the Way of the Turtle

CHILLY & GREY
12.5 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Friday, March 16, 2012

Seemed like it took forever to get ready to head west, and in the end I decided it made more sense to ride than run, so I stopped at the Rotterdam Kiwanis Park and headed east on the bike path. Not much to see on the Old Erie Canal - a few geese, muskrat, and a pair of common mergansers. I would have liked to continue on past Scrafford Lane to the path on the west side of Rotterdam Junction, but it was getting late enough and dusk enough that I didn't feel like riding on route 5S - instead, I headed back east.

On my way back to the car I heard the distinctive "peeent... peeent... peeent..." of a woodcock, so I stopped and spent a little while listening to him, especially once he started making his courtship flights. With the cloud cover I was even able to make him out circling far, far above me a couple of times. The video I shot was OK, but the almost constant traffic on 5S behind me is distracting and more than a bit annoying. Hopefully tomorrow night Ann and I will have better luck and a quieter location.

JMH