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The outage is finally over - now to make up for lost time! Trips this month: 7
5/2/05
I drove away from SJRPP this afternoon with Unit 1 close to 500 mw's ending a 8 plus week outage. Unfortunately, my 4 day weekend was ruined and some testing scheduled to be done later this week is threatening my upcoming weekend - no matter - the outage is over and I was going to celebrate with an afternoon paddle on a glorious NE Florida spring day. There was a fairly stiff breeze coming from the east which made paddling out toward the ICW against the incoming tide a little bit of a chore but I hoped it would still be there when I made my return against the outgoing tide and I was just happy to be out there as I took my usual northern route to the waterway. I paused at the first sea daisy island - now lush with the green foliage about to burst forth in blooms. There was a group of Dowitchers gathered as usual, huddled timidly on the oyster shells but I was attracted by an odd call that I had not heard before. As the Dowitchers flew off I noticed that one of them had a longer beak that was gently curved and I realized that it was a Curlew that I was seeing. I continued on, pausing at the old cedar to rest and watch one of the cruise ships head out. As I made my way out to the ICW a Green Heron flew across my path and landed on a tree near the banks of the waterway. I immediately crossed to the eastern bank so that I would be shielded from the ocean breeze and lazily made my way south. Once I reached Shad Creek I turned east and entered the lagoon behind the Heron Hangout island. I then paddled out to the Channel Tower and floated by as the female Osprey chirped at me while trying her best to stay low in the nest. As I sat and watched her for a while I heard a large splash and saw a dolphin quickly breach the surface. A couple of more large splashes indicated that the group had gotten onto some fish and were having fun. I then headed back out to the waterway and crossed slowly over to the western bank - angling toward the Manatee Zone sign where I could see both Osprey's heads peeking above the top of the sign. I tried to set my boat up so that the wind and current would float me by within a reasonable distance but I soon realized that I had miscalculated and wound up far too close as I came by and the alarmed Ospreys both fled the nest. I felt bad about doing that but after flying off, the female quickly returned to her eggs and while the male circled me several times - quite low - with a piece of nesting material in his claws. After making several turns around the area he finally returned to the sign and the two of them soon disappeared below the top to finish the work on the nest. I re-entered Hannah Mills at the marina and had little trouble making my way against the tide with the breeze at my back. I stopped again at the same sea daisy island and although I did not see the Curlew again I saw a couple of Black Bellied Plovers amongst the Dowitchers. See the pictures from this trip
5/3/05 Full load at SJRPP and another beautiful spring day in the preserve! I headed down the road not sure where to put-in but an empty pull-off at Browns Creek was too tempting so I backed the truck up and hit the water with a couple of hours of incoming tide left. As the current swiftly carried me in two things soon caught my eye. The first was just on the other side of the grassy point beyond the bridge. There was a flock of Least Terns hovering and dipping above the water that in the afternoon sun looked a lot like a bunch of huge butterflies fluttering above the grass. They were following a school of fish that was coming in on the tide and I watched as they fluttered northward. At the same time, I could see several large birds hovering above the west end of the main island. At first I assumed that they were vultures but their graceful shapes and blue grey color soon revealed that it was a half dozen or so Great Blues that were lighting on the six or seven prominent pines on that end of the island. They would land on one of the branches and then fly up and then drop back down and as I got closer I could see that they were vying for the better roost amongst the branches. I got close enough to see a couple of them but not close enough for any good pictures. I decided to make my usual circumnavigation of the area - this time coming from the east. I didn't see much wildlife - the tide was at near flood levels and still coming in and with the breezy conditions most of the herons were up in the trees and out of sight. I did scare a few Great Blues out of the shadows along the western bank but they saw me well before I saw them. I also saw a few Opsreys fishing and flying about but for the most part it was just me having a pleasant, peaceful paddle after work.
