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What will August bring? Summer is coming to a close so a lot of paddling I hope. Trips this month: 7
08/1/04
I set out this morning with no clear idea where I was going to go or where I was going to end up - not all that unusual for me come to think of it. I found the Cedar Point put-in empty which on a weekend, lately, is unusual so I braved the trash and got the boat in the water about 8:30. I could see that on the opposite bank from the put-in there was a Great Blue Heron sitting in the grass so I decided to see if the wind and current would push me near before he spooked. He was so well hidden that I thought he had taken off while I was positioning myself for the float in but I decided to stay patient and kept my camera pointed where I thought he was. We were both quite surprise when I cleared the grass and found him still there a few feet away. Of course he flew off noisily and I continued on. My back was a little more tender than I realized once I got out there so I didn't think I would stay out long. As I rounded the second big bend where the creek splits off either to the south toward Clapboard or north and east toward Cedar Point road and Hannah Mills, I observed a lone Spoonbill flying overhead. He was coming from the general direction of Tiger Point but I never saw another. I crossed over intending to take the northeast branch and hang out near the large sea daisy island at the confluence of Cedar Point and Hannah Mills. Just as I reached the other side I heard three loud exhales and turned to see the large bright white plumes of mist exuding from the dark shapes which were just surfacing. This forceful display repeated itself and it was followed a few seconds later by some intense splashing near the grass on the opposite bank. There were a couple of fishing boats anchored there and the dolphins were at least 200 yards away so I stopped where I was and observed them moving back and forth between the boats and the grass - often splashing a great deal as they fed happily. I scared a number of herons away from the sea daisy island and then stopped to rest a bit. I was really thinking seriously about heading back at that point but I decided to explore a couple of the small streams near there. At one point I saw a small dark shape along the water's edge and paddled over to investigate. I had just about convinced myself that it was merely a piece of wood sticking out the grass when it moved and as I got closer I could see that it was the rarely seen but always heard Clapper Rail. These shy birds are the rude noise makers of the marsh and you can usually hear their whoopee cushion-like calls resounding through the marsh at dusk. It is very rare to see one, however, and at best you might see one as they scamper from one bank of grass to the next. It was very unusual for this guy to be sitting out in the open and even more unusual that he didn't seem too perturbed as I tried to get closer. Finally he had enough and in a flash he disappeared into the grass behind him. I tried to do an imitation of his call to see if he would respond but I guess he thought it sounded a little too much like a squirrel bark or a bad Donald Duck imitation and he was right. At any rate he remained silent. One of the little streams put me out in the branch of Cedar Point that heads directly to the ICW so I thought "why not?" and headed that way. About where the large sandbar is located I saw another promising stream and decided to explore it for a while. Finally, I headed back about three hours after setting out. See the pictures from this trip
08/2/04
It hardly counts as a trip worth mentioning except for the wildlife we encountered. We headed over to Ginnie with the intent of having a day of snorkeling, tubing and paddling on the Santa Fe River. As soon as we pulled into the parking area of the main spring we saw a large Red Shouldered Hawk sitting up in the tree next to where we parked. He soon flew away to tree a few yards away and sat there looking at us for a few minutes until my attempts to take some pics sent him on his way. There was also an immature Ibis strolling nonchalantly through the picnic area as we unloaded. Unlike our last visit, the park was almost completely empty - enforcing our earlier belief - NEVER on weekends. After a bit of snorkeling we hit the river with our floats and had a nice, lazy trip down the empty Santa Fe. Just before reaching the boat ramp, I was paddling close to the bank when I found myself face to face with a Yellow Crowned Night Heron. He wasn't more than five feet away and without my glasses I probably would have missed him entirely had