Miscellaneous Shots Along the River

These are things that I didn't otherwise have a place for in the other posts.

 As I was shooting pictures of either the Leitch or the American Spirit, a seaplane decided to make an appearance.

 The Hollyhock.  She doesn't seem too busy right now, but that will be made up for shortly as she starts to clear ice.

 The Huron Lightship.  One of these days, I'm going to have to go on her.

 A fish tug.

 I believe this is what is known as a range light.  It is used to guide ships into the channel.  It is in front of a similar light.

 That similar light is this one.  If you are on a ship and you see these two lined up, then you know you are on the right heading to enter the channel.  This particular set is used for guiding ships from Lake Huron to the St. Clair River.

 You see a few seagulls while boatwatching.

 Another plane.

 The park in St. Clair.

 The front of the statue.

 And the back.  One of these days, I would like to catch a ship in this shot.

 Another seagull.

 Unlike some other people, I happen to like seagulls.

 A swan spreading his wings.

Another swan just swimming around.  I just liked the way the light was hitting him.

A Pair of Seagulls

Just a couple of seagulls flying around as I was waiting between ships.

 The first one is saying, "Hey get out of here....they're my fish"

It's amazing how efficient thier wings seem.

Odds and Ends

One thing about taking pictures on the Detroit River is that you never know what you're going to see.

 The odds are pretty good that you will see seagulls.  Many times they are following the ship and looking for fish that get churned up by the props.  Other times they are showing up the fishermen that line the riverbanks.

 The odds are not so good that you will see a B-17 Flying Fortress.  She was off in the distance over Downtown Detroit.  I'm pretty certain she is the Yankee Lady though.  I thought it was pretty cool to see her though.

 Your chances of seeing birds are pretty good too.  They are even better after people leave food on the pavement.  I'm not quite sure what kind of birds these are though.

 I guess they like ice cream as much as people though.

 And a nice blue beak.

 And one last shot before I tried to get closer to him to get a slightly better shot but he flew off.

 Another seagull.

I didn't really have enough pictures of the tugboat and her barge to justify a separate post.  Since I think that the tug/barge combo is odd looking anyway, I figured I would put her here.

So until next time.....that was my evening on the Detroit River.

Some Gulls....

One thing about boatwatching is that there occasionally is some downtime.  Another thing about boatwatching is that it is on the water which means that you will run into seagulls.

There are many people that don't like seagulls.  They call them the rats of the sky or the scourge of the waters or something.

I think they look kind of neat myself.

Especially when they are gliding by and looking for a meal.

They remind me of old school Navy planes.

And a gull of a different sort.....

A Pair of Gulls

It was a pretty windy night tonight as well.  I almost thought that Poseiden was going to demand another Michigan hat.  Fortunately for me he didn't.

 As a result of the wind, the seagulls were a little erratic.  But I do like this shot.

This one not so much.

Some More Seagull Shots

As I was taking pictures of the Blue Water Bridge, there were some seagulls that were just gliding in the wind.  The winds were pretty strong and there was even a person parasurfing.  Since the seagulls were almost motionless, it was a good chance to take some pictures.

The seagull set against the backdrop of the Bridge.

As he moved a little further forward.

I kind of like how this one sets off against the blue sky.

And an odd angle.

A Flock of Seagulls

No, not the band.  Just three seagulls sitting on a fence.  I tried to get a picture of these guys with the Ren Cen in the background but I didn't like how it looked.  So here you go.