End of the Canoe Excursion

We paddled about three miles north with some leisure. Stopping to admire a tree or ID a raptor.  I had my telephoto only, so capturing the wide open spaces was a little hard.  

There were little treasures to swing out and away from the shore and avoid.

We disturbed this crow who was working on a mid-morning snack.  He flew just ahead along the shore and then when we were closer we guessed it was a bivalve of some kind that he was opening with his can-opener bill.  When he finished he dropped it into the water and it looked like a mussel as we coasted by.

Blurry with the waggle of the canoe.

Finally we reached the point of land that hid a cove just behind.

And just beyond a little spit of beach which was perfect for lunch.  We brought the canoe up tight and began sorting through the food, mostly snacks of one sort or another.

I was not as hungry and instead began exploring with the camera once again.

Geese, raccoons, deer and herons had all spent early or late light on this beach.  Their footprints and calling cards were everywhere.

No matter which direction you looked, it was a great view for lunch.  Finally we decided to poke into the marsh at the end of this cove as the tide was high enough.  There was a beaver living there and we wanted to see if he still was in residence.  I did not get a clear shot of his house but we did disturb two red-tailed hawks in the marsh grass.  They took to the trees at first, but because it all happened so fast and hubby stood in the canoe to see the beaver dam frightening the hawks off into the field, I only got this one quick shot below.

If you want to see a LOVELY truly expert shot of a red-tailed hawk...go here to Daniels blog.   That is what my photo was supposed to look like if I had a tripod and a husband who did not need to get a better view by standing in the canoe!