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Back on nights for the outage.
Plenty of time to paddle Trips this month: 11
3/3/10
With the start of the outage and some rainy, breezy weather it had been over a week since I had been on the water. Today, in spite of the return of the breezy cold weather to the area I was determined to get out if only to knock some rust off. I figured that Thomas Creek might be a good place to try since it might offer me some shelter from the wind and with high tide at Boggy Creek around 8 am I figured that I might be able to time it just right if I got in the water around 10. I wound up sleeping later than I had intended and didn't arrive at the put-in until well past 10:30 but as I pulled up I realized that I couldn't have timed it any better. The water level was lower than I have ever seen it since I began paddling here last fall and that meant that I would be well below the wind and that I would have the current with me on my return trip. My late start, however meant that I wouldn't be able to go too far downstream and it would be unlikely that I would make it up the place where I had turned around in September. There was a jon boat and a couple of canoes tied up to the shore at the put-in which I thought was strange and figured they must have belonged to one of the locals but about a half mile downstream I spotted a floating platform with a fairly new looking aluminum shack built on it. It had a small porch with a new looking grill and cooler so I am fairly sure that the canoes, jon boat and shack belong together and this was yet another attempt by someone to live "off the grid" - at least on weekends. I continued on downstream against a slack tide and a wind that would occasionally gust down the channel nearly ripping my hat off my head. I reached the place where I had seen an Osprey nest on my previous trip and could see the nest ahead of my on the top of a cypress tree. As I approached, an Osprey appeared overhead with some nesting material in it's claws chirping away as it flew toward the nest. I pulled over and waited for it to land but it continued on past the nest into the woods behind me. I made my way around the next couple of bends until I reached the time that I had decided I would need to turn back to home. The tide had just turned as I made my way back and the wind was at my back for most of the way. When I reached the Osprey nest I could see that there were two more nests in the vicinity and in one of them was an Osprey - likely the one that I had seen with the nesting material. The other two nests were so close to each other that I am sure that they belong to the offspring of the other Ospreys. I continued on upstream and had just passed by the floating shack when a Red Shouldered Hawk flew out from a branch almost directly above my head. He flew ahead to another tree and I was able to shoot him for a couple of minutes before he flew into the woods. I made my way back to the ramp and headed home.
See the pictures from this
trip
3/5/10
I had some errands to run on the south side of the river so I got up early and made my way towards Guana. As I pulled up to the ramp I could see an immature Bald Eagle chasing an Osprey about 50 feet up in the air while a pair of mature Eagles circles far overhead. Directly above the water the air was filled with dozens of Barn Swallows who were zipping back and forth occasionally skimming the surface of the water. As I unloaded, I could tell that the water level is finally being lowered and was barely touching the end of the boat ramp. I set out and spotted a large gathering of birds up the trail that runs along the east side to the north so I turned and headed in that direction. As I paddled toward them I could see that the low water level was causing a feeding frenzy amongst all of the usual winter residents of the lake including Ibis, Wood Storks, Great Egrets and Little Blue Herons. There were about six White Pelicans who were swimming back and forth amongst the other birds but when they saw me they swam and then flew away. I paddled north, not sure how far the low water would allow me to go but I was soon behind the island and making my way around it. I had paused to shoot another large gathering of birds and was moving further north when I happened to look down and see what appeared to be a six foot Alligator lying perfectly still in the mud just below my boat. I froze my stroke and glided over him with not more than a couple of inches between him and my hull while he never moved or blinked his wide open eyes. I began to wonder if it was a real Alligator since I have passed over what I have begun to believe is a statue some prankster placed in the water further north so I looped back around and stopped just a few feet from him. I could see his huge eyes looking at me but I still wasn't convinced he was real until finally, after a couple of minutes, he began to very slowly move away. I gave him a wide berth and made my way north until I reached the docks where I headed out to the main channel. Once there, I could see that the flats were still covered by at least six inches of water so there is still some level that will need to be dropped before the spring breeding season can begin. The fact that there were no flats exposed meant that my return trip was primarily in the company of Coots, Moorhens and the occasional Teal but the wind was at my back and the trip was easy. As I got ready to turn into the channel leading back to the ramp, I spotted a Bald Eagle flying down the western shoreline just above the trees. As he approached the large pine that sticks out well above the tree line directly opposite the landing, he stopped, circled the tree a couple of times and then landed in the same branch where I have see he and his siblings and offspring perch so many times in the past. I considered paddling over but I knew that he wouldn't stay and I had errands to run before heading to work and loaded up.
