On its bones

Is a term that I’ve heard being used for the river whilst at such low levels.
Even so I watched dippers and a family of young mallard ducklings foraging just below the pool here. A kingfisher streaked downstream just above the water and swallows were diving to take drinks from the river.
The estuary is holding a very large head of migratory fish (salmon and sea trout), they are suffering from predators and a lack of water to enable their safe passage up the river. Sadly human predators have been active.
The low water levels and warm weather aren’t great for the small fish and invertebrates that live in our rivers, we seem to experience extreme levels of water in our river systems nowadays. Agricultural changes and our obsession for diverting water into artificial channels rather than letting the water soak gradually into the earth is part of the issue.