I not meandered over there. As I tried to stay near him he spooked and flew directly across the river. I paddled upstream to alert the rest of the group and then headed back to where I saw him land. Andrew and I managed to find him again and he was hunched over the water focused intently. We watched as he snagged what looked like a frog and gobbled it down. After we got back to the picnic area and ate lunch Andrew, Jenny, her boyfriend, Matt and I decided to attempt a paddle up to Rum Island. As soon as we got in the water we started to hear some rumblings nearby as a storm seemed to be heading our way. The Yellow Crown, meanwhile, had only moved a few yards downstream since we were there earlier and was now directly across from the boat ramp. I told the others to go on and I proceeded over to the shadowy cypress stumps where he was lurking. It was almost too dark to get any good shots but I think I managed to get a few and then I caught up with the group. As soon as I reached the others a Red Shouldered Hawk flew over our heads from one side of the river to the opposite bank. Within a few minutes, it was apparent that the storm was not going to miss us so we pulled into Devil Springs to see what was going to happen. As the rain started to fall and the lightning got closer we finally took refuge off the water under one of the nearby shelters where we waited out the storm. It was quite a deluge and the thunder was incredible - the kind that begins with a deafening crack and then rumbles from one end of the sky to the other. The analogy of a celestial bowling alley certainly fit. Finally, the lightning seemed to get further away and the rain let up so we decided to head back to the ramp and head home. Of course, no sooner had we reached the ramp than the rain stopped and blue skies began to break overhead to the west. It was time to go home anyway so we found Hope back at the spring and headed east. See the pictures from this trip
08/15/04 Pheewwwww! What a week it's been! It started with me back in the hospital with another kidney stone attack and after four days of that it was time to batten down the hatches and wait out Bonnie and Charley. So, needless to say - not a lot of paddling going on - or even the thought of it. So, today I was feeling much better and decided that I was up for an unchallenging excursion nearby - just to break back into the routine. Once I got out in the water I was glad that I made that decision because I could tell that my body wasn't up for much. As usual, I cruised by the Night Heron hangout and got some nice shots of the immature Yellow Crown who is living there and then headed out toward the old cedar. The air was very still and stifling and it reminded me of the accounts that I have read of what it was like in places where a hurricane had recently struck. Although we were pretty much unscathed here in Jacksonville, it passed close enough to give us a scare and there was an unnatural stillness in the air. There were also an incredible number of herons out and about and I don't doubt that having storms pass through here on consecutive days did a number on the normal routines of most kinds of bird life. At any rate - they all seemed to be out and making up for lost time. As I approached the old cedar I could see that it was chocked full of herons including a Great Blue who out on the very end of the tree. The new cedar out in the middle of the channel was occupied by an Osprey who flew off as I approached. I watched him as he flew in a loop behind the old cedar and then appeared to playfully fake a dive at the Great Blue who flinched as he swooped to within a few inches from his head. He flew off soon after and the rest of his buddies left shortly afterwards and I was unable to get many good shots. I stopped for a water break at the cedar and along with the stillness in the air the presence of the guano left by the herons gave the tree and very earthy smell. The grass surrounding the tree was full of the white, downy feathers left by the herons who had been preening themselves. I headed north from there and passed a Green Heron and also another Clapper Rail who was standing at the edge of the water out in the open. As I tried to maneuver over to him I saw him quietly turn and disappear into the grass without even disturbing a single blade. He was gone just that quickly that it was hard to believe he was ever there. I made it out to the ICW and went a little north before attempting to explore the mudflat behind one of the islands. A swarm of yellow flies quickly chased me back to the boat and I headed south. I pulled back into the main channel of Hannah and as I started to head back I saw a couple of Jet Skiers come in off the waterway and begin zooming wildly about the shallow pools north of me where I had just been. I watched the assholes with some amazement and wondered if they would have seen me had I been there at the same time - or would they have cared? Anyway - it confirmed my somewhat controversial stance on the Cruise Ship Terminal planned for Sisters Creek. More Houses on Heckscher? NO! Cruise Ships? No big deal as far as I'm concerned. Anyway - I was starting to feel pretty weak by this time so I continued on uneventfully. See the pictures from this trip
