Today at the locks, visitors could expect to see the unexpected as usual. The usual cormorants, grebes, ducks, gulls, herons, squirrels, crows, and pigeons were all in evidence and other species could possibly make an appearance depending on how long one could withstand the frigid temps. With the falling of the leaves, one can easily make out the multitude of heron nests on the south side of the locks.
 |
| Avian lookouts |
 |
| Heron nests on the south side of locks |
Along with the wildlife activity there has been some activity in the locks themselves as minor repairs were carried out by navy divers. The large lock was closed for several hours on Tuesday while the work was underway. After completion on the large lock, the divers moved to the small lock for additional work carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday. This is not a typical occurrence but is performed when needed for maintenance or repairs on the locks. Should you lose a camera, watch, or any other item into the lock, it will rest on the lock bottom until the regularly scheduled annual lock draining.
 |
| Divers preparing to enter |
Along with the other boaters using the locks were two large vessels on their way for their prospective jobs. One was a large fishing boat heading to Alaska, and then there was this NOAA ship headed for Honolulu. Guess which crew had the bigger smiles!
