Well, my luck finally ran out and nobody joined me for my trip on the Lower Westport River Friday morning. So, I slept a little later and took my time getting to the put-in. I originally was going to launch at 9:00am, but by the time I got on the water it was 10:00. I was sort of waiting for it to get a little warmer out, as the temperature was only about 55 degrees. The wind was blowing steadily out of the northwest which messed up my plan to head up the West Branch. With the wind chill, I decided to get out of the heaviest wind by checking out the lower section of the East Branch instead. There is a section called "The Let" that goes all the way down to the back of East Horseneck beach. From the chart, it looked like a pretty thin section of land, so it seemed like a good spot to land and walk across to see what the beach is like. So I headed under the route 88 bridge and started looking for the opening to the "Let".
The first thing I saw was great egrets.
I had a little trouble finding the right opening to the Let and made a wrong turn or two trying to find a shortcut through the marshes.
It all looked so simple and clear-cut on the chart. But I decided to just search for the far shore and follow that instead of looking for shortcuts. The big rocky islands in the lower part of the Westport are intriguing to me. They seem out of place.
As usual, there were osprey around and as usual, I heard this one before I spotted it.
When I finally found the right opening to the Let, it had some sort of aqua-culture farm.
When I got to the end of the Let, it looked like there may have been cottages there in the past but now there were just a few trailers and sheds.
I got out and took a look around. There seemed to be some hurricane damage.
But it looked like most of the lots were set up for trailers and their sheds were intact, so my guess is that the trailers were evacuated and the only storm damage was to the beach.
Looking back up the Let.
On the way back up-river I came across this great egret that showed me the contrast in how curved and how straight his neck could be.
When I got back up into the main river, I came across this bird that looked like a vulture. Not sure what it is.
This egret stood out with the bright sun shining on it.
Many of the osprey nest stands were wiped clean of nest materials. I wonder if the hurricane winds ruined them.
I meandered around the rocky islands of the lower east branch.
This great egret showed how they really stretch there neck out straight when they walk.
Looks like they closed up this cottage for the season.
I went back under the route 88 bridge and headed for the West Branch. Westport Point looked like an old fishing village and all the white trim stood out brightly in the sun.
Making my way up the West Branch, I came across a snowy egret that looked like it was hunching down to stay out of the wind compared to the great egret to its left.
The wind was pretty strong. The chill was not as bad as it was when I arrived in the morning, but now the tide was falling and it seemed very shallow.
I decided I didn't want to get stuck searching for channels later on if I went all the way up the West Branch, alone, in a river I knew nothing about and with a strong following wind. So, I turned around and rode the wind back to the boat ramp.
I think the tide was at maximum ebb as I had to ferry across the strong current to get to the ramp, but since I had stayed far enough up-river, close to the bridge, I think I avoided the worst spot that the books warn you about near the ramp. Once I got in close, it was calm enough to take a picture of the ramp.
Here is a topo map of the area with my route highlighted. I guess I didn't make it up the West Branch very far at all. The total distance I paddled was 9.3 miles.
Time to get accustomed to some cooler paddling days! At least the water in the Westport was nice and warm.
Lower Westport River - 9/16/11
Moderator: Chip
Re: Lower Westport River - 9/16/11
Yes, that was a turkey vulture you saw. I often see them circling high overhead but was never able to get
a close look at one to confirm.
Mike
a close look at one to confirm.
Mike
Re: Lower Westport River - 9/16/11
Thanks for the ID Mike. I never got around to looking it up in a bird book to find out what it was.