Winter at Cosumnes River Preserve

How many Black Crowned Night Heron can you find?

Today I had the opportunity to paddle the Cosumnes with a dear friend and we had an awesome day on the water! The temperature was around 54 degress and we launched from the preserve around 11:30 a.m. with the high tide predicted at 11:54 a.m. at 3.32 ft.. We weren't the only paddlers on the water today as we crossed paths with at least a dozen kayaker's. There were some in rec kayaks, several in sea kayaks and even a few fishing kayaks. I checked in with the fisherman and no one had caught anything yet but I brought my pole along just in case I wanted to give it a try.

We paddled at a leisurely pace down Middle Slough until we reached the Cosumnes where we headed east. When we reached "the Point" we headed up Tihuechemne Slough in search of Sand Hill Cranes. We didn't spot any while on the water but we saw flocks of them to the north of the preserve before and after our paddle. We did see a couple of Great Blue Heron, a Belted Kingfisher and at least a dozen Black Crowned Night Heron on our return to the launch. We also saw Turkey Vultures, a couple of Red Tail Hawks and a Great White Heron during our paddle. While taking in the beautiful scenery  I threw a few casts but only caught weeds, and my boat, so I gave up for the day.

Around 3:30 the wind started picking up and we began to get chilled so we headed back to the launch. It was another wonderful day paddling!