08/17/04 With a wary eye to the west and the radar I decided to make an after dinner paddle in Hannah. As I set out it looked like the isolated thunderstorms stood a 50/50 chance of missing me so I thought it was worth the gamble. The tide was just past mid-tide incoming and I had not ventured out in Hannah at such a low tide in some time. It is a great time to get out once you get past the "black tipped paddling" as I like to call it - the first 200 yards or so where the blades of my paddle come out covered in mud and the sound of the periwinkle shells scraping the bottom of my boat is constant. Finally, I reached deeper water and soon began to see what I had hoped to see. At this tide and lower is the time when the herons really flock to the water's edge to feed and even the Night Herons were out of their roosts and on the shell banks in search of food. The gathering storm and dimming light made photography an afterthought but the sky and water had an eerie beauty to it - dark gray above and bright silver on the water below. As approached the turnoff to the old cedar, I saw some Dowitchers gathered on an oyster bank and a couple of Skimmers were sitting there as well. As I circled the island, scraping the mud as I went, I began to notice a single bird that was walking back and forth through the crowd of Dowitchers. He had a very distinct black belly and I later identified him as a Black Bellied Plover. Around this time a lone Roseate Spoonbill raced overhead in the general direction of Tiger Point - his pink plumage contrasted against the slate gray sky. As I approached the heron laden old cedar, the sky began to darken dramatically and a sprinkle soon became a steady rain so I headed back. I hadn't gotten far when I began to see some ground strikes well away from me on the south bank of the river. A bright flash and loud pop that seemed to come directly over my head got my attention and I decided to head for the nearest sea daisy island where I beached my boat and then lay down in the bottom. I figured that the timid Dowitchers would provide and better target than I but they must have sensed this and didn't stick around long. I waited around about five minutes as the rain began to soak me through and I watched the sky behind the power plants begin to glow a faint orange. With no more flashes or pops I headed on, passing several Night Herons along the way - a pair of which were clinging to the last edge of an oyster bank as the water encroached upon their perch. They seemed to be quite surprised to see me floating toward them out of the grayness and took off at the last second. See the pictures from this trip
08/25/04 My daughter, Jenny, is returning to New York in a couple of days to begin her senior year of college and asked to accompany me on my paddle this afternoon. A strong Nor'Easter has been blowing for a couple of days and it almost made the weather fall-like with the small clouds racing across the sky and the waves rolling in from the northeast. We put-in at a higher than normal high tide and set out directly into the teeth of the 15 knot wind and the last of the incoming current. There were quite a few herons out but the wind and current prevented me from getting too close to them without spooking them so we made steady progress to the old cedar where we took a water break and then headed on. As we were about to enter the ICW, I spotted a large orange ball sitting in the grass and went over to investigate. It turned out to be a buffer that you often see on barges and it kind of resembled one of those toys they sold in the 60's that you could sit on and bounce. It was too tempting to pass up and so I jammed it between my legs and paddled on. It made paddling a little difficult but I just couldn't pass up a great piece of flotsam like that. I'm going to add it to my collection of orphaned crab floats and other flotsam that I intend to decorate one of my trees with. The rest of the trip was easy and uneventful. A few White Pelicans passed us overhead and looked to be heading to their pool north of where we were.
