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Warm weather is here! Trips this month: 12
4/1/07
After my adventure on Friday I decided to stick close to home for my first paddle of April. After losing my keys, I for sure didn't want to be the April Fool and come up missing something else so I put in at Hannah Mills just before sunrise and began paddling toward the Pelican Pool. After flushing a few Night Herons from their grove near the put-in I headed toward the old cedar where I paused to eat breakfast before pushing off for the feeder streams to the north that parallel the ICW. I spotted an Osprey sitting in a squat little cedar near one of the islands and as I paused to shoot him I noticed something moving in the grass close to my boat. A Tri-Colored Heron emerged just a few feet from me and apparently, blinded by the morning sun, he proceeded to walk around my boat to get to the water. He was within four feet - close enough that I had to pull my zoom lens all the way back and you can see my shadow in the foreground of the shots.
I continued on out to the waterway and made my way up to the Pelican pool where I exited my boat and began walking toward the flats.. I carried a chair with me and made sure that the sun was at my back as I slowly walked toward them. I set my chair down 50 yards from the edge of the pool - about 100 yards from where the big guys were snoozing and grooming away. There were four of the Pelicans swimming together as they fed in the pool - stretching those enormous beaks out in front of them as they swam back and forth. After sitting in my chair observing the morning grooming rituals I decided to crawl forward slowly in the grass - stopping every few seconds to let them get used to my presence. In the past, when I have tried slowly walking toward them, eventually one of them will become aware of my presence and signal the rest of to scoot into the water and swim to the far side of the pool. Today, however, this did not happen, rather, they continued to busily groom themselves. Occasionally, one would open his huge beak up and shake it violently as he tried to cough out the down he had groomed from his body.
When I had nearly reached the edge of the pool, the group who were feeding, appeared to notice me for they stopped suddenly and swam over to the rest of the flock. I'm not sure what they told them but a minute or two later the entire group rose up in a flurry and flew a few yards away where they settled back down and continued the grooming process. I packed up and headed back to my boat and when I looked back before I left I could see that they were already massing once again on their little spit of land that juts out into the pool. As I got back in the ICW, three huge yachts came racing by heading south so I stowed my camera and paddled out to deeper water to meet the onslaught. I rode their wake without incident and headed back to the first entrance to Hannah Mills. I decided to follow the feeder streams south until I was even with the Manatee Zone sign so that I could check the status of the Osprey nest. I was a little disappointed to see it unoccupied but that may not be significant. As I was about to enter Hannah Mills again by the Kingfish Park a huge yacht began powering up well in advance of the zero wake sign. I guess if you can see the sign it means you are out of the no wake zone. I was in a bad spot to handle a huge wake so I stowed my camera again and braced myself. To his credit he powered back down almost immediately when he saw me but not in time to prevent the huge waves from crashing on the shore near me.
I paddled against the outgoing tide the rest of the way home and found my put-in crowded with vehicles from other kayakers who I had passed along the way. Unlike bank fishermen, they were courteous enough to not block me in and when I got home I found that I had been the recipient of a paddle leash that one of them must have thought belonged to me. It was a good thing since mine had recently broken and I love having it. Didn't quite even out the lost keys from the other day but not bad See the pictures from this trip
4/2/07
I decided to check out Guana again this morning but I took my time getting there - arriving around 8:30. From the ramp I could see that the water levels were still up although I could see a few little clumps of dry ground that weren't there two weeks ago. The cat tails were as dry and brown as ever but seemed to be much shorter and I wondered if the recent Nor'Easter had something to do with that.
I could see to the south another congregation of birds like I saw the last time I was here - Storks, Ibis and White Pelicans looked to be amongst the crowd and I considered checking it out but decided to head north instead. As soon as I got in the water I was greeted by a familiar sound - the "keh, keh keh" of a Black Necked Stilt and a pair of them circled me before heading south. There was a group of Wood Storks feeding along with a White Pelican as I headed toward the main channel and I shot them for a few minutes. Another bird near the junction was feeding and I assumed by its size and shape that it was an Ibis but soon I noticed that it's head was in the water and swinging back and forth. As I got a little closer, I could detect just a hint of pink and realized that I was seeing my first Spoonie of the season - a youngster with a full head of hair and a light pink plumage.
