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It's outage time! Trips this month: 12
3/2/06 When I got up this morning there were Lake Wind Warnings and predictions of 15-20 mph winds with gusts of up to 30. So it was a perfect day for me, right? Well, actually I WAS going to call it off but we had gone shopping at Army-Navy yesterday and I was anxious to try out my new "toys" - a Deck Box and a paddle leash so I decided a "quickie" in Hannah Mills would be a good way to try them out. I almost called it off again when my wife called me from the Sisters Creek bridge to tell me that Heckscher Drive was shut down due to what was rumored to be a bomb threat at Atlantic Marine Shipyards but I decided I would put in and paddle out to the waterway to check it out. The water wasn't too rough going out and with the wind at my back I made good time out to the Kingfish Park. I didn't expect to see any birds and that was pretty much the case. The few I saw were in no mood to be photographed and I was rocking and rolling far too much to do any sneaking. Once I got close to the ICW I could tell that the activity at the shipyards had shut down the waterway as well and I could see a Florida Wildlife boat that looked awfully familiar stationed at the Manatee Zone sign. I considered briefly venturing out to see what they would do but the water was rough and I decided that since this was a situation that could potentially involve Homeland Security I didn't want to push my luck - especially since I was in the mood to be a smart ass. I did want to check out the Osprey nest there so I skirted the waterway on the marsh side and checked it with my binoculars which were nestled securely in my new deck box. The quick disconnect on my leash enabled me to forget about my paddle while I used the binoculars but I couldn't see any activity there. My friend Johnny Law probably had them handcuffed in the back of his boat for violating his security perimeter and for all I know he gave them a citation for not having a whistle. But I digress.... Anyway - I headed around to the old cedar and I could see that they were holding all the boat traffic up beyond Shad Creek. By now the wind had kicked up a few notches and by the time that I made it to the main pool adjacent to Hecksher Drive there were lines of white caps rolling toward me. It made for a slow and arduous journey back with salt spray covering my face but it was fun. It was a rare no photo day but still worth the time.
3/3/06 Last week when I was on Simpsons Creek I realized that I had explored very few of the side streams in the area on the way down to the Nassau Sound so I waited for the tides to be high at mid day and decided to make that my goal today. I got in the water about an hour before high tide but the water levels were already nearly peaked out. I haven't paddled on Simpsons at this tide in some time since I have been trying to ride the tides in and out. I had to buck a pretty strong current as I headed south until I reached a branch about a third of the way down. This was the major side stream of the area and it headed almost directly back toward A1A. I followed it until it petered out just shy of the road where I was directly across from the entrance to Amelia Kayak. I made my way back to the main channel and continued on toward the Sound until I reached the area just above Half Moon Bluff. I got out and explored a but and then began working my way back toward the ramp along the same streams I had explored last week. The tide was starting to head out and the water levels were dropping so I didn't explore as much as I wanted but I did confirm that at high tide you can take the smaller branches that run along the edge of Big Talbot from the ramp almost all the way to Half Moon Bluff. It would have to be at peak high tide but it could be done. I expected to see a lot of birds up in the big pines that line Big Talbot - it seems like an ideal Eagle spot but I saw nothing and for the most part it was a disappointing day for photos. But not for paddling - it was well worth the trip. See the pictures from this trip
3/5/06
The weather was just too nice to not paddle today even though it was my 5th trip in 7 days. I put in at Cedar Point on Heckscher Dr about 3 hours before high tide on a day with almost no breeze and not a cloud in the sky. The lack of breeze made the put-in a bit gnatty and the little buggers caused me to choke as I tried to sneak up on a Great Blue just beyond the put-in. No matter. As I got further away from shore the gnats stayed behind and it was incredibly peaceful as I paddled through the glassy waters. As I cleared the second bend and began heading west toward the confluence point I saw a huge mass of white in that direction that I realized could only be one thing - White Pelicans. At least two dozen of the gentle giants were gathered at the entrance to the confluence area where the two small oyster bed islands are located - the same ones that I had seen the one legged Pelican on two weeks ago. I tried to position myself so