08/26/04
It's been a very long time since I have put in at Browns Creek. The seemingly never ending bridge construction that finally ended in May was a big reason for avoiding what used to be one of my favorite places but that has been over for a while now and it was just a matter of making up my mind to head west instead of east when I am ready to paddle. The Nor'Easter that has been blowing this week died down considerably but as I made the first turn I was heading into a fairly stiff breeze and a bit of a chop. I decided to take the route that takes me past the northern most island of the Browns Islands chain - the one with the chemical toilet. From there I decided to make the western circuit and skirt the eastern edge of SJRPP property. I passed by the old dock that is west of the aforementioned island and as I did a large hawk flew out from a pine tree nearby. Although I didn't get a good look at him he was about the same size as the Red Tail Hawk that I saw back here the last time I paddled a year and half ago. I kept seeing him the rest of the afternoon - and quite possible one or two more. I passed by another island in the Northwest corner of the marsh that was full of all types of herons, including an immature Yellow Crowned Night Heron. From there, I headed west and then south along the edge of the woods. I'm not sure if I had ever explored all of this area before but I found some really interesting and beautiful spots with some potential for camping or picnicking. I passed by a clearing I had been to a couple of years ago and spotted a strange object sticking out of the ground a few inches from the water. I paddled over and discovered that it was a two foot machete with a serrated edge on one side. I reached out with my paddle and extracted it from the ground and stowed it in the boat. Two days in a row now that I have found some really interesting flotsam out in the marsh. Eventually, I found the entrance to the runoff pond for the plant. As I entered this large shallow pool, I could see that the trees were lined with all manner of herons. In the pre-9/11 days, this pond was accessible from the plant and it was one of my favorite lunchtime hangouts. It was guaranteed that each time I would visit it I would see a new species of marsh bird including Stilts and Night Herons. In fact, it was the first place that I had ever seen a Yellow Crowned Night Heron. Now, thanks to Osama, security is taken a lot more serious and the gates inside the plant have been locked since that fateful day. As I passed the entrance, a lone Roseate Spoonbill flew out from one of the trees. As I approached the spillway I remembered how almost every time I would visit here a Black Crowned Night Heron would always fly out from the same tree nearby. Almost on cue one flew out and headed across the pool. Before entering the pool I had seen an the familiar and distinctive silhouette of an Anhinga flying off and it looked as though he had flown into the pool. Sure enough, I could see him in a tree overhanging the spillway. As I watched him a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers flew into the trees above the pool and one of them let loose with his raucous call. Finally, after doing a slow loop of the pool I headed out and found the main channel which runs by the island closest to the road. As expected, it was full of herons as well as a lone Wood Stork. The lone Spoonbill I had seen a few minutes earlier was there as well. From there, it was an easy float home at slack tide. See the pictures from this trip
08/29-30/04
We thought that with sunset just 10 minutes before a full moon rise tonight would be a really great night to camp out on the ICW. A check of the radar before we left showed dozens of tiny thunderstorm cells to the west of us but nothing that seemed likely to hit us. Well, I reckon they all got organized once they saw us out on the water because by the time we made it through the choppy water and the wakes of the Sunday afternoon boat traffic it was pretty obvious that something large was heading our way. As we scrambled to set up camp the thunder and lightning seemed to hone in on us and the wind started to whip the cedar trees above our heads. The herons who normally hang out on this island at evening time were also getting a bit nervous and were chattering noisily about the impending storm. We thought for a minute that it was going to blow by us with just a sprinkle and I went ahead and started the steaks only to have a pretty good steady rain hit us and stay for about 30 minutes - soaking us pretty thoroughly. It stopped and we never got any close lightning strikes and so we sat under the dripping canopy of trees eating our steaks and drinking our wine. We wandered out to the waterway about 10 minutes before sunset and braved the yellow flies as we sat on the bank watching a sunset that never materialized thanks to the clouds. The fireworks display to the south and north of us was almost as good though. We headed back to the campsite, pretty sure that the moonrise would be a disappointment as well, but not long after we had sat down and stoked the fire we saw the full moon peek out of the clouds for a few minutes before disappearing. The night was peaceful - no more rain - just some flashes of lightning well away from us and the occasional croak from the herons. I awoke for good around six and walked out to the ICW to call our son Andrew to make sure that he got up for school and watched the moon begin its descent toward the western sky. I decided to launch my boat for a brief pre-dawn paddle and headed east along the main channel of Shad Creek. I watched the moon set behind the clouds on the horizon and the sun rise at the same time behind its own wall of clouds. I saw the stream that I knew ran by our friend's, Dave and Liz's dock, and so I decided to head that way and see if they happened to be out drinking coffee. They weren't so I figured it was time that I headed back myself and brew the coffee for Hope and I and make breakfast. We sat there in a pleasant breeze for a few hours after eating breakfast and watched the spiders spin their webs in the treetops and the birds flit around the clearing. We spotted a bird we had never seen before - a Black Throated Blue Warbler - a rare bird for Florida at this time of year. The tide had just turned when we decided to pack up and set back for home and it made an easy paddle back to the Kingfish park. |
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