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April starts off with some wet, windy weather. Trips this month: 8
4/5/09
It had been nearly a week and a half since my last trip out - partly due to weather and partly due to a little flare-up of my SI/Back problem. I was much improved this morning so with a small gap in the wet, breezy weather we have been having lately I got up early and headed toward Guana and was in the water at 9:30. The water level was still extremely high - not surprising after the deluge we had this week, so I decided to head north along the eastern shoreline. I immediately began to run across large groups of Coots who were often in the company of a few Blue Winged Teals. The Coots would run across the water to get away from me while the Ducks would fly away long before I could get close enough to shoot. I wound up shooting very little for most of the trip up although I saw a good bit. I missed several good shots because of my senses being dulled by fatigue and lack of sleep but for the most part there just wasn't much to shoot. I was setting up to shoot a Tri-colored Heron when I realized that there was a large Gator laying in amongst some Palmetto scrub behind him but he began moving as soon as I saw him and I only managed to shoot the end of his tail. I paddled up to the pool behind the big oak landing but found it empty and decided to return to the ramp. I had seen a few Stilts flying back and forth overhead and as I approached the ramp I spotted one hanging out on one of the few shallow spots left with some Coots. I paused for a few minutes to get some of the few good shots that I managed on the day and then finished my trip back to the landing. See the pictures from this trip
4/8/09
Winter returned to the area last night with lows dropping into the mid-30's. I got up early this morning intending to take advantage of a relative lack of breeze at last and paddle somewhere close to home. I finally settled on Cedar Point and was setting out at peak high tide on a crisp clear day that had warmed up into the mid-40's by the time I hit the water. With a fairly brisk westerly breeze in my face I was glad that I had worn my heavy fleece and I donned my paddling mittens for probably the last time as the wind started to sting my fingers. I made my way toward the confluence point seeing very little of interest along the way. I soon found my self at the point and decided to head up the little stream towards Cedar Point Road so that I could see if the nests that I have seen were being used this year. As I approached them I couldn't see occupants in either of them so I continued on, briefly shooting a Green Heron along the way.
I reached the place were the boat squatters are located and found that the situation was the same as it has been for the last couple of years. I am quite sure they have abandoned the vessels and the placard that the FWC placed there on New Year's day was still in sight. The deluge of rain that we had last week filled the speed boat and the sail boat with water and it was draining out of a hole in the sail boat. All of these boats are probably sunken into the mud and it is going to take a major effort to remove them so I don't expect it to happen any time soon. I let the current carry me back toward the point. As I approached the nests once again an Osprey flew off from the smaller one and I could see another Osprey standing in it who soon flew off. I pulled into the pool beneath it and waited for a few minutes and soon one of the Ospreys came swooping up and settled into the nest for a while before flying away. The presence of the Ospreys in this nest pretty much puts an end to my speculation that the other nest less than 100 feet away is an Eagle's as there is no way that Eagles and Osprey would peacefully live so close. It may have been one at one time but if so it has not been used in a while.
I continued on out to Cedar Point Creek and then had to paddle against the strong outgoing current as well as an even brisker wind that had shifted to the south. Once I got close to the confluence point the current turned in my favor which eased my efforts. There was a lone Dolphin swimming in from Clapboard and he passed the oyster beds at the confluence and continued on toward Hannah Mills. The rest of my trip was uneventful until I reached the put-in where I realized that I had mistimed my trip by a few minutes and a few inches and had to slog through a few feet of mud losing my Crocs a couple of times. See the pictures from this trip
4/9/09
I was in the mood for a little hammock time today and with high tides around 10 and calmer winds in the forecast I headed to the Ribault Club and was in the water at 10:30. I did a short circuit of the basin and then headed against the outgoing current toward the docks. As I turned into the stream just past the last house I spotted some activity underneath the roots of the fallen trees and paused to shoot a Green Heron who was feeding there. I chased him up the stream until he finally flew into the interior of the marsh and I made my way around the bend toward Point Isabella. There was nothing happening there so I ferried across to my Hammock place and set up there to do some relaxing. I watched a Bald Eagle circle over Little Talbot Island as I swung in the breeze that had become a good bit stiffer than forecast. After about and hour I made myself pack up and decided to go back the way I came so that Ft. George Island would shield me from the wind. As I cruised down the stream I shot a Great Blue, an Osprey and probably the same Green Heron I had seen earlier. The Osprey was one that I believe I have been seeing both here and a few miles further inland because he has the most unusual streaky plumage. When I first starting seeing him as few years ago at basin adjacent to the Ribault ramp I assumed that he was just an immature but I keep seeing him and his plumage has never changed. I continued on back to the ramp and reluctantly headed back home to get ready for another night of the outage. See the pictures from this trip
4/15/09
As the end of our spring outage at work draws near my schedule was due to change as well meaning that I would be working 6pm to 6 am starting today. With that in mind, I knew that this might very well be my last chance to get a good night's sleep and a relaxing paddle in for the next several days. My plans to do just that were disrupted by an unruly Circulating Water Blowdown Pump that kept me at work until nearly 3:30 this morning. After about five hours of sleep I woke up to a glorious day and since I didn't have to be at work until 6 I decided to head to the Ribault Club and do some hammocking on the FGR. I did my usual circuit of the basin shooting the Night Herons before exiting and floating with the incoming current past the docks and around the bend to Point Isabella. Finding nothing of interest there I headed across to my island and strung up my hammock and swung in the chilly breeze while I ate, drank and read. It was much colder than expected due to the brisker wind than had been forecast but occasionally the wind would die down almost completely and the warm sun would heat things up considerably. After a couple of hours I departed and decided to take the long way around the big sand bar shooting a Whimbrel along the way. I did another circuit of the yacht basin before packing up to leave. See the pictures from this trip
