Sea Kayak Trips Bulletin Board

Stanislaus river(Oakdale access), Ca,

Posted By: Barry Vee
Date: Friday, 2 April 1999, at 8:47 p.m.

The river is running high enough to paddle those side channels lined with 80 'cottonwood trees, and willow undergrowth laced with blackberries and wild grape. There is beaver sign, low limbs and twigs knawed plus tracks on the bank but I didn't get to see any. Instead there are plenty of mallard and wood duck pairs and more comorants than I've seen in one place other than the Oregon Coast. I paddled up river in the side channels, sliding over fallen trees,ducking low branches and came back down the main channel. At one point a large gravel bar in the center of the river held about forty+ snowey egrets and several pair of mallard. There was a wide swirl close at hand where I've seen beaver before and I pointed the boat upstream and drifted along, hoping to see what created the disturbance in the water, to no avail. While drifting, a muskrat swam to eight feet of the boat and turned upstream heading into some overhanging brush. I saw many heron-like birds with black on the head and ash-grey on the body. Perplexed, I bought a book that tells me they are night herons in their 2nd spring plumage.

Barry_V

tuolumne.river@excite.com

Sea Kayak Trips Bulletin Board is maintained by Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks with WebBBS 5.12.