See the pictures from this
trip
3/7/10
I had the night off and Hope and I made plans to see a movie and have dinner out so I didn't feel like going to far for my paddle this morning. I didn't sleep very well the night before so my energy level was pretty low but for the first time in over a week there was little wind and the temperatures were supposed to reach the mid-60's. I decided to head to Pumpkin Hill and was in the water at dead low tide. I shot a few birds as I rounded the first bend and was headed toward the trail when I spotted an Otter swimming toward me. I spent the next several minutes following him around and then headed on downstream. The rest of the trip down to the point was uneventful but as I rounded the last bend I spotted a pair of Dolphins exhaling as they headed into Edwards Creek. A lone White Pelican was swimming around at the point as I made my way to the point and got out to stretch my legs. I headed back with the incoming current but saw little on my return trip until I approached the last turn before the put-in. The same Otter I had seen before was swimming about just a couple of hundred yards upstream from where I had left him. I shot him briefly and then wrapped up my trip and headed home.
See the pictures from this
trip
3/8/10
Hope and I took advantage of my night off and headed out around 9 am to put-in at Simpsons Creek. We arrived at the put-in at the A1A bridge at absolute dead low tide which meant a mucky, muddy mess of a put-in into a slack current. We had an easy trip down but saw almost no wildlife except for some sleepy Brown Pelicans sitting on the many sandbars that dot the channel. Once in the sound we headed north toward Big Talbot and ducked into the little creek at the end of the beach to what I call my "secret beach". We spent the next hour eating and enjoying the warm sun and gentle breeze. Since I had to get back to work, we packed up and headed in around noon on the strong incoming current. We saw even less on the way back and were soon at the ramp where we were happy to see that the rising tide had covered most of the mud making our load up easy.
See the pictures from this
trip
3/9/10
Rain was forecast for the rest of the week so I pushed myself to get out for a third consecutive day in spite of decreasing energy levels. I very nearly canceled the trip when I looked outside to see gray skies but I loaded up and headed toward Horseshoe Creek so that I could scout out places where we could do some paddle picnicking in the near future. For the third consecutive day I managed to arrive at the put-in at dead low tide which I discovered makes the northern branch of the Horseshoe almost impassable. I managed to scrape over some very shallow water and was soon paddling out to the ICW where I headed north toward the entrance to the FGR. There was little to shoot and I soon found myself pulling up to the sandbar that lies opposite the Kingsley Plantation. I beached my boat and walked around it to find some places where we would be able to build a fire pit and grill steaks and then returned to my boat and ate my lunch. With the tide coming in I set out for home but had to stop and watch with amusement as a Seagull tried in vain to open a clam. He was carrying it around the area in his beak and then would drop it on the sand from about 20 feet up. It would thunk on the sand but it was not hard enough to crack it open and on his final attempt it stuck so deeply in the sand that he was unable to pick it back up and finally gave up. My trip back was uneventful as have the last three or four trips that I have taken. A lot of the reason for that is that I don't really have the freedom to go looking for interesting stuff and have to take what I see in stride.
See the pictures from this
trip
3/15/10
I had the day off on Sunday but with the time change and high winds forecast I decided to spend the day working in the yard. My plan was to get up early and head either to the St. Marys River or one of the Four Creek to spend the day on the water. My body had other ideas and I didn't get up until 7:30 so I decided to scale my plans back a bit and headed to Thomas Creek.
I arrived at the ramp a little before 9 to find the water level a good foot lower than it was a couple of weeks ago and the current was still heading out slightly. I knew that it was about to turn which would mean paddling against it for most of the morning but have it on my way back. I knew that the wind would be picking up later in the day and coming out of the NW it would be in my face but I hoped to find that the narrowness of the channel would shield me for the most part. As soon as I set out I had to pull over to change the batteries in my camera and as I was doing so I looked up to see a pair of Vultures sitting a few feet above me. I quietly told them that they had better not even think about pooping on me and proceeded to make the battery swap and reset my camera. I was nearly done when something suddenly plopped in the water directly beside my boat and several white spots appeared on my front deck and pant leg. Fortunately, it missed my camera but I looked up and pointed at the offending bird who was looking down at me to see if it had hit it's target before flying off.
