The weather was very overcast at Abigail Adams Park at a little after 10:00am. There was a lobster boat pulling a string of traps just inside the route 3a bridge so I steered close to shore and just watched them work and stayed out of their way. It didn't look like they had anything in their traps. Since I was alone and in no hurry, I decided to hug the right shoreline all the way up and back to make the trip longer. I soon found that there seemed to be some annoying biting bugs, probably no-see-ums or something, so if you take this trip it would be advisable to put on some bug spray.
Lobster Boat in Weymouth Back River
There are 4 or 5 poles set up on either side of the river for Osprey nests. I think all but one had active nests.
Two Osprey
The old concrete bridge that stands as an obstacle to heading up through the tunnels to Jackson Square didn't allow me enough headroom to pass under so that was my turning point. I wasn't too keen on heading up there in the 18' fiberglass boat anyway...would rather be in a shorter plastic boat when heading all the way upstream till stopped by the shallows. There's not really much you can see up there from the water anyway. On the way back is when I took the most time to view the bright white Snowy Egrets. One of them seemed much larger than the 3 that stood posing together. The bird book said it was a Great Egret.
Great Egret and 3 Snowy Egrets
It is best to time your trip on this tidal river to catch high tide so you can get the best view over the marsh grasses if you are looking for birds. It also makes the paddling easier if you head into the river with the rising tide and leave on the falling tide. The scenery on this river is not the greatest with so many power lines, a building that looks like an old incinerator site and the remains of so many old millitary bunkers. But, if you can ignore the man-made scars, there is a lot of winged wild-life to view. I don't visit here enough to be an expert on the site, but I know there can be a lot more motorboat activity on warm summer days. But the motorboats usually don't venture all the way upriver where the birds are found. They tend to raft up just inside the bridge in a wide area to the left.
Of course as I was heading back to the take-out, the sun came out. But I had a good time anyway. The overcast may have kept the traffic down and the birds closer to the water's edge where I could see them.
So, if you like to go birdwatching and don't want to travel too far, try the Weymouth Back River.