4/23/09
The outage that supposed to end this past weekend got extended due to some shoddy workmanship by the Boilermakers who instead of repairing our tubes actually cut them and by last night it became apparent that there was no reason for anyone to keep working any extra hours and the outage for plant personnel at least came to an end. As much as I wanted to sleep all day I dragged myself out of bed this morning and pushed myself to get out the door and headed towards Ft. George River by 10:30. Since I still had one more night of work before my shift ended I couldn't stay out too long but with calm winds and temps well into the 80's I knew that the FGR was the only place to be on a day like today. I was in the water a couple of hours after high tide so after cruising around the basin near the ramp I headed out into the river against a strong outgoing current. I made my way uneventfully past the docks and around the bend toward Point Isabella where I cut across to my hammocking island. After setting my hammock up and taking a quick snooze I decided to brave the icy waters for my first swim of the year. It had turned out to be a bit breezier than I had expected so it was tough to make myself take that final plunge. I had visions of Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Vacation - "this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy" as I leaped into the water. I hooted and hollered and made a quick exit to my hammock where I spent the next hour eating and drinking while I swung in the warm breeze. An hour later, however, I was ready to try it again but when I leaped into the water I realized that my crocs stayed stuck in the sand and I completely forgot how cold it was. As I retrieved my shoes I soon realized that the water seemed to feel a whole lot better and I wound up staying in the river for the next 15 minutes or so. In fact, I really didn't want to leave the water or the island but after contemplating grabbing my cell phone and telling work that my outage was over even if theirs wasn't I decided that it was time to head back. I passed some Whimbrels on my trip back but for the most part it was uneventful and I headed home and got ready for my last day of work for a while. See the pictures from this trip
4/24/09
Well, the outage is over! Or at least the overtime portion of the outage for me and I took off a couple of hours early on my final night so that I could get out on the water earlier that I have been able to for the past two months. With high tide at 9 am I decided to make my way toward Simpsons Creek and catch the outgoing tide out to the sound. It was forecast to be a beautiful spring day with little wind and highs approaching the high 80's so I knew that after my previous day's outing on the FGR that it would be a great day to spend vegging out on the beach and swimming in the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
I was surprised to find that I was the first one at the put-in when I arrived there and I was soon on the water drifting slowing toward the sound on a slack tide that was just starting to turn. I passed little to shoot until I reached Half Moon Bluff where I shot a Green Heron feeding in the tree roots there. Once out in the sound I saw a pair of Dolphins feeding in the glassy waters south of the mouth of Simpsons. One of them had part of his dorsal fin missing and I followed them for a while before they disappeared. I made my way along the shoreline until I reached the spot where I normally camp out when I come here.
I since I didn't have to keep and eye on the clock for the first time in two months I spent the next couple of hours enjoying the absolutely delicious icy waters of the sound while the hot Florida sun beat down on me relentlessly. I ate and swam and dozed in the sun in between taking dips in the sound and finally decided to drag myself away and begin the trip back as the tide became slack at low the low end. I made my way upstream against a negligible current that soon turned in my favor. I saw little on the way back until I was almost back to the ramp when I spotted some Great Blue Herons that I spent a few minutes shooting. I got back to the ramp when it was just past dead low tide which meant that the water was a good foot lower than the end of the muddy ramp but the stones that someone has placed in the water made the exit from the water a lot easier. See the pictures from this trip
4/28/09
I made my way out to Pumpkin Hill this morning and was in the water a little past 9:30 - about 2 hours after low tide. As I passed the trails I saw what I thought at first was a young Bald Eagle but soon realized that it was a Red Tailed Hawk who was being harassed by a crow. A Dolphins was heading upstream but I never got close enough to shoot him. I made my way to Tiger Point and there was just enough water to make it into the marshy area behind the point. On the opposite side of the pool I could see an Osprey nest with the female nestled down in it. This apparently the nest that replaced the one that used to be along the road that leads away from the point that had blown down last summer. There wasn't enough water in the marsh to get very close so I marked it on my GPS and exited the area. I exited my boat at the point and decided to walk down the road to see if I could spot the nest from land. Using the waypoint on my GPS I could tell the general location which was on the other side of a pine grove that lies on the west side of the road. There was a path that led down to the edge of the marsh where the nest was located but it was pretty overgrown and I decided to not risk a snake bite and returned to my boat and made the trip back to the put-in. See the pictures from this trip
4/29/09
I awoke to another beautiful spring day and decided to head back out to the FGR to do some more serious hammocking. I got a late start but was still in the water a little after 10:30 about three hours after low tide. I did my usual circuit of the basin before heading out but was disappointed to find only a couple of young Night Herons in the trees. The incoming current carried me swiftly past the docks as I sipped my coffee and enjoyed the warm sun on my face. I cruised around the bend and paddled up to Point Isabella but found nothing to shoot there. I crossed over to my hammock island and was soon ready to relax with some beer and a good book. It was a bit breezy and the temperatures were only in the mid-70's but I couldn't resist a dip in the icy waters rushing in from the Atlantic Ocean. I've quickly acclimated myself to the freezing water and hated to leave it but I finally did and sat in my hammock eating lunch while a male Grackle sat a couple of feet above scolding me for invading his territory. I had work to get to so once again I had to cut my visit short and once the tide slackened I made my way back doing another fruitless circuit of the basin before packing up to leave. See the pictures from this trip
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