Poking Along the Waters Edge

By Alan Mapes

The first paycheck from my first job (other than working on the family farm) went to buy a 12’ Old Town pack canoe. I was working at Fish Creek Campground in the Adirondacks, hosting nature shows in the evening, and leading hikes during the day. From that time on, it became a passion of mine to poke along the edges of streams, lakes and ponds, uncovering the hidden natural treasures that are found there.

When viewed from a canoe or kayak, the plants and animals that live on the water’s edge are right near eye level, sometimes a just an arm span away. Animals are often less wary of a figure in a boat drifting on the water, compared to the scary specter of a standing human.

Almost any shoreline will offer some treasure to the patient observer, but Adirondack shores can be especially rich. My favorites are the bog mat edges found along slow-moving streams and in certain spots along pond shores. In these places, the plants have created a floating mat, growing out from the shoreline. Peat moss is a key ingredient, fortified by sedges, and other plants growing on and through the moss. These plants have grown and died over the thousands of years since the last glaciation, and in this wet and acidic habitat there is not much decay. The dead plant material sifts to the bottom and builds up as a thick layer of organic material.

Many cool specialized plants and animals live on and near the bog mat. Beautiful orchids in white and pink call it home, along with several insect-eating plants. Pitcher plant and sundew, my favorite insect catchers. In this nutrient-poor environment, they digest captured insects to get extra nitrogen. Insects are attracted to the tube-shaped leaves of pitcher plants and fall into the enzyme-laced water in the tube. Sundews trap insects with sticky “hairs” on their tiny leaves. Lucky for paddlers, both grow right along the bog mat edges and are easy to find.

Two of my favorite bog-edge paddling locations are South Inlet on Raquette Lake and the Osgood River flowing out of Osgood Pond. For more info, check the Adirondack Paddler’s Guide by Dave Cilley. Floating bog mats are similar but not attached to shore. I have investigated a small one near the south end of Putnam Pond and the huge one on Low’s Lake.

Where nutrients are in more abundance, cattails, burr reed, and the blue flowers of pickerel weed will dress up the water’s edge. Beavers will find speckled alder to cut for winter food and muskrats leave empty muscle shells where they have had a snack. One of the rarer treats is to see otters. They are often quite shy, but when you do see them, they are high on the entertaining animal list! More often seen are the places along the shorelines where they slide down a bank or places where they leave droppings that are full of fish bones.

Common loons nest right on the water’s edge, since they can’t move far on land. Their legs are placed way to the rear of their bodies – great for swimming, but on land they can only skooch along on their bellies. We’ve seen two nest locations this year – one on the sandy beach of a small island and one on a small floating bog. The first nest was not successful, but the bog mat nest had an adult, and a few-week-old chick swimming nearby. As with any wildlife, give the loons lots of room on the water – never approach close enough to make them visibly nervous. It’s also important to stay away from a loon on a nest. If spooked, the bird may bolt off the nest, possibly knocking an egg into the water where it has no chance of hatching.

What else can you see along the water’s edge? Almost too much to mention – beaver channels, lodges and dams, deer trails where they come to drink, great blue herons stalking prey, American bitterns hiding in the rushes, and belted kingfishers that give a rattling call as they fly off ahead of you. I’ve come across a swimming star-nosed mole and this year, a swimming gray squirrel. Most memorable of all, my wife and I once had a black bear swim across the stream and run off across the bog mat just ahead of us.

Alan Mapes (alanmapes@gmail.com) is a kayak instructor and guide, certified by the American Canoe Association. He lives near Saratoga Springs and offers kayak instruction through Capital District Kayakers Meetup.