Unless I bring Leon and Maya, I usually don’t post trip reports of my half-day paddles on Lake Washington. Sometimes, though, the lake is so spectacular I can’t resist.

Today was an especially lovely day on Union Bay. The winter ducks were starting to arrive: wigeon and bufflehead in great numbers, green-winged teal, and a few ring-necked ducks. The goldeneyes and common mergansers had not yet arrived, and although I had heard canvasbacks are present, I did not see those, either. The best birds were a small flock of dunlin on the mud islands and a horned grebe out in the middle of the lake.

Beyond the birds, the most beautiful part of the trip was the excellent fall colors. Union Bay has several narrow passages, and the colorful leaves created spectacular canopies overhead.

—Alex Sidles