that the current would carry me toward them but the best I could do was inch my way slowly in their direction by paddling occasionally and shooting occasionally. They didn't seem to be too worried about my presence but with the rising tide their refuge was getting smaller and smaller and occasionally one would drop off the island where the majority were gathered and swim over to see if the other island had more room. I could almost hear them sing the song we used to sing to our kids - "there were seven in the bed and the little one said 'I'm crowded - roll over' - and they all rolled over and one fell out and there were six in the bed and the little one said......" I sat there watching them preening themselves and little bits of down came floating toward me as I floated closer and closer. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the water about 50 yards away and I looked to see at least a couple of Dolphins making a huge splash as they chased some fish up against the grass bank. A few seconds later they came swimming by and headed toward the confluence. Not long after that the Pelicans decided that I was getting a little too close so they calmly scooted into the water and began swimming away. Both groups seemed to make this decision at the same time and soon the two groups were one and I continued on my way toward the sea daisy island where I usually take a break. Once I got to the island I looked back and saw that the Pelicans were now airborne and were spiraling upward on the thermals. I took a leisurely coffee break at the island hoping that the Dolphins would pass by but they didn't. I decided to head on up toward Cedar Point and within the hour I had reached it and then not seeing much I turned around and headed back. Just past the confluence point I passed a pair of Dolphins heading in the opposite direction - quite possibly the same ones I had seen earlier. The rest of the trip was uneventful. See the pictures from this trip
3/8/06
The cool breezy weather we had at the beginning of the week gave me a chance to take a paddling break but today I was ready to get back out there. I was pretty tired though so I gave up any thoughts of trips that would require much effort and with the tide at dead low that pretty much left one place - the FGR. As I headed up Heckscher I glanced over at the Cedar Point Creek put-in and saw that one of the nearby side streams was literally jammed packed with White Pelicans. If the tide hadn't been too low to put in there I would have enjoyed watching them feed in the shallows but I headed on to the Ribault Club. I decided to head east and circumnavigate the big grass island opposite the ramp in a counterclockwise direction. Almost as soon as I put in - I could see on the beach near the Little Talbot side a Reddish Egret running up and down along the water's edge. I began to paddle over to him but he flew off and landed at the entrance to a small stream that runs along the edge of the Talbot shore. As I got close I realized that there was another Reddish in the same area. They both flew off before I got close - one flew to the sandbar that is part of the grass island I was circumnavigating and the other flew further up the stream. I followed it a ways and watched it actively feeding but it spooked before I got very close and joined it's companion on the same sandbar where they stood more or less motionless too far away from the water's edge to photograph . I paddled around the sandbar looking for a way to get close to them but finding nothing I came back around and was going to head on to find a place to hang my hammock when they both flew off. One of them flew to a pool very close to the water's edge so I pulled my boat over and sat shooting him for at least 30 minutes. He was being pretty active and I enjoyed watching him run around. Finally I decided to try and find where the other Egret had flown to so I paddled on toward Simpsons Creek. I found the second Egret in pretty much the same area that I had seen one last week when I was here and so I positioned myself in the middle of the pool he was hunting in. I have read in some bird books that their insane feeding ritual is an attempt to create shade for fish to seek refuge in but this has never made sense to me because they do the "hooding" with their wings far too quickly to allow the fish to be drawn in. As I watched I realized that what they are doing is blocking the glare of the sun off the water so that they can see the fish. Of course I still stand by my theory that they are trying to make the fish die laughing so who knows? I sat there watching this Reddish do its thing for another 30 minutes and it apparently didn't mind me sitting there watching it. It was fun to see it high step as it ran close by me through the water making a soft "splash, splash splash" sound as it peered intently on the water. Finally, I moved on and since it was getting late I decided against hammocking and went instead to "our sandbar" where I sat down and ate my sandwich and drank a beer. There was a Great Egret sitting in the grass nearby and I was amazed that he let me walk over and stand a few feet away shooting. He knew I was there but he was determined to stay put so I let him be and headed back to the Ribault ramp. See the pictures from this trip