He flew off and I headed north feeling good about the prospects for the day. Spotting two birds returning to the area in less than 10 minutes time - it was going to be a "Guana Kind of Day". The water in the main channel near the ramp was still pretty deep and not much dry land showing yet so I didn't see any Stilts or other birds until I was further north. I soon began to hear the almost constant alarm call of the Stilts and on a couple of occasions it was obvious that I was intruding on someone's territory or threatening someone's opportunity to mate. I rounded a bend and was shooting a pair of Stilts who were dozing away along with some shorebirds when I heard a loud commotion coming from a few feet away. As I watched, I saw that it was originating from a territorial dispute between two pairs of Stilts. With the water level still up, dry nesting space was a premium in this part of the lake and these four were going at it pretty intensely. I took a video of it and you can see at times that the action got pretty violent with one of them actually forcing another bird under the water.
The dispute was finally resolved and while one couple went on their way the other stayed put. I then noticed that one of the victorious pair was standing in a very odd position. It had it's tail up and head pointed down at an angle and was standing as still as a statue. Meanwhile, it's mate (by now I'm assuming this was the male) began walking around it very closely pecking at the water on either side of the female's face. This went on for a couple of minutes and I got the distinct impression that the female was "presenting" to the male and letting him know she was ready to mate. He was certainly getting the message and seemed sure to commit the act but I think my presence with a camera near by made him a little shy and they went off to have some privacy. I guess she was so impressed by his prowess after the fight that she was giving him a reward but ultimately he told her "I can't - that weird guy is taking pictures - I'm not into that!" Oh well - sorry guy - I hope I didn't blow your chance. NOTE: In reviewing my photos and Bird Guides I confirmed that the first bird was a female since they have a brownish tint to their backs.
I left the steamy scene and continued north until I reached the point where the channel branches off toward the western shore and houses begin to appear. Although there was plenty of water it was very silty and not much of a glide factor involved so it made for slow going. The area on either side of the channel is very shallow now with lots of little islands of dry ground and the Stilts were massed here in huge numbers. Everywhere I looked I would see one or two walking through the shallows along with hundreds of other shorebirds. One of the Stilts had already built a nest on one of the little islands and was sitting on it as I passed. She stood up when I got close but never moved away from it so there may be eggs inside. I started to see many of the same type of ducks that I saw on my last visit and although I was never able to get close enough for a good shot I did finally identify them as Blue Winged Teals. As I was getting close to the houses in this area I heard a strange growl that at first I assumed was someone starting a lawnmower. I didn't give it any thought as I proceeded as far as I could until the shallow water finally stopped me and I turned around.
As I headed back south I spotted two tiny Gator heads in the water ahead of me - each of them about half the size of my hand. When I reached the area near where I had heard the strange growl I began to hear it again but this time there was no mistaking it for a mower. "BAAAAAAARUMMMMMPHHHH!" bellowed something unseen on the other side of the thick wall of new green cat tails. It sounded more like the roar of a Lion at the zoo than anything else but I have no doubt that what I was hearing was a large Bull Gator who knew that I was in his territory and was letting me know that I should keep right on paddling. He repeated his slow bellow several times as I floated by and I recorded a video just so you can hear the incredible sound. I tried to get on the other side of the cat tails to see if I could spot him or if he would issue another challenge. I didn't see him, however, and evidently I was far enough away that he didn't perceive me as a threat.
I continued south until I reached the platform that is in the middle of the main channel and after shooing a young Brown Pelican away I tied off and ate my lunch and drank a beer before continuing on. I attempted to paddle on the backside of the big island north of the ramp but the water levels were just low enough to turn me back to the main channel. I reached the turn back to ramp just as a couple of kayak fishermen were prepping to launch and as luck would have it there were about six young Roseate Spoonbills near the ramp feeding as if they had just made a long flight and this was their first meal in days. They were pretty much ignoring me as I sat nearby and took pictures and a video and once the kayakers had moved their vehicle I wrapped it up and headed on in. It was indeed a "Guana Kind of Day." See the pictures from this trip
4/5/07 This is known as "Holy Hell Week" in the McCharen household - otherwise known as Easter Week. It's a week I don't get to see much of Hope therefore I decided to grab some dinner at Wendy's and head to the FGR. After retrieving my change from the Wendy's parking lot where the teen at the drive thru dumped it, getting behind a slow school bus, waiting for the drawbridge at the ICW to go down, back up and then back down I finally pulled into Alimacani only to find Ray and his group in the process of loading up a couple of dozen kayaks at the ramp. Not to be deterred I pulled over to the beach and caught the tail end of the tide out to the inlet where I headed into the "pony pool" at Hugenot Park. I didn't see much to shoot and it was a chilly, overcast evening so after downing my sandwich and beer I called it a night and headed home.
