This past Sunday, Kayak Time Tours guided a group of four paddlers through the Montezuma Loop tour, one paddler from Cortland, NY, looking for local adventure, and four from InHouse Design from Geneva, NY, on their annual company kayaking excursion.

Birds, Birds, and More Birds

It was a hot day, but the wildlife encounters were in full force. Birds are continually active on this tour, and we sometimes miss the smaller species. Swallows seem to be in constant motion. I lost count of the different kinds that made an appearance and made a mental note to research and learn more about the various types. Along with the little guys, we saw Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, King Fishers, Osprey, Bald Eagles, Black Birds, Robins, Turkey Vultures, and others. You get the picture. Birds are big at Montezuma.

The Old Clyde River

Once off the main canal tributaries, the water gets very still, and you see jumping fish and turtles basking in the sun on the white-washed fallen tree trunks. Dragonflies and Damselflies hitch a ride on your kayak. Osprey, Bald Eagles, and Great Blue Herons majestically guard their nests. We passed some fellow paddlers who commented that they had just heard the squawk of a Great Blue Heron being harassed by sparrows for the first time and were both surprised and delighted at the sound they made.

Portage Change is in the Works

Kayak Time Tours has been following the same route on the Montezuma Loop Tour for three and a half seasons. On our most recent tour, we encountered a relatively large amount of tree and branch debris blocking our regular portage route around the Mays Point Dam. This facilitated a change in our usual route. We will now reenter the Old Clyde River at the New York Erie Canalway Trail’s kayak launch site, along Route 89 south of the dam.