the Way of the Turtle

LOOK! AN EAGLE!
25.3 Mile Bike Ride Along the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path, Cohoes Falls, and Colonie Mohawk River Park
Friday, March 27, 2009

Admittedly, going for my longest ride so far this year may not have been the smartest move in the book, but today was just too nice a day to stop early and head home. And the extra miles definitely paid off, since I saw a bald eagle and even managed to get some halfway decent photos of a truly magnificent bird.

I started the ride out heading east from the Niskayuna Lions Park on the bike path. No surprise, lots of people out and about on a gorgeous warm sunny spring afternoon. I rode all the way over to Cohoes and then headed down to the river to check out Cohoes Falls. There wasn't as much water going over the falls as I was hoping for, but they were still much more impressive than they will be in a month or two when most of the water is diverted. Sadly, the new overlook doesn't re-open until May 1, so I wasn't able to check out the view from above the falls today.

Heading back west, I rode down into the Colonie Mohawk River Park. Stopped at the covered bridge to watch a snapping turtle and a little further down the road to see if I can spot any of the multitude of frogs that were making an incredible racket in one of the vernal pools. From there I headed down to the edge of the river... nothing terribly interesting to see there today, other than a fairly large fish that was jumping out in the water. On my way out of the park I stopped to try and photograph two woodpeckers (no luck) and then it was back to the bike path.

On the way back to the park I spotted more turtles (both a snapper and a painted turtle) and a lone bufflehead in the river near the old train station. I briefly debated whether or not to keep riding - very briefly - and then headed west, figuring I'd at least ride to Lock 7 and back and maybe all the way to the base of the old landfill. As it turned out, there wasn't much going on wildlife-wise at Lock 7, so I decided to finish the ride out by turning around at the landfill and heading back... somewhere around 25 miles for the day.

As I was riding along I kept glancing toward the river to see if I could spot any critters... and was shocked to see a bald eagle perched on a log out in the water! I stopped, got my camera out, and tried to find the clearest shot through the brush... and he flew up into a tree at the edge of the river. So of course I pulled off the path and tried to make my way down to the water's edge, probably sounding like a herd of buffalo crashing through the brush. A couple of times I glimpsed his silhouette in the tree, but when I finally got as far as I could I didn't see him any more, so I shrugged and headed back to the path to finish my ride, bummed about a photo opportunity missed but pleased that I'd seen an eagle.

On my way back from the landfill I again caught a glimpse of him up in the tree near the water - he hadn't flown off after all. This time I tried to get closer from the opposite side... not quite as much racket, but enough apparently, because as I got down near the water he flew off down the river... aargh. So again I made my way back to the bike... and decided just for the heck of it to head back down toward the landfill and see if I could spot him. Success! He was in a tree overlooking the bike path and didn't seem too disturbed by my stopping and shooting a bunch of photos. Conditions weren't ideal - the light was a bit dim and from most angles there were branches in the way - but that was OK, because I was still taking pictures of a bald eagle along the Mohawk River!

I pointed him out to two other riders who stopped to look at the hawk I was photographing... they were quietly enthused. Since I'd taken a couple of dozen shots, I decided it was time to leave him in peace and continued on my way back to the park, where I spent a few minutes taking pictures of mergansers before loading my gear into the car and heading home.

Something I don't totally understand... today was a gorgeous day and I had a blast being outside on my bike, even before seeing the eagle. And as I've already noted, there were lots of other folks out riding, walking, and running... and many of them looked miserable. I have to wonder how much of the beauty around them they missed because they were so wrapped up in their heads and their troubles... seems a shame, really, because I know I had a great time.

JMH