4/6/07
With an empty house again I headed toward Pumpkin Hill after work and caught the last of the outgoing tide out to Tiger Point. It was a bit breezy and not as much birdlife was out feeding as I had hoped. As I rounded the bend near the trails a Swallow Tailed Kite flew overhead with something in his claws - either nesting material or a snake. As I made my way toward the point, I spotted a Jon boat speeding up the channel and since it was stopping and throttling back up, at first I assumed it was a crabber. As he got closer he changed directions and came toward me and the old codger at the controls started yelling something at me. When he finally throttled down so that I could hear him he yelled "Sir! you got any fish?!". I tried to indicate that I wasn't fishing but he didn't get it until I finally turned to him with my arms open and yelled "I'm not fishing!". He then yelled back "Sir! Have you been drinking?!" I shook my head and paddled on thinking - "no but you sure have haven't you?" Sheesh - the encounters are getting stranger and stranger out here! A minute after that encounter, I spotted an otter swimming across a stream about halfway down the channel toward the point. Unlike my recent encounters with them he never lifted his head to look at me but swam directly across to the grass bank where he disappeared. Maybe he was afraid I was going to ask him if he had any fish or if he was drinking. At any rate he ignored me and was gone in a flash. I paddled up to the point and then continued on to the oyster beds east of the flats before turning around. I paused to shoot a Tri-Colored Heron on the way back to the put-in but that was one of the few photo opportunities on the evening. See the pictures from this trip
4/8/07
Hope had to get up real early to attend the Easter sunrise service at St. George so I decided to attend one of my own at Guana Lake. I got such an early start that I was able to pull up to the ramp a good 20 minutes before sunrise on a frigid day that was starting off in the high 30's.
I tried to head due south from the ramp along the eastern shore but I soon ran into water that was impassably shallow so I turned around and headed back out to the main channel. I wanted to check out the Eagle's nest to see if there were any chicks or eggs in the nest. I passed by a couple of large congregations of birds like I have been seeing here lately and at one point I spotted an Eagle swooping low over the marsh near one of the gatherings causing them to fly up in alarm. When I got close to the nest I could tell that it was empty but an Eagle flew out from one of the tree nearby before I could see him. I sat beneath the nest and ate my breakfast and drank some coffee before heading north along the western shoreline. I passed by several large gatherings of Ibis, Egrets, Herons and Wood Storks and paused to shoot them when I could. As I got close to the large pine tree that is even with the ramp I could see that there was an Eagle perched on one of the lower branches. I wasn't able to get very close before he flew off and so I continued on north.
I came to a pool where there was a large gathering of Blue Winged Teal Ducks and I was finally able to sneak up close enough to them to get some decent shots before they flew off - showing their teal wings as they did. After most of them had left the area I started making my way out to the main channel flushing off some smaller groups of the ducks as I did. As one of these groups flew up I thought that I saw something come out of the water after them but I wasn't sure. I pulled over the side and waited and at one point the water swirled violently in the same spot when a Tern flew close to the surface. A few seconds later, a large, scaly nose slowly rose out of the water and waited. It was then that I realized that what I had seen before was an Alligator's mouth coming out of the water after the Teals and that he was hiding under the surface waiting to nab a meal. After a minute or so the nose slipped back under the water and after waiting around to see if he would grab a bird, I moved on.