5/8/05
Yesterday was my first day off in over a month and I spent it digging up Azaleas that didn't want to budge. I was sure that I would wake up this morning with a shoulder too sore to paddle but instead it felt terrific - so much for those exercises my PT gave me to do. From now on I will just undergo a regimen of Azalea removal and my shoulder will be in great shape! Anyway - I got in the water just as the sun rose over the horizon and began paddling south toward the grassy point. It was cool enough for me to wear my fleece as I set out with a light breeze coming from the southwest. As I rounded the point and headed north I could see the familiar silhouette of an Osprey sitting on a tide monitoring pole. She was gazing intently at the surface of the water as the breeze pushed me toward her but she soon spotted me and flew away when I got to within 20 yards. I let the incoming tide carry me on toward the sea daisy island located at the confluence point of Hannah and Cedar Point where I took a breakfast break and drank some coffee. I spotted an odd object across the way and after my break I paddled over to investigate. What I found was apparently a Crabber's boat that has sunk at the point where Cedar Point breaks off to the north. The entire boat is submerged with the exception of the large flat roof that is characteristic of this type of boat. I haven't been up here in a couple of months so this has to be a fairly recent event. I headed on northward having decided by this time to make a circumnavigation of the marsh via the ICW. Just before reaching the large sandbar where Cedar Point turns east and enters the waterway I saw a Dolphin's fin rise up out of the water directly ahead of me so I pulled over to watch him head the opposite direction. After he passed by I saw a Great Blue nearby that I took some pictures of before continuing on my way out to the Intracoastal. As I made the turn south on the waterway I was greeted by an aromatic breeze and I noticed that the island where Cedar Point enters the ICW was entirely covered by honeysuckle - a good name for this island I think. This is the island that lies in front of the White Pelican's pool and as I passed by I could see that several of them were sitting in the shallow pool that is located directly behind the island so I got out to investigate. They let me get within a few yards before flying up and joining the rest of their flock in the pool a few hundred yards west. As I headed south I spotted some Curlews on the banks along with a pair of Black Bellied Plovers. By this time the traffic on the waterway was picking up and I was glad to be able to get off the waterway and into Hannah Mills. I stopped on the banks of the waterway and drank some coffee and orange juice and took a quick dip in the chilly water. As I entered Hannah Mills I saw a pair of Bald Eagles soaring high overhead being pushed by the breeze toward the coast. I headed east and found the shortcut to Cedar Point so I headed into a westerly breeze that had increased since I started out. I made steady progress and within the hour I was back at my put-in after a five hour trip. See the pictures from this trip
5/8/05 Just a quickie to check out the inlet side of the new bridge - something I had not done since it was completed last summer. We are planning a "paddle picnic" this week and I wanted to see how last season's hurricanes had re-arranged our sandbars. Apparently not much - if anything the storms opened things up a bit and the location where we usually set up is separated from the rest of Huguenot Park once the tide comes in and that means we won't be bothered by the rednecks who hang out in the rest of the park. I walked around a bit watching the terns and the gulls interact a bit and then took a nice swim in the chilly water and then headed back.
5/13/05
Out first paddle picnic of the year and the first one on the sandbars east of the bridge in almost two years. We set out into a pretty stiff easterly breeze but we had the last of the outgoing tide to help us overcome the choppy waters and we were at our spot in a few minutes. I dug the fire pit and lit the charcoal and we took a dip while we waited for the coals to get ready. After putting the steaks on the grill we opened our wine and sat in the bright evening sun while we waited for them to cook. We were entertained by the sight of a pair of copulating seagulls - the male at least was having fun and letting everyone know about it. After a pleasant dinner we walked around the sandbar looking at the Pelicans, Terns and Gulls and then sat to watch the sun go down and then caught the incoming tide home. A pleasant, cheap evening of good fun. See the pictures from this trip
5/16/05
