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Paddling Journal February 2005 That damn outage is coming up again - good time to paddle away! Trips this month: 7
02/06/05 The rough water made me want to take refuge quickly so I ducked into the drainage canal that runs along the dredge spoil behind the fish camp. The high water made it possible for me to go considerable farther than I usually can go in this little man-made ditch that is choked with fallen limbs and trash. After exploring it for a while I headed back into the main channel but soon decided to head over to Pelotes Island and see if the flood tide would allow me to explore a small channel that goes deep into the interior of the island on the SE side. There is the remnants of a man-made wall at the entrance to the stream that I have often wondered about. I think it may have been there to create a fish pond in the island where a small community was once located. I was able to get deep into the pool but eventually the rushes were to thick to pass so I paddled back to the entrance and took a coffee break. I expected to find the pool full of birds taking refuge out of the wind but they were no where to be found. After my break I thought briefly about continuing north along the coast of the island but once I left the refuge of the stream I was greeted by a much stronger wind than before and I gave up and headed back to the ramp.
02/08/05
Glorious weather. Its a good thing we didn't have this weather last week for the Super Bowl - we'd have never gotten rid of those Philly and Pats fans. A cloudless sky, temps that promised to reach the 70's and not a breath of air to disturb the glassy water. I put-in at Browns Creek where I found a kayak fisherman getting ready to depart as well. The tide had just turned but we are still feeling the effect of the flood tides over the weekend and there was almost another foot of water in the marsh as I headed west. I decided to do the same route that I did a couple of weeks ago except this time I did it from the other direction - heading west to paddle by the first island and then north along the western edge of the creek. As I approached the island I could see that the trees held six or seven Great Blue Herons so I stayed on the opposite bank as I passed them and then let the current push me back under their trees as I snapped. I entered the plant's run-off pond but was disappointed by the lack of bird life so I headed north. The high water made skirting the shoreline quite easy and I was also able to explore some of the inlets that cut deep into the woods. Previously, I had only been able to explore these inlets a few feet before the water became to shallow. Several Herons were in the trees of these inlets but they saw me well before I saw them. I did manage to scare up a couple of Raccoons who were along the water's edge and one of them scurried up a tree where he pretended to be asleep until he realized that I wasn't buying it and joined his companion in the woods. I kept my eyes open for the wild hogs that I had seen here last trip but there was no sign of them. As I made my way south with the current, I spotted a large hawk-like bird in a tree and took a few shots of what I assumed was a Red Tailed Hawk. Later, after reviewing the photo I realized that it was actually an immature Bald Eagle who was not more than a couple of years old. See the pictures from this trip
02/09/05
It was another beautiful day as I set out from my Hannah Mills put-in and began paddling across a pool that was so glassy it was a shame I had to ruin the perfect mirror with my ripples. The flood tidal conditions were still in effect and even though it was 20 minutes after peak tide I was sitting a good foot higher than usual. I made my way north and decided to visit the Pelican Pool to see if the tidal conditions would allow me to paddle into the slough that leads into their location. The current in the ICW was already heading out and it was slow going as I headed north. Once I got to the place where I could look across the mudflats toward the pool I could see their heads popping up above the grass but the level had dropped just enough to prevent me from visiting unless I wanted to take a walk. I decided instead to cross the ICW and enter Deep Creek. The outgoing current here was pretty swift and I almost turned back but I knew that there would be a point where Shad Creek's influence took over. That happened a lot sooner than I expected, thankfully, and most of the trip in Deep Creek was easy. I soon reached the large channel tower at Shad Creek and as I approached I could see the familiar shape of an Osprey near the nest. A check with my binoculars confirmed what I had hoped to see - a nesting pair. The female was sitting on the nest itself with the male close by. He soon flew off, leaving his mate to do the housekeeping. I re-entered the waterway and continued south toward the Kingfish Park. I spotted another Osprey on the Manatee sign so I crossed again to get closer. As I was crossing I could hear the sound of another Osprey chirping and I could see a male hovering high above the sign - at least 200 feet above the water. He was vocalizing almost nonstop and was acting rather strange. He was hovering almost directly over the nest and would occasionally fold his wings and plummet toward the water as if he were going to dive after a fish. He was far too high for that, however, and he would pull up, do some acrobatic moves and then continue to hover - chirping all the while. This continued for some time and at one point I think I saw him actually do a loop in the air before he finally swooped in to join the female on the nest. As he approached the nest I could see that he had a ridiculously small fish in his claws and I wondered if his aerial act wasn't a way to compensate for his lack of fishing skills. I could almost hear him saying "I know it's small - but did you see those moves I was making up there?! C'mon baby - I'll be a good provider - the fish will fear me when do my loop-t-loop!" She wasn't buying it though, because he didn't stay on the nest long and she soon left as well - to catch her own supper no doubt and perhaps to see what else was available in the male Osprey world. The rest of the trip was very draining. The high tide caused some unusually swift currents as it left the marsh and a slight breeze had kicked up as well so I was a tired puppy once I got home. See the pictures from this trip