I was now in the same area where I had seen most of the Stilts on my last trip and sure enough I began seeing the noisy pairs of birds running around and I saw some of them sitting on their nests. I went south until I was even with the place where the homes begin to appear on the eastern shore and turned around there. On the way back a female Grackle was proudly perching on a cat tail with a mouthful of nesting material. I also spotted the same Eagle that I had seen earlier perching behind the island and then later back on the large pine tree where I had originally seen him. I could tell that he was not quite fully mature because the tip of his white tail was still black. See the pictures from this trip
4/13/07
Hope and I decided to spend the day together - our first since the end of "Holy Hell Week" - otherwise known as Easter. After visiting the zoo and doing some shopping we decided to head out for our first Paddle Picnic of the spring. We loaded up and headed toward Alimacani where we caught the incoming tide toward Simpsons Creek. We were going to set up at the mouth of Simpsons but the Jetskis and power boaters were out in force so we diverted to the beach side of the big grass island in front of the houses. We grilled our steaks and drank our wine and generally vegged out as we enjoyed the sea breeze. There were some Least Sandpipers hiding in the Glasswort nearby and a Great Blue Heron standing in the grass behind us backlit by the setting sun. There was a wedding reception going on at the Ribault Club and we could hear the music coming from the DJ under the big tent they had set up. At one point we spotted the bride in her gown at the water's edge getting her picture taken against the setting sun. We set out for home as the sun set and Hope got ahead of me as I was shooting a Great Blue along the bank. When I got to the ramp she was talking to someone in a reflective vest holding a big flashlight. I didn't recognize him at first as a former subscriber to the newsletter - Keith who lives at the old campground and is sort of the park manager. He had just closed the gate and moved some campers out and I was afraid he was hassling us but he was just letting us know that he had to close the gate at sundown. He makes sure everyone gets out before he closes it but he doesn't lock it. Anyway - it was a pleasant day out. Hope to do many more this year. See the pictures from this trip
4/18/07
An enormous wildfire in SE Georgia has blanketed the area in a thick cloud of smoke, reducing visibility to almost nothing and making breathing so difficult that I wasn't sure if I would make my planned after work trip today. The wind shifted, as predicted, in the late afternoon and as I walked toward my truck after work I could barely detect the tell tale smell of a wood fire so I headed down Cedar Point Road to Pumpkin Hill Creek. The skies were overcast and gray but with a nice breeze coming out of the SE that carried the clean smell of the ocean with it which was a nice change from the choking smell of Georgia burning. It made it cool enough that I donned my fleece as I set out from the put-in to catch the last of the outgoing tide. I had a leisurely paddle around the first couple of bends seeing a few herons out feeding and the first skimmers that I have seen in a while. As I passed my shrimpin' hole I spotted a pair of ducks that I thought, at first, were Mottled Ducks but one of them had a beautiful speckled plumage and as they flew away I could see that each had patches of teal on their wings. I passed a Tri-Colored Heron who, like the one I photographed here a couple of weeks ago, had his very distinctive breeding plumage in full display with long, bright, copper colored pin feathers draped down his back and a long crest feather on top of his head. I rounded the bend and passed under Tiger Point without seeing anything and decided to make my way back. I cruised by a Great Blue who was feeding in the shallows opposite the point who seemed to have a fish stuck in his throat that he couldn't quite get down his gullet in spite of several sips of water and some very vigorous shakings of his outstretched neck. Finally, the lump in his throat disappeared and he flew off to the opposite side of the stream to continue fishing. As I made my way back to the put-in the skies, which had been getting darker as the sun descended toward the horizon, began to let loose with a light sprinkle which lasted only a few seconds. I passed by what looked to be an immature Black Bellied Plover as the incoming tide carried me uneventfully back to my truck. See the pictures from this trip
4/22/07
I headed to Pumpkin Hill this morning, happy that the long Nor'Easter we have been experiencing seems to have passed. I arrived at the water's edge to find the sun rising over glassy waters and although the chart showed that the tide was supposed to be close to low, the Nor'Easter had obviously pushed a lot of extra water into the marsh and the levels were still very high. As I cruised around the first bend and headed toward the trails I spotted a Great Blue Heron standing as still as a statue along the shoreline as he stalked his morning meal. I was surprised that he allowed me to get to within about 10 feet of him and sit there for several minutes shooting him as he snared his meal. His image was almost perfectly reflected in the glassy water along the edge of the shoreline.
