Preserve's eagle sight hiking group's delight

A fresh layer of wet snow covered the ground in white on Sunday at Vischer Ferry Nature & Historic Preserve in Clifton Park. It gave our 7-year-old foster daughter, Little Wren, something besides mud to roll around in, and roll she did. And because age does not mean the end of playfulness, the snow also gave my 70-something mom, who was along for the trip, the opportunity to start a snowball fight.

The eastern end of Vischer Ferry has recently seen some improvements, with a new bridge and trail connections giving visitors the ability to walk all the way from the main entrance at the Whipple bridge opposite Van Vranken Road to Clamsteam Road in Halfmoon, near the Thaddeus Kosciuszko Bridge. We opted to explore the western end of the preserve instead, starting at a small parking area just above the Vischer Ferry Hydropower Plant on Sugar Hill Road. With fewer trail options, it's a little less crowded than the main section of the preserve, but the views of the Mohawk River still draw plenty of visitors.

Our group meandered east from the power plant along the old tow path for the Erie Canal, the river on the right and the abandoned canal ditch on the left. We paused to admire ducks on the river, and the red bittersweet berries and dried grasses growing along the trail. The trail, flat and wide, is easy walking, and offers good cross-country skiing when there's enough snow.

After a mile, we came to the Ferry Drive parking area, another spot visitors can park to start exploring the preserve. The road matches up to the Ferry Drive on the Niskayuna side of the river to the south. Decades ago, before the system of dams and locks made the river both wider and deeper, a rope ferry connected the two sides. Old stone abutments show where a bridge later stood (for just two years) before being destroyed by winter ice.

We'd seen plenty of ducks and geese in the river up to that point, but just past the Ferry Drive parking area, we were startled to see a great blue heron fishing in a small inlet. It apparently did not get the migration memo, but with no ice on the river yet, the fishing was still good. As we watched, the bird snatched a fish from the water, tilted its head back and swallowed it whole.

We followed the towpath as it curved away from the Mohawk. It took us to Lock 19, where a footbridge offers a view of the dual chambers of the old lock, part of the 1842 enlargement of the canal. About two miles from our starting point, the lock was our turnaround, but we could have continued hiking into the main part of the preserve. It's just one more mile along the old towpath to the main entrance, but trails also branch off into the woods, where there are few signs and navigation can be confusing.

On the way to the preserve, we had each named what we hoped to see that day. A deer, Wren said. A wood duck, my husband, Herb, suggested. A bald eagle, I said. We saw both ducks and geese, but no wood duck, and a few dogs, but no deer. But at the very end of our hike, our group paused on the hill back up to the parking lot and looked out over the dam that harnesses the power of the Mohawk. Halfway between the power plant and Goat Island, the huge root of an old tree had caught at the top of the dam. A bald eagle perched on top, staring down into the icy river water.

The eagle alone would have made a fine end to a nice day out. To make it sweeter, we added a stop at nearby Riverview Orchards for cocoa and cider doughnuts. The hikers, young and old, were pleased.

gvscott.gvs@gmail.com