I had noticed that the canoes and jon boat I had seen on my previous trip were not tied up at the ramp but I soon saw the floating shed come into view and two people were standing on the porch eating. One was an old man who said "hi" and commented on the nice weather and the other appeared to be either a teenage boy or girl bundled up in winter clothes with a knit hat on. As I passed the man asked if I had seen anyone at the ramp when I left and I told him I had not. I could see the jon boat and two canoes tied up to the ramp which confirmed that these were the method of transportation for the people who are apparently living here.
As I headed on, I could tell that the tide had turned and for the rest of the trip it gradually got stronger against me. I passed by the sharp bend in the creek where the three Osprey nests are located close to one another and I decided to dub this area "Osprey Point". They chirped at me as I passed through their area and I was soon approaching the place where I had turned around on my first trip back in September. I had been passing several landings where the vegetation had been flattened down indicating that an Alligator had sunned himself there recently. Suddenly, I looked ahead and saw what looked to be at least a 10 foot Gator lying on one of these area with his head pointed away from me. I was able to stop and shoot several photos until he suddenly raised his head, whipped around and in one violent motion shot into the water causing a large wave to roll across the creek. Around the next bend the creek headed due east into the sun and I could see the stump with a tree growing out of it in the middle of the creek where I had turned around on my first trip here. As I drew even with it, I looked to my left and saw the landing that I had driven to back in November and I pulled over to investigate. I trail leading up to the road was boggy but manageable and I realized that this was the place where I needed to launch from in order to complete my journey the rest of the way to the Nassau River. I continued on for another mile or so to a place called West Landing where there were a couple of docks and there I turned around. The tide was now fully coming in which made my going easy unless I was hit by the brunt of the wind. I was approaching the area where I had seen the Gator earlier in the day and spotted what looked like a smaller Gator a little downstream of where I had seen the first one. He allowed me to shoot him for a short time until he shot into the water and disappeared. The rest of the trip was uneventful and I soon found myself back at the ramp.
See the pictures from this
trip
3/16/10
I decided to stay in the neighborhood this morning as I set out to paddle on a beautiful late winter morning with little wind in the forecast and a high tide around the time I got in the water. I set out from the Hannah Mills put-in along Heckscher Drive and decided to make a counterclockwise loop of my usual route and was soon floating out to the ICW by the new kayak launch at the Kingfish Park. Of course, as I passed, I realized yet another reason why I will probably rarely use this facility as the floating dock and walkway were covered with fishermen who had decided that it was just perfect for their uses. As I pulled out into the waterway and headed north a paid of Dolphins were heading south with the swift outgoing current and I could see that the Manatee Zone sign Osprey nest was being occupied by a pair of the birds. It has been abandoned for the last couple of years or so after successive years of failing to produce offspring that reached maturity. I was happy to see that it was being used once again since it gives me a great view of the chicks when they start to pop their heads above the top of the sign. I paddled against the strong outgoing current until I was just past the sign and then let the current sweep me by as I shot the birds who glared at me but stayed silent. I paddled north until I reached the northern entrance to Hannah Mills directly across from Shad Creek. Behind some grass there I spotted a Canada Goose who was trying to stay low and out of sight but swam quietly away when it saw me. I paddled around the island at the entrance where we camped several years ago and decided to make this my destination for eating my lunch and taking a break. I beached my boat and walked across the small flat on the NE side of the island and up the steep oyster mound to the back side where we had camped. I set up my hammock and chilled out briefly while I ate my sandwich and drank a beer before packing back up and heading home.
See the pictures from this
trip
3/19/10
I had some errands to run on the south side of the river so I got up earlier than normal and headed in the direction of Guana Lake. I was surprised when I arrived to find the parking lot nearly full of cars as a kayak outfitter was getting ready to take a tour out on the lake. I managed to squeeze in ahead of them and was heading toward the main channel as the guide was giving her instructions to the group. The water level appeared to be just a little bit lower than two weeks ago although the mudflats extending out from the cat tails were still covered by water. I hesitated when I arrived at the channel but finally decided to head south toward the Eagle's nest so that I could check and see if the baby Eagles had hatched. When I was still about 1000 yards north, I decided to angle toward the western shoreline and attempt to paddle along the path there. Once I entered the trail I could see a mass of white ahead of me and realized that it was about a half dozen White Pelicans feeding along with several Wood Storks and Egrets of all kinds.
