It was a busy opening morning today at the Buena Vista ferry, in the wildlife sense anyway.

A pair of osprey worked to complete their nest, a beaver swam amid nearby snags and a Canada goose honked its way up the Willamette River a few feet off the water's surface.

"I could probably make some money selling wildlife videos if I had a camera with me," veteran ferry operator Darren Jones said. "Last year there were bald eagles, a juvenile and an adult. I've seen some monster sturgeon, and one of them breached just like a blue whale; it must've been a 9-footer. I've seen deer swim out to the island.

"It's nice and peaceful," Jones said of his days at the ferry. "Sometimes it's too peaceful. But you just need to have some good books."

An hour into his first shift of 2009, Jones hadn't yet broken into his reading material, but neither had he transported a paying customer.

"It's always slow at first," said Jones, who will mark a decade at the ferry in June. "When word gets out that we're open, it will pick up."

During the summer months, Jones might haul up to 150 vehicles and as many as 500 bicycles per day.

Popular among car clubs, bicycle clubs and other tourists, the ferry is also an important tool for area farmers.

"A lot of them have land or lease land on both sides of the river," Jones said. "Say somebody like Neils Jensen over at Talbot needs to get a combine or swather across the river. Without the ferry, he'd either have to go around to the Independence bridge, or go through downtown Albany."

The 51-year-old ferry has a 42-by-24-foot deck, and while its typical passenger car capacity is four, that's not a rigid limit.

"I got eight Mini Coopers on here once," Jones said.

Operated by Marion County, the ferry is expected to provide service through October. It brings in about $13,000 annually, but that's less than one-tenth of its operating cost, the county's public works department says.

The vessel is next year scheduled for a thorough Coast Guard inspection, which could signal the ferry's end. Its hull is deteriorating, and a new one would cost about $2.5 million, according to the county.

Directions and fees

To get to the ferry's Polk County landing from Albany, take Spring Hill Drive north to Buena Vista Road. Turn right and follow the signs to the ferry.

To reach the Marion County landing, take Interstate 5 to the Talbot Road exit and head west.

By either route, the ferry is about 20 minutes from downtown Albany.

Fees are $1 for a motorcycle, $2 for a car, $4 for a vehicle longer than 28 feet, $6 for a dual-axle truck and $8 for anything that uses the entire boat. Pedestrians and bicyclists ride for free, but there is a donation box that anyone can use to help defray ferry expenses.

Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The ferry is closed Monday and Tuesday.