He finally flew off but I found him again around the next bend and was once again able to shoot him as he grabbed what appeared to be a snake. I continued on toward the point where I found the "Park Manager" standing where I usually set up my hammock and after greeting him I headed a little further west to the place where I have seen the Eagles perch and took my break there. As I was about to set my hammock up I saw a large splash next to the shoreline a few feet to the west and I watched as a lone Dolphin swam past me right offshore. Later, as I was swinging in my hammock, a large bird flew overhead that appeared to be either an immature Eagle or else a Red Tailed Hawk. It appeared that he headed over to the cove next to the Edwards Flats where I was going to head next so I packed up and made my way around the bend and was soon within sight of the oyster beds that clog that cove.
As soon as I cleared the first of the beds I could see a large mottled bird sitting on an oyster bed a little further out in the cove. I began carefully working my way toward what I could tell was a young eagle. It appeared that I was going to be able to get quite close to him since he was looking the other way but, suddenly, a Black Headed Gull began diving on him and eventually drove him away. As soon as he was airborne all of the birds feeding in the vicinity reacted and took to the air. About the same time this happened I spotted three or four Dolphins swimming toward me so I headed back out into the main channel and began shooting them as they fed in the area.
Suddenly, two of the Dolphins came flying out of the water together landing about 15 feet away. I hung around floating with them on the incoming tide for about 30 minutes shooting them as they hunted for fish in the shallows. As I did, I noticed that the young Eagle was now circling overhead and above him was another bird which, at first, I assumed was another Eagle. A check with my binoculars, however, showed that it was a Red Tailed Hawk who seemed to be shadowing the Eagle from several feet above. Wherever the Eagle soared the Hawk followed and it made me wonder if it had a nest in the area that it was protecting. My experience with juvenile Bald Eagles has shown me that they are kind of the "jerks" of the bird world and apparently I am not alone in that opinion. I had an easy paddle back in on the incoming tide and was soon rounding the bend near the trails. As soon as I cleared the turn I found myself a few feet away from one of the Dolphins I had seen earlier. As soon as he saw me he submerged and raced around the point, pushing and enormous wall of water ahead of him as his wake crashed on the shore nearby. I said farewell to the Dolphins as they headed back out and I finished my trip. See the pictures from this trip
4/25/07
I hadn't been to Browns Creek in a while so as I was driving away from work while debating where to spend the evening I saw an un-crowded put-in and that settled it. It was a lot breezier than I expected which made for a choppy crossing over to the main island. I cruised up the eastern bank scanning the pine trees for signs that the Great Blue Herons had returned to their nesting site of a year ago. As far as I could see they had not, so I headed south where I cruised under the usual roosting spots which I was sure would be full of birds since it was sheltered from the stiff breeze coming from the NE but they were empty. I made my way over to the runoff pond and although I was disappointed to find it empty as well, I spent some time shooting the plant's Osprey pair at the main nest who were doing some housekeeping. As I left the pond and headed north along the woods I watched an Osprey preparing to dive ahead of me. Just as he looked like was ready to head for the water a Red Tailed Hawk suddenly appeared and the Osprey diverted his focus to the intruder and began harassing the Hawk. He dove on him several times as I watched the pair circle back toward the runoff pond and out of sight. As I turned away from the shoreline and began making my way toward the islands I scared up a Green Heron a couple of times - the first I had seen in a while. I spent some time shooting another Osprey who was perching on the top of an old dead tree. The rest of the trip was uneventful but it was a nice evening to be out on the water. See the pictures from this trip
4/26-27/07
We wanted to go camping somewhere this weekend but with the weather a little iffy we decided to simplify things and just go to our old standby - what we call "Bottle Island" on Sisters Creek. We got going and were on the water by 4. There was a strong wind coming out of the SE which was starting to kick up some pretty good waves on the waterway so we ducked into the feeder streams near the Manatee Zone sign and wound our way north until we were just south of our island where we crossed over. We found the campsite very clean and as far as we could tell we were the last ones to have used it. We got set up fairly quickly and sat back to enjoy the afternoon as the sun got low on the horizon across the way. As we sat there drinking a beer we were visited by a Painted Bunting who perched on our wood pile and gave us an annoyed look before flitting away. With the wind coming from behind us we were shielded from the breeze but fortunately we were not bothered at all by the bugs. We grilled out our steaks, drank our wine, ate our cookies and enjoyed the sunset. After a few hours of conversation we crashed in our hammocks and we both slept pretty well. The waterway was quieter than normal but the wind was carrying noise from the road further than usual but it wasn't too bad. I finally got up around 6 and walked around to the mudflat behind the