02/14/05
We decided to forego our planned trip on the St. Mary's today because the weather reports said that we were going to be in for T-storms all day long. We decided instead to take our dog Sister for a walk this morning and then run some errands. Once I got home I realized that the expected precipitation was not going to happen and a quick check of the radar confirmed this so I headed out for a quick paddle in Browns Creek. I got in about two hours after high tide but I figured that the flood tides that we were having would give me plenty of water to paddle in and I planned to head over to SJRRP's runoff pond to see if any herons would be feeding at low tide. Along the southern edge of the closest island I encountered several Tri-Colored and Little Blue Herons feeding along the grass at low tide. It was fun to observe them - especially the Tri-Colors who were pretty oblivious to my presence and very active as they pursued their prey. I made my way over to the pond but didn't see much in there so I turned back and tried to navigate around the north side of the first island. I turned back after shallow water began to make me a bit nervous and I wound up retracing my path back to the truck. See the pictures from this trip
02/16/05
A late night at work made me almost spend the day vegging at home but I awoke to clear skies with the promise of temps near 80 so I figured it was "hammock time". I packed some Guinness and my book and called in my order to Nicoles and was in the water behind the Ribault Club a little over and hour after getting out of bed. It was low tide so after shooting some Night Herons in the basin I headed east at first and crossed over to the channel that runs along the western side of Little Talbot Island. I took my time as I headed to the place where Simpsons Creek joins the FGR and found a couple of palm trees that were just right for the hammock and proceeded to veg out with my Grisham book. The wind kicked up a bit while I was swinging in the hammock but it didn't make my trip back too difficult. Another kayaker beat me to the take out so I decided to take another tour of the yacht basin and managed one of the best shots of a Night Heron I have ever taken. See the pictures from this trip
02/20/05
I was a little slow getting going this morning and the sun was already up and the tide had just started out. When I got in the water a light fog was just beginning to burn off and the with it the chilly morning air was rapidly warming toward a beautiful day. I decided to make my way north stopping at the confluence point to drink my coffee and eat a Mojo Bar. Once I reached the place where the creek branches off toward Pumpkin Hill I decided to follow it a couple of miles to the north before deciding to turn back. I had just turned around when I saw a sight that I had never seen before in the marsh - an ultra light aircraft which circled the marsh before flying directly overhead a hundred feet or so above the water. I let the current carry me south and when I reached the confluence point of Hannah and Cedar Point I paused to photograph and observe a group of Oyster Catchers on the beds there. I actually observed one of them engaged in the activity for which they are named. It was sticking it's thick, oyster knife-like beak into the oysters attempting to pry them open. I never saw it actually eat an oyster but at one point he chased away a seagull that was hanging about hoping for a tidbit. I continued on, picking my way through the shallows and just barely made it back to the takeout before the water went too far out and left me with a mucky walk to shore. See the pictures from this trip
02/22/05
Sunday's outing wore me out and caused my shoulder tendonitis to flare up a bit so I didn't think I would make this trip today. I felt much better when I got up this a.m. so I figured a light "veg-out" paddle was in order. It was well past high tide as I set out from the Ribault ramp and made a quick tour of the yacht basin. I then crossed over to the sand bar opposite the ramp and followed the small cut that runs along the grass. Once I reached the point across from my hammock spot last week I realized that the gloomy weather, although making the FGR quiet and peaceful, was not exactly conducive to swinging in a hammock so I decided to explore the interior of the sandbar a bit. I then decided that since the shoulder was feeling pretty good I would continue on to Pt. Isabella and hike along the beach there. I walked along, horrified at the trash but admiring the driftwood until I reached the rocky outcropping a quarter of a mile east of the Plantation. I had planned on eating lunch back at the wharf but a yachter had pulled up near there and were listening to a very loud marine radio so I pushed off and let the current carry me back to our sandbar where I ate lunch and drank a beer before heading back to the ramp. |
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