I went out for a fairly long walk yesterday, across a field that's left more or less wild. When the river is very high this field can flood to protect the towns downstream, and by allowing the water to flow unimpeded Paris avoids flooding.
I went along the Seine walking downstream past the ferry at La Frette to the next one at Herblay. I'd seen a solitary swan and a couple on the other side of the river and wanted some photos from a bit closer. A heron flew over just before I boarded the ferry, but too close and a bit too fast for me to get a good picture.
On the other side of the river I had a bit of difficulty getting well positioned; I had decided to take only a 300mm lens.
There were some cormorants patched or swimming; a black headed gull and three mallards were flying around. I talked for a while with a bloke from the water skiing club... Apparently there are hardly any small fish in the shallows, none where we were, and no nesting swans or ducks. He tells me that there are a lot of kingfishers; I saw one when I was fishing nearby three years ago.
I saw more insects than birds...

There's a lot of traffic on this stretch: big barges, sometimes two unpowered barges with a pusher and later in the season there will be Swiss flagged cruise boats. Then the are small pleasure craft: water skiers, fishermen, day cruisers... And the river police.