island to watch the sunrise. I was happy to see that the old barge, that until recently, has resided behind the southern end of the same island chain we were on, was no where to be found. As I was returning to our campsite I spotted a large boat traveling from the north. I assumed it was a barge but as it got closer I realized that it was a cruise boat that we had seen in Fernandina last month. The boat is a part of a cruise line that operates on the Intracaostal Waterway. We had checked into it after we saw it and discovered that it was incredibly expensive so we decided it would have to wait until we won that lottery. I stirred the fire and waited for Hope to wake up before starting the coffee. As we sat there waking up, the waterway began to fill up with Snowbird Yachts heading north causing their huge wakes to crash ashore. There were so many of them that we were concerned that we wouldn't be able to load our boats without them getting swamped. About the time we got packed up to leave there was a long break in the line of yachts and we made the crossing and immediately entered Hannah Mills and headed south. The tide was going out but an intense wind was in our face so the trip south was slow and arduous but we were in no hurry. We finally reached the Kingfish Park and beached our boats on the area outside the wharf where we had launched from and loaded up to go home. All in all it was a pleasant little camping trip. See the pictures from this trip
4/29/07
With tides high around 8 I figured that I would stick close to home for this morning's journey and got in the water at Cedar Point as the sun came up over the horizon. The smell of Georgia burning has returned to to area and there was a light haze that hung low to the ground. The smell wasn't too bad and above the horizon was a clear blue sky so I set out for the north intending to explore the stream that feeds into Cedar Point from the north a mile or so west of the ICW. I saw very little as I made my way up to the confluence point and after taking a brief break I continued on north. Upon reaching the point I decided to get out and hike up the path that heads toward Cedar Point road. It's been a few years since I have walked it since the yellow flies usually are pretty thick up here but today they left me alone. Cedar Point is well named and some of the largest cedar trees I have ever seen are in this area as well as many ancient, moss covered oaks.
I got back in my boat and headed north toward the road in the stream that I had last traveled back in September when I saw the Peregrine Falcon. The falcon was no where to be found but there was an Osprey nest on and island where the falcon had been perching. As I rounded the bend I was shocked by the sight of some boat squatters that have tied off to some of the Preservation Project land. The mass of boats consists of at least four, including a barge piled high with trash and junk. One of the boats is apparently the main habitation but I saw no one stirring. One of the other boats was occupied by a well fed grey cat so I know that the squatters haven't abandoned it. The pile of junk consisted of a canoe and a bike that is obviously the squatters ground transportation.
The whole situation is a real eyesore and I am about 90% sure that I recognize the big boat as belonging to the squatters who were on the ICW near the beaches a couple of years ago. I'm all for people "living off the grid", as it were, but only if you can do it without affecting the environment or creating an eyesore and as I paddled a little further north I began finding odd pieces of trash that obviously came from the squatters including hair care products and baby wipes - not the usual flotsam that I find on my journeys.
I floated past the squatters and let the current carry me back to the creek. I had to paddle against the now outgoing current for a while before I got to where it turned and I had an easy journey back to the confluence point. As I approached it, I could see that the oyster beds that clog the area were now becoming exposed and many shorebirds were gathering there including some Whimbrels and many Black Bellied Plovers so I spent several minutes chasing them from oyster bed to oyster bed. I headed on toward the area where I put in and as I approached the oyster beds at the beginning of the big loop I saw a familiar shaped bird flying toward me making a "kek, kek, kek" call that I recognized. The Black Necked Stilt landed on an oyster bed near me but unfortunately my batteries were dead and I was only able to get a couple of shots off before he flew away.
As I made my way toward the final bend I saw a huge splash ahead of me but a few seconds later I saw a Brown Pelican diving in the same area so I assumed that it was he who made the splash. A minute later, however, I saw another splash and this one was accompanied by a tail that was swishing back and forth as the Dolphin chased some fish. The Dolphin's activity attracted the Pelican and for a while the two were apparently after the same school of fish. I wound up cruising along with the Dolphin as he rounded the bend and headed toward the put-in but since he was alone it was hard to get many good shots and I headed back to my truck. See the pictures from this trip
4/30/07
The sight and smells of south Georgia burning have returned to the area but the weather forecast called for a shift in winds that were supposed to blow it back where it belonged later in the day so I headed toward Simpsons Creek. One of the reasons I chose Simpsons was because I still haven't taken my first swim of the year and there were only about 16 hours left in the month of April. I can't remember the last time I waited so long to get in the water.