3/12/06
Not much of a trip - our dog was bored so woke me up earlier than I wanted to get up so since I was up I decided to head out. It was calm when I first woke up but my the time I got going the wind had kicked up from the south. I put in at Pumpkin Hill and with the tide already heading out and the wind blowing I decided to head south into the breeze and current so that I wouldn't have to fight it on the way home. I just meandered around a bit in some of the side streams that run up along Black Hammock and them took some photos of a Tri-Color feeding in the mud with his copper breeding plumage showing very distinctly on his back. After about and hour or so I headed back. See the pictures from this trip
3/13/06
Hope and I had planned to go paddling on my day off last Friday but the weather turned breezy and we decided to explore Guana on foot instead. Today, we decided to make another try at a relaxing trip in the FGR even though the winds were supposed to be in the 10-15 mpg range. That made my decision about where to go a lot easier and so we picked up a sandwich at Nicoles and put-in behind the Ribault Club at 11. We paddled directly across to the grass island opposite the ramp and headed down the channel on the eastern sandbar side. We paddled to the end of the channel and set our chairs up on the beach and started reading. I headed off in search of a Reddish Egret that I was pretty sure I had seen when we were approaching and found him just a few feet away. I followed him to a pool and spent several minutes shooting him before he spooked and flew down the sandbar. We ate lunch and read some more and then I went to see if the Reddish had returned. He had and so I spent some more time shooting him. I noticed that he wasn't dancing as much which was probably because the clouds were keeping the glare off the water for the most part. Before we left I decided it was just warm enough to take my first dip of the year in the pool near our chairs - brrrrrrrr!! - it felt great! We had to lead our boats a good ways until we were in water deep enough to paddle and met another kayaking couple on the way out. It was a nice day out. See the pictures from this trip
3/15/06
Today's trip is a good example of how you never know what you are going to find when you go out in the Timucuan Preserve. My back has gotten a little tender from spending far too much time sitting on my ass at work so I wasn't too sure about making a trip today. The weather was nice so I figured a short trip up the road in Browns Creek would a good way to work the kinks out. There was a pretty decent breeze kicking up so I had a good feeling that the birds would be hanging out en-masse on the leeward side of the islands. On the whole the trip was pretty disappointing from a photo standpoint. Any birds that I did see were in no mood to pose and every time I tried to line up a shot I wound up on an oyster bed and the loud crunching sound of plastic on razor sharp shells accompanied by loud cursing scared everyone away. I had just about decided to call the day a washout and was ready to head back to the put-in when a group of vultures came circling low overhead in the company of an Osprey. As I came around the back side of the first island I had just circumnavigated I looked up and saw a large dark bird hulking in the shadows of a squat oak tree. I was about 10 feet away and he was no more than 10 feet above the water. My first thought was that one of the vultures had landed ahead of the group so I wasn't going to take much notice of him but he was so close I decided to get my camera out. As I did I realized that I was not looking at a vulture but a very young Bald Eagle who was sitting there staring at me while he ate a fish. It lunged out from the shadows just as I began to shoot and with a loud swooshing sound began to fly away. I watched as he appeared to fly just around the next bend so I headed that way. I paddled slowly as I approached the turn and was fortunate to look up in time to see him sitting on a branch about 20 feet above the water. I managed to position myself near him and proceeded to watch and shoot him for about 10 minutes. He had his back to me but clearly he was watching me and did not touch the fish he had in his claws. Finally, he flew off, proceeding around the next bend where I found him yet again sitting in a pine tree. This time he didn't stay long and flew off toward the north where he could eat in peace. This is most likely the same immature Eagle that I saw here a year ago. He is still very dark and his beak is very dull still. It's nice to see the young Eagles are doing so well out in the preserve. See the pictures from this trip
