It promised to be a nicer day, so we loaded up the canoe, and headed for the Chemung River. George thought that the best place to put in would be Fitch’s Bridge, so that was our starting point. We started paddling upstream, checking out the bird life as we went. We saw the swallow’s nests under the bridge.

We noted redwing blackbirds, grackles, gulls and crows.

We hit a patch of shallow water, where the current was especially fast, and we couldn’t get our paddles deep enough in the water to overcome it. So, we went with the flow, and let the current turn us back downstream. No paddling was needed, except to steer now and then. We continued on towards Elmira, enjoying the beautiful day, but keeping in mind that we needed to find a place before long to pull in, and make the walk back for the car.

Several mallards were ahead of us, and as we got closer, took flight.

We scared up a school of ducklings. They startled us, as much as we startled them, and I couldn’t get my camera soon enough with the current carrying us on down river. The only other interesting bird we encountered was a green heron near shore.

Eventually we heard signs of civilization, and saw a place to pull in. A young girl was biking towards us, and told us of our location. I stayed with the canoe, and continued to watch the activity around me - butterflies, tadpoles, small skinny snakes gliding through the water, and a cardinal that came down for a drink.

George was back in half an hour, and we loaded back up and were on our way. The next time we do this we will plan a little better, so we are free to make a longer run and have a ride back to the car.