Rob Hazard Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 For the club's contribution to the MITA Casco Bay fall cleanup we had 6 NSPN volunteers who paddled out from Cousins Island around Great Chebeague to tiny Crow Island for cleanup, trail work, and an overnight stay. Most of the trip was on flat water, but seeing sailboats in the distance heeled over in the southwest breeze told us that last leg of the trip, from Chebeague Point to Crow would likely be an upwind slog, which it proved to be. Paddling into the teeth of wind and chop is great fun, but its wet fun.Nearing Crow Island we saw a small boat approaching the beach and feared it might be another MITA cleanup crew there to collect trash that was rightfully ours, but it proved to be just a family out for a picnic. We found Crow to be pretty clean; in fact, after Mitch made a first pass around the shoreline the rest of us were hard-pressed to find any trash there at all, so several of us turned to clipping back the brush that was encroaching on the trails.In mid-afternoon Mitch decided that he really needed to be back with his family for the rest of the weekend, so we watched him go and kept an eye on him until he turned the corner of Chebeague Island and disappeared from sight.The evening was passed in typical NSPN fashion, sharing food and swapping stories. A rain squall passed through around dusk, but those of us who were up in the middle of the night found a clear sky and a bright moon above.Sunday morning after a leisurely start we headed over to Bangs Island, where we found all the trash we could possibly ask for. With a crew of 5 we could only cover the northern half of the island and even then we had to leave behind large pieces of lumber from old floats and docks. We also left behind a couple stone monuments deemed too artistic to destroy.The trip back was uneventful, with just enough tailwind and following sea to allow for micro-surfing along the way.Thanks to Dee, Sal, Jeff, Spider, and Mitch for a pleasant and productive weekend!Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spider Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Yes, a great time, thanks for organizing it. Sunday morn brought sunny skies, was a nice unexpected surprise.Crow Island was just a chirpin frenzy of Yellow Rumped warblers...Very nice folks.... a pleasure to be with. ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spuglisi Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Couldn't have asked for a better crew to spend a couple of days with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hazard Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 The Warblers! I forgot about the Warblers! The brush, mostly Bayberry and Raspberry bushes, was alive with small birds, most of them Yellow-Rumped Warblers. Spider saw a Merlin shoot through, and we saw other small songbirds, hard to identify except for one very vocal Song Sparrow, but the majority were Yellow-rumps. We both wished we were better Fall Warbler experts, (a specialty among birders) so we could catch the other oddities mixed in. It was a good morning for birding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Charette Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Rob, thanks for organizing this trip. It was nice to see some old friends and meet some new friends. A great weekend.Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 I wish it were possible to be in more than one place at the same time! Maybe next year trash-pickin' will fit in my schedule, too. And on the island that Warren and I camped on, the bushes were also "alive with small birds." Is it something to do with this time of year?pru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spuglisi Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 And....let's not forget the bald eagle that soared over us while we were on Bangs. Not such an uncommon sight anymore but impressive none the less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hazard Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 I'm sure MITA will do another cleanup in the spring. Perhaps we can go out there the weekend before and give Bangs Island a thorough going-over. It seems to collect more than its share of flotsam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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