3/19/06 I've been in a funk for the last several days due to my laptop crashing earlier in the week but today I decided it was time to get out there and settle my mind out on the water. So what if I have to spend $1500 that I didn't want to spend? I got in the water around 10 and began paddling toward the confluence point in choppy waters. As I approached the place where I had seen the White Pelicans a couple of weeks ago I saw six of the giants begin to rise above the water. They were probably back on the same oyster bed islands but the tide had come up enough to send them on their way. I watched as they slowly circled and caught the thermals and began soar out of sight. As I got close to the sea daisy island I spotted a fin rising out of the water ahead of me. I had no definite plans so I decided to let the Dolphin be my tour guide, He led me east toward Hannah Mills and I followed shooting occasionally. Finally, he surface once very close to me and next thing I knew he was gone. I sat for a while listening for his exhale but there was nothing so I headed on without him. I was just west of what I call Center Marsh Island so I took the turn and followed the little stream that runs along the north side of it and them followed it north where it peters out south of the Pelican pool. I turned around and then explored a few other streams before I decided to end my trip and head back to the put-in. See the pictures from this trip
3/22/06
My new laptop was due to be delivered today but the weather for the rest of the week is supposed to turn nasty so I decided to make a quick excursion to Hannah Mills before our UPS lady makes her deliveries. I have been wanting to check on the Osprey families out there since I have been observing the activity at the plant for the last month. Especially, I wanted to check on the Manatee Zone pair since I have been watching them now closely for four years and feel as though they are part of my family. It was pretty windy and a lot cooler than it has been of late so I had to put the spray skirt back on as I headed across the main pool. I headed directly toward the marina so that the incoming current could carry me toward the sign. Once I got to the waterway I found that the strong north breeze was piling up the water against the incoming current making it pretty rough and my photo attempts as I passed the sign were difficult. I managed to get a few, however and as I approached I could see the male standing on the edge of the nest while the female sat nestled inside. He flew off as I passed with a fish in his claws and went to the islands on the eastern bank to finish his meal. I pulled over to the side for a few minutes to observe the female but it was too rough to sit for long and she was apparently on her eggs and in no mood to leave. From there I completed the circuit via the old cedar and returned home to await my computer. See the pictures from this trip
3/26/06
I got the night off which meant that I could get out on the water without worrying about coming back at a particular time to get ready for work. I decided to head up to Pumpkin Hill to catch the outgoing tide and see what I could see. It was a bit breezy and the temperatures overnight had dropped back into the 30's but by the time I got in the water it was around 50. As I was getting ready to ferry my boat down to the water I heard a pair of Red Shouldered Hawks calling to each other but I never saw either of them. Once in the water I let the current carry me toward the point. The tide was already halfway out so I expected to see a lot of feeding herons but on the way out I didn't see much. There were a pair of immature Brown Pelicans floating in the creek and as I floated by them I saw a lone White Pelican come flying in low over the grass. It appeared that as soon as he saw the Browns that he did a quick circle and landed next to them. They sat there floating together for a while and it seemed as if he had made a special point to visit with his smaller cousins. As I approached the point I didn't expect to see much since I knew the northerly breeze would keep branches free of herons. There was an Osprey sitting on the western edge of the point so I slowly, quietly, made my way against the current coming out of Edwards Creek and managed to park myself almost directly beneath him. He was meticulously grooming himself - going over every feather with his beak. He didn't seem to be aware of me or if he was he didn't seem to care. I must have sat there for 20 minutes taking around 100 pictures before he decided to leave. I headed back out into Pumpkin Hill and crossed over to the eastern bank. I managed to get close to a Tri-Colored Heron who was feeding in the shallows and I watched him for at least 15 minutes. He was sporting his breeding plumage with the copper colored pin feathers on his back and a little tuft coming from the top of his neck which was blowing wildly in the wind. After two long photo sessions I was ready to head back and the tide has just began to turn so my trip was relatively easy in spite of the wind. As I began to head south I saw a large column of White Pelicans rising from the interior of Edwards