After the deluge

 What a few days it has been!  Here at the estuary we have fared better than a lot of places.

Saturday, November 13th, here is what it looked like at the estuary....you can just make out some white heads down there in about the middle of the photo.

it was this trio of Bald Eagles, along with a gull and Common Merganser in the background....just a typical sort of scene for us this time of the year.  This was before it started to rain. We didn't venture out at all on the Sunday while the rain fell in sheets all day long.

Monday morning, the 15th, here is what it looks like, that bush down there, beyond the wildlife management area signs, is the same bush that fills the right side of the first photo.

and by afternoon, it was even higher....it peaked just shortly after this.

Tuesday morning and the sun was shining, at least some of the time, and the water started to drop.

We ventured over to the dyke, which is only a 5 min. drive away

to find the dyke was now a road as it was the only way for residents living near the Kilby site to get in and out, as the actual road was under water.

this is the field beside the local community hall and post office.

no beach along the river right now, at least the river was starting to clear and not the muddy mess it had been on Sunday.

we did have a few pleasant surprises, like spotting Buffleheads for the first time this season

and a couple of Double Crested Cormorant.  There was a time when cormorant were a common sight here but not anymore, so this was a treat.

and there were a couple of Bald Eagles.  Some people have been thinking the salmon will be loving the high water, but in reality it is the absolute worse scenario.  Any eggs already laid will either be washed away or covered in silt and live Salmon need gravel to spawn in, if they are up in the bush or areas where salmon should never be, they won't find gravel and even if they do spawn, the chance of any eggs hatching and making it out in the spring are slim to none.  Then there are the eagles to consider. If waters don't go down really quickly, they have no way of getting to any dead salmon that haven't got washed out to sea, and no where to sit to eat them. It is a rather desperate situation all round. 

there is one of the farm fields.  There was lots of splashing going on way out there so maybe the eagles will be able to catch a few ducks and gulls to tide them over.