I pushed off at 7:45 am with the current still heading in past the ramp but as I headed toward the sound it gradually got slack and then began heading in the opposite direction. I didn't see too much on the way down but with the tides high I didn't expect to. As I rounded the bend at Half Moon Bluff, however I could see with my binoculars that there were Egrets, Herons and an Osprey in the trees above the bluff. When I got close to the beginning of the bluff itself I spotted a Red Breasted Merganser sitting on the sandy little shelf above the water. She let me drift in to within a couple of feet before she finally got up and calmly waddled into the water and swam away.
The now outgoing current began carrying me toward the Osprey who was sitting in a tree chirping away as I approached. As I was shooting him the current carried me into a snag just below his perch so I sat there watching and shooting. While I sat there I suddenly saw one of the many swallows that were flitting around disappear into a hole in the bluff about four feet above my head. I waited for a few minutes to see if I could catch him as he re-emerged but he was too quick. As I scanned the bluff I could see that several of the pock marks that cover it had obviously been dug out and groomed to be nests for these swallows which I believe are called Bank Swallows. The Osprey eventually flew off and so I pushed off and drifted toward the Heron who seemed to busily working on something in the top of the tree he was perching in. When he flushed he had a nice stick in his beak which I guess he was taking to his nest. A Green Heron flew up from the oyster beds at the end of the bluff and perched on a piece of drift wood a few feet away. I continued to float with the current out to the sound and as I passed the entrance to Myrtle Creek a Dolphin surfaced ahead of me. At first it appeared that he was heading in, but he turned and as I entered the sound I saw him and at least a couple of others surfacing on both sides of the mouth of Simpsons Creek.
I debated about where to set up for my lunch and ultimately decided to enter the little creek at the end of the Big Talbot Beach. The creek cuts in sharply around the oyster beds there and forms a nice, deep, secluded pool where I could set my chair and swim and read. That's just what I did for the next couple of hours enjoying the warm breeze and freezing cold water while I read and ate my lunch. The breeze seemed to turn as forecast and picked up in intensity from off the ocean. For a while, it seemed as if it would indeed clear the skies of the smoky haze but it soon became apparent that the opposite was happening. The sea breeze was not powerful enough to push the smoke back to Georgia but it was plenty powerful enough to create a wall which backed the smoke up and it got thicker and thicker as the afternoon progressed. Since it was about an hour before the tide was due to turn, I decided to explore the area of the sound south of the mouth of Simpsons Creek where it loops around behind the beach on Little Talbot and forms a large bay. As I paddled along the shoreline, I saw lots of shorebirds including many Black Bellied Plovers, Oyster Catchers and Dowitchers. There was also a Great Egret, a Great Blue Heron and a few Brown Pelicans feeding at the far end of the pool so I cruised up toward them.
I was able to get quite close to the Heron before he flew off but he only flew a few feet past me toward the sound and I cruised by both he and the Egret who were fishing in the same area - so closely that at one point they briefly sparred with each other when they got a little too close. I headed back toward Simpsons and decided to take a detour up Myrtle Creek to see if by some miracle my lost keys might be visible in the bottom of the creek. Even though it was low tide there was still at least three feet of water in front of the campsite where I likely lost my keys and I was unable to find them. As I searched, an Osprey flew low overhead with a snake in his claws. Just as I was thinking "Gee I hope he doesn't drop that thing" he seemed circle even lower while he glared at me. I swear - he was considering it for a moment, probably thinking "I don't even like snake - I bet it would be funny if I dropped this wiggler on that guy down there."
He hung onto it and I headed back to Simpsons and let the tide carry me back to the ramp. I scared up a couple of Green Herons near the bluffs and had several great photo ops of Great Blues feeding along the shoreline as I headed up. I also passed some more Whimbrels who flushed ahead of me on several occasions. On the last one they joined three or four more who were hanging out together. I made the rest of the journey easily but of course with the tide all the way out it was a slippery mess to exit my boat and lug it up to my truck. See the pictures from this trip
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