The path had only a few inches of water which meant that whenever I stopped paddling I would grind to a halt in the mud. I probably should have turned back but I knew that it would get deeper a few yards further south so I continue to slog through. The Pelicans flew off as did most of the other birds and I soon found myself floating free just north of the pine grove where the Eagle's nest lay. I spotted one of the adults sitting in a tree just to the north of the nest and as I drifted south I could see a dark silhouette rising above the edge of the nest. I confirmed with my binoculars what I already knew and got a few shots of what appeared to be a very young Eagle chick whose face and beak were so black I could detect no features.
I stayed in the area for a few minutes waiting to see if a second chick would appear but none did so I paddled out into the middle of the lake and headed north. A couple of Gators who had been sunning themselves on some grassy islands came out to greet me and I saw a couple of more in the water as the warm weather is starting to make the reptiles more active than they have been in a while. As I got close to the prominent pine tree that lies opposite the ramp, I spotted another Eagle perching on the same branch that I almost always see them sitting on. In spite of the shallow water I was able to work my way over and wound up drifting almost directly under the tree before he flew off in silence.
I decided to head back toward the ramp, but as I pulled into the channel leading back to the landing I spotted a familiar shape in the shallows and soon began to hear the familiar "kek, kek, kek!" call of a pair of irritated Black Necked Stilts - the early arrivers hoping for a good real estate deal before the rush begins. I paused to shoot but a pair of fishermen in a Geenoo roared by and they flushed. When I got back to the ramp - it was a zoo as people were loading and unloading while some FWC people prepared to launch an airboat. I pulled into the trail to the north for a couple of minutes before deciding that I might as well try to squeeze in. I was loaded up and gone to run my errands in a few minutes.
See the pictures from this
trip
3/23/10
Things were starting to heat up at work as we reached the end of the outage and prepared to get back online so I decided to head to my favorite spot to do a little "vegging out" - the FGR. Low tide was due at around nine and the weather forecast called for highs in the upper 60's with some breezy conditions to occur after noon. The tide was already coming in as I set out from the ramp behind the Ribault Club and entered the basin. I could see that the trees lining the basin were full of birds which as I approached could quickly identify as mostly Snowy Egrets, Black Crowned Night Herons and Ibis. There was one bird in amongst the Ibis that looked oddly out of place although it was approximately the same size and shape as the Ibis. I noted a slight touch of pink and as I got closed I detected the spatula shaped bill of a Roseate Spoonbill. This one appeared to be very young and I speculated that instead of this being the first Spoonbill of the year it may instead be a youngster who got left behind and has probably spent the last few months thinking that he is really an Ibis. He seemed quite content to sit with his cousins grooming himself in the rapidly warming mid-day sun. I did a circuit of the basin flushing the Night Herons as usual and then headed out to the channel where I let the incoming current carry me past the docks and across to my hammock island where I set up camp and relaxed for the next hour or so enjoying my book, beer and sandwich while the westerly breeze picked up. I packed up and made my way around the big sandbar in order to stay out of the strongest current and once back at the basin did another quick circuit before heading home.
See the pictures from this
trip
3/24/10
The weather forecast for today was even better than the day before so with low tide around 10 I decided to make another trip to the Ribault Club to paddle in the FGR. The tide was slack and glassy as not a breath of wind was stirring the surface of the water as I set out into a suffocating cloud of gnats looking for their first meal of the year. The trees in the basin were full so I did a circuit shooting the Night Herons who I could now see were sporting their long breeding plumes. The young Spoonbill was no where to be seen but his Ibis friends were back in force. I decided to head east against the slight incoming current and once I was east of the bridge I decided to head out to the end of the beach at Hugenot. By the time I reached the end the current was definitely coming in so I turned around and floated in until I reached the bridge and then turned into the lagoon on the back side of the beach. I looped around and returned to the bridge and let the tide carry me past Alimacani where I beached my boat and ate my lunch there on the large sandbar. After a little break I headed across to the ramp and did another turn in the basin. As I was heading back to the ramp, I heard the call of a Pileated Woodpecker coming from the opposite side and watched as it climbed down the trunk of a tree. I was remembering the Pileated that I had seen a year ago in almost this very spot digging in the sand below the trees. As I was remembering this and wondering if it was the same bird I realized that it was indeed on the beach doing the same thing I had seen it do last year. I shot it for a while and then once it finally flew away I returned to the ramp and packed up.