I thought about doing a pre-dawn paddle yesterday (Sunday) but a quick look at the tide chart got me thinking instead about a trip down Simpsons Creek on Monday so I did the right thing and mowed the lawn - I know my neighbors are happy. This morning I got up at 5:30 and was in the water at the A1A bridge at 6:30 - about 10 minutes before the sun rose over Little Talbot Island. The tide was at mid-level going out which meant that I had good flow to carry me towards the sound and I barely had to paddle. I made good time and arrived at Half Moon Bluff in 45 minutes. I pulled off and ate my breakfast on the sandy beach beneath the bluff while I watched the sun rise into the cloudless sky. As I was about to leave I noticed that an Osprey was sitting in a tree above me and 30 yards downstream. After setting back out I saw that another Osprey had been sitting in another tree another 30 yards further down the bluff. As I continued on my way I began to see several Skimmers flying in from the Sound and also quite a few Oyster Catchers. One of the Catchers had an Oyster in his beak and he had come flying out from the large horseshoe branch that is located just beyond the Bluff. I decided to head in to explore - something I had not done in several years. Ahead of me I noticed a Clapper Rail running along an exposed beach between the grasses and he quickly disappeared. A few seconds after he entered the clump of grass I began to hear the familiar call of the Rail thumping away in alarm and the grass began to bristle with activity. Suddenly, it exploded as two Rails came flying out at me accompanied by a loud racket. One of the Rails flew past me and landed on the opposite bank where he quickly disappeared - the other took a quick u-turn and landed back in the clump where the activity had originated. I have to assume that the first Rail I saw had stumbled into someone else's nest and the female (the second Rail) had chased him noisily away. I entered the sound and spotted a couple of Skimmers sitting at the entrance to Simpsons Creek. I also spotted some Black Bellied Plovers nearby. I have to wonder why these residents of the Artic Circle are still down here in Florida - or maybe I don't. At any rate, I took my time floating by the huge oyster beds located north of the mouth of Simpsons shooting the Plovers and Skimmers. As I did I spotted some movement in one of the beds and realized that it was a Ruddy Turnstone busily "turning stones". Actually, he was flipping the oyster shells in search of food and after a while I saw him nab a fiddler crab which he proceeded to peck apart and consume. The Turnstone's plumage was quite different than what I had seen before - probably because of breeding season. By now I was ready to relax and I spotted the tree I had used back in March. I set my hammock up and took a swim and I spent the next couple of hours hiking around the area, swimming, eating and relaxing. A trio of helicopters from Mayport kept circling overhead and soon the beach started to get a little too noisy and crowded as I was joined by some teenagers and an old man in search of a place to sunbathe Au Naturel so I decided to head back. The tide had been coming in for a couple of hours so I had good flow and an easy paddle back in spite of a breeze that had picked up a bit since I set out. See the pictures from this trip
5/26/05
It's been a rough week for us. Our daughter Jenny graduated from college on Friday and we spent the weekend in NY and Connecticut. Immediately after we got home Hopey went into the hospital for some surgery and then later in the week - just when she was feeling good enough for me to think about paddling - she had to go back in for another round. She was doing fine this afternoon and neither of us felt like I needed to sit by her bedside while she napped so I headed home and after looking at the tide charts decided that an evening paddle down Simpsons Creek and dinner on the sound would be a good way for me to recover from the strain of this week. The tide was well past mid level outgoing but there was good flow that carried me easily downstream until a stiff SE breeze began to oppose me slightly. It was a beautiful afternoon with thin clouds partly covering a bright blue sky. Everyone in the bird world was out and feeding in the evening shallows and I spent the next two hours slowly sneaking up on several birds including on Great Blue who not only let me continuously get within a few feet of him but when he spooked he would only fly a few yards downstream. We continued this chase from just east of the boat ramp to well past Half Moon Bluff - almost the entire trip. Along the way I also saw some White Egrets feeding and a Tri-Color with its breeding plumage still very distinct. Just as I was about to enter the sound I saw the haggard shape of a soaking wet raccoon at the water's edge and watched as he disappeared into the grass. Something caught my eye where he had been standing and upon investigation I found the remains of a large Blue Crab that had been picked clean. He hadn't time to finish the claws so I'm sure he was nearby peering at me through the grass to make sure I didn't make off with his meal. Once on the sound I crossed the narrow channel to the end of Little Talbot Island and after a brief walk I settled down to eat my supper. It was too breezy and too cool to even think about swimming so I didn't hang around too long before heading back in on the incoming tide. I found the same scenario on the way back although the water level was a bit higher and so not as much beach exposed for the birds to feed from but I was still able to snap away as the current carried me slowly home. See the pictures from this trip
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