Sudbury River

I stopped near the Sudbury River in Ashland, MA today because I thought I spotted a couple of mergansers.  Of course, just as I was getting near enough for a photograph, a noisy truck crossed the bridge and scared the pair off.  The river was pretty as a picture on this windy, but bright winter day.  This picture is from the pedestrian bridge where Cordaville Road meets Pleasant Street.

Giving up on the mergansers, I headed downtown to see if there was any wildlife near the waterfalls at Mill Pond (Pine Hill Road), Ashland, MA.  There was a group of Canada geese just upriver from the falls.  It's a good thing Canada geese don't eat fish, although I doubt whatever they do eat from the river bed can't be much healthier.  Refer to the Fish for Fun, Not for Food message for information on the pollution levels in the Sudbury River fish.  Sadly, the river was seriously contaminated by the Nyanza Color & Chemical Company, and the area where the factory was (now capped) is a Superfund site.   Pollution was discovered back in 1971 and is still a problem today.