Flats. They were doing the same thing that I have observed the Pelicans who live west of the ICW between Hannah Mills and Cedar Point do - taking off a dozen or so at a time and then slowly circling as they catch the thermals rising from the marsh. This confirms what I have suspected for some time - that there is a completely separate and independent flock living in this area. They most likely have a pool similar to the one along the ICW in the interior of Edwards Flats but that is such a remote place I doubt that I will ever find it. As I headed south I passed some herons feeding on the other side of some oyster beds and as I paddled over I saw hidden behind another oyster bed were six White Pelicans who were extending their huge bills out into the mud to scoop their meal. Surprisingly, these normally unflappable giants spooked as soon as they saw me and flew to the opposite side of the creek where they landed and immediately entered a small stream. I paddled over and entered the creek just in time to see them disappear around the corner ahead of me. I was surprised that there was still enough water to allow me to follow but there was and soon I caught up with them just in time to see them begin the feeding process again. Once again, however, they spooked and flew off. I completed my journey back to the put-in and as I was about to exit my boat an Immature Bald Eagle flew over heading south. See the pictures from this trip
3/29/06
I definitely in the mood for a "veg out" paddle today so I put-in at the Ribault Club a little past high tide and began paddling toward Simpsons Creek. I took a detour into the interior of the grass island and followed the stream until I reached the north end exiting directly opposite the entrance to Simpsons Creek. My original plan was to hang my hammock on the island at the mouth of Simpsons but by the time I reached it I was in the mood to explore a little bit so I continued down Simpsons and explored the streams that go into the interior of the marsh located between the FGR and Coon Keys. After doing this for a while I came back out on Simpsons and so I decided to paddle on around to the main island of the chain and hang out there. I hadn't been there in a few years although I have often thought of camping there since it is truly one of the better camping islands in the entire preserve. It is well used, however, and not a place that I would even attempt to visit on a weekend. This spot on Simpsons is also quite busy for boat traffic and as I approached that fact was reinforced several times over as fishermen and crabbers buzzed by. It's also one of the most popular routes for PWC's during the summer but, thankfully, today I didn't see any. Once on the island I took some time to walk around it. It really is a great place with easy access to several campsites located in various places both on the water and in the interior of the island. The last time I was here it was fairly trashy so it was nice to see that most of that had been cleaned up. I finally decided to hang my hammock on the east side overlooking Simpsons Creek. The Yellow Flies were out in force today and since I had forgotten my bug spray I wanted to be exposed to what breeze there was. Fortunately, even those flies that were lighting were not biting so I swung in the cool breeze while enjoying my sandwich, beer and book. I easily could have spent the whole day at this location or even longer but work was waiting for me so I reluctantly packed up and headed back. I was resigned to this being a non-photo day but as I approached the ramp I could see that the banks were covered with dozens of Ibis and Snowy Egrets so I turned into the yacht basis to do a loop. The trees were empty for the most part save a lone young male Osprey who flew off as I approached. He flew down the bank and landed in a tree a few feet down from another male who had a fish. Two young male Ospreys in the same location this time of the year is a bit unusual and I wondered if these guys were bachelors. At any rate - neither of them wanted to give up the yacht basin and simply moved a few trees down or across the basin when ever I got too close. See the pictures from this trip
3/31/06 Today was a "veg-out" paddle from the git-go. After picking up our sandwich at Nicoles we got in the water behind the Ribault Club at 10:30. I saw the trees at the end of the basin full of birds so we did a loop to see who was there but it was only egrets and Ibis so we headed on. The tide was peaked out high so there was plenty of water in the grass island so we cut through the middle of it and came out just opposite the Little Talbot side of the entrance to Simpsons Creek. Not much to say after that. We strung our hammocks and spent the next three hours eating, drinking, reading and swinging. The only thing that slightly ruined our afternoon was the sighting of the season's first assholes on Jetski's whizzing noisily by. No pictures today - just a day to relax and enjoy the warm weather.
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