Tanya Wagner

I needed peace and quiet this morning and the towpath delivered in spades. It was cold, but not bitter. The canal was shrouded in mist and the water was glazed with a thin slurry of ice. There was a whisper of wood smoke in the air. Far away, I could hear the piercing cry of a hawk. Every now and then, a chorus of honking geese flew overhead in v-formation.

Along the canal, white tree trunks reached up like clawed hands to scratch the belly of the sky. Across the river, a variegated forest stood, mysterious. We stopped to watch a cardinal on the far side of the canal. We heard the crunch of leaves as a small herd of deer marched single file through the undergrowth. Every now and then, we spotted a head or hoof, but they stayed out of sight for the most part.

I turned to scan the river and spotted an eagle perched low on the far bank. As I watched him, another mature eagle swooped down and soared up the river and out of site. Chuck and I watched the remaining eagle for a long time. We were lucky to see it leave its perch and fly up to sit in clear view in the branches of a towering sycamore. Finally, it took flight and disappeared with a few powerful flaps of its wings and we moved on down the trail.

It was cold today. Had the gray sky opened up, it would have dropped a messy confusion of rain and snow. An incredible number of robins gathered in the bushes, eating little red berries. They flitted across the trail and drank from the canal. I’ve never seen so many! It was a surprise to me since I think of the robin as a springtime bird.

Suddenly, a furry critter came into view just where the trail curved out of sight. Chuck and I both froze, watching it. It was small with a long tail. I couldn’t see it well. I hoped maybe it was a mink or a fox. We moved forward slowly, watching it carefully. As we drew closer, it darted off the trail. We continued stalking it until we finally came upon it on a grassy side trail. I had to laugh when I saw that it was just a lovely kitty.

We moved on again and soon came upon a little herd of deer. They froze and stared at us for a moment before bounding into the tall grasses. There, they stopped. The young one peered at me through the grass, clearly hoping we would just go away.

A red-tailed hawk landed in a nearby tree. As I focused the camera on it, I noticed another larger bird perched in the same tree. It was a juvenile eagle! I managed a couple shots and we tried to get closer, but the eagle took off. We followed it up the river for a mile or so, trying to get near, but spooking it into flight every time.

We turned back at the eagle’s nest near Station Road. On the return, our pace was quicker. We stopped to watch some ducks and a few small Carolina wrens and cardinals. As we drew near the trailhead, I spotted another eagle perched high above the river on the far bank. This one was a mature eagle, standing regally as the wind stirred his feathers. No matter how many times I see them, I don’t think I’ll ever get over the majesty of these birds!

It was colder on the trail than I thought it would be. Incredible mist hovered and swirled over the canal on my left and the river on my right. We could hear deer crashing through the bushes, but enough leaves still cling to the branches to conceal them from sight. Here and there, we spotted a cardinal or a bluejay.

On the far side of the canal, I heard the loud rapping of a pileated woodpecker. I’ve been trying all summer to photograph one, but they are always too high in the trees, or too far away. I stopped and sat on the ground, hoping this one would come out into the open. I 0

could see it at the base of a tree, little flickers of its head and wings as it moved around, but never a clear shot. Finally, my fingers were aching and Chuck was restless to we had to move on.

We came to a place where the view of the river opens up. The riverbed is wide and the water moves around a large stony beach, rushing in channels and then slowing as it flows through wide pools. There is a beautiful stand of sycamore trees on the far bank. High up in one of the trees, I spotted something large and dark. A bald eagle! It stood on a creamy branch surrounded by decorative seed balls. It was so beautiful! I watched it as it watched the water. Suddenly, its posture changed; it stood taller and leaned forward. Then, it swooped off the branch toward the water. It turned before striking and soared off into the forest.