "Keep Out" signs.







"Pile it high" is the operative policy.



Knowing we were going to a construction site, I wore my old watch and my favorite, completely-worn-out shirt. But the river doesn't care about frayed cuffs, does it?



Yesterday was bright and clear and warm. Today is cool and murky.



But the ducks seemed happy enough



as did these cute little guys.



There were a half-dozen herons hunting.



This guy looked left and right



then headed for more promising spot. It's very difficult to follow a flying bird, even a big white one.



He's not taking a nap in the shot below, he's flying.



Following on my luck / success with the heron, my wife pointed out a hawk. Out of 6-7 photos (single shots) I got two keepers.

Scanning the ground:



Sudden Braking:



Here is a series on three cormorants, perched and grooming themselves. I walked about 100-150 yards during this sequence.





A wide shot so you can see the total context of birds and the construction crane.



There was always one bird on guard while the others preen their feathers.







We had a long walk back to the car through much heavier traffic that we had anticipated.



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