See the pictures from this
trip
3/30/10
The outage officially ended last night so I was able to take off early and spend some time watching the full moon rise over the marsh while sipping wine with Hope and the dogs. I was up early, determined to hit the water on a chilly, breezy morning with high tide due to hit around 10 am. I finally settled on Horseshoe Creek with my plan to head south to the Pelican pool and then, if possible, up Cedar Point Creek.
I arrived at a nearly empty put-in to find the tide higher than I have seen it here which made my launch as easy as ever. I was soon out on the waterway to find a gentle current heading south toward the St. Johns River. As I passed the island that lies between the two entrances to Horseshoe Creek, I paused to shoot a Great Blue Heron perching in the pine trees. As I shot him, I began to notice some very flimsy nests nearby and saw a pair of heads peeking over the tops of each nest. I realized that these were Great Blue Heron nests that were both occupied by females who were hunkered down into the shallow nests while the third Heron kept it's eyes on me. I shot them for a while and then headed south toward Cedar Point Creek and the Pelican Pool.
I shot some Snowy Egrets that were perching near the mouth of Cedar Point as well as the King Fisher who I can always count on posing for me along the same stretch of the waterway at this island. I beached my boat and began walking across the flats toward the mass of white that I could see was mostly still asleep. About a third of the Pelicans were just starting the morning grooming process and occasionally, a large bill would emerge perpendicular to the the rest of the flock and open wide as the bird began to stretch it's huge pouch. The majority of the flock had their heads tucked under their wings and appeared content to snooze away the morning while the bright sun blazed through the crisp blue sky. I approached slowly, pausing to shoot occasionally until I was about 20 yards from the edge of the pool. All of a sudden I realized that all of the heads were erect and pointed in the same direction as someone had spotted me and silently given the alarm. I walked a little further but soon a few of the birds began scooting into the water followed by large groups who began flying across the pool and land in the water near the middle where they began to migrate to the opposite side.
I returned to my boat and paddled back north to the entrance to Cedar Point Creek. I was surprised to find that the current was still flowing in and even more surprised that it was strong enough to easily overcome the stiff breeze that was hitting me in the face. I paddled down to the island that is a popular campsite and began to float past it when I glimpsed the unmistakable shape of a Bald Eagle through the trees. He was perching on the southwest corner of the island looking out over the marsh to the west. I paddled down the little stream that runs into the marsh on the west end of the island and got a few shots of him before he flew away, landing on the next island inland. I paddled around the next bend and began ferrying over against the current, pausing to shoot the Eagle as he perched there watching me. When I was just over halfway across the channel I could see him look directly at me and then around the area and I knew he was about to flush which he did almost immediately afterwards. I watched as he flew over to the southern part of Cedar Point, near the landing and perched on one of the tallest trees. I continued in that direction but a minute or two later he was gone.
I made my way to the landing which was empty and decided to head north toward the Osprey nest hoping to find the Eagle perching somewhere along the way. The trees were empty, for the most part, but at one point a Green Heron flew across the creek and disappeared into the woods. The Osprey nest seemed to be unoccupied and I saw no sign of the Eagle so I continued on north until I reached the place where the boat squatter's have been located. I was fully expecting them to still be there but as I rounded the last bend I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were gone. After more than a year after the FWC had posted the warning and at least three years after they had first shown up the area is now back to its pristine condition. I headed back as the current began to slacken and head out and once back on Cedar Point Creek I found it heading out in force. With the brisk breeze at my back I was soon back at the camping island and decided to beach my boat and eat my lunch there. I climbed up to explore the campsites which have been recently used and more of the area has been cleared. I walked to the back of the island where I could look across the marsh to the Pelican Pool which seemed to be still almost completely full of the big white birds. I returned to my boat and made my way up to Horseshoe Creek where I entered the southern branch and paddle around to the the ramp and headed home. |
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