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Paddling Journal September 2005 Cooler weather on the way - I hope! Trips this month: 10
Back to Journal Index
9/4/05
Yellow Crowned Night Heron on
Pumpkin Hill This will be the last Sunday morning paddle for a while with
football season starting next week so I got up early and was in the water a
few minutes after the sun rose over Black Hammock Island. It was a pretty uneventful trip out to the point - I stopped
at the bend just before the long run to Tiger point and shot the usual
assortment of herons which lately has included a large number of Night
Herons - both Black Crowned and Yellow Crowned. As I was stopped there a
pair of Spoonbills flew overhead making a beeline for their roost at Tiger.
With the tide high, I knew that the feeding time would be over and therefore I
expected to see the trees covered in pink. In that regard, I was somewhat disappointed as there was
only about a half dozen Spoonbills along with a Wood Stork and a Cormorant.
With the tide coming in, the current pushed me quickly under their perch and
I got some good shots while I tried to avoid their droppings. The Wood Stork
eyed me nervously as I passed directly beneath him but stayed put. I beached my boat at the point, strung my hammock and ate my
energy bar while I enjoyed the sea breeze that was kicking up now. After a
rest I took a walk in the woods behind the point and got some good shots
from that vantage point but I also think I was nailed by every yellow fly in
Jacksonville. On the trip back I stopped to investigate a couple of the
streams that go up along the undeveloped western edge of Black Hammock
Island. The tide was slack and the stiff breeze was mostly in my favor so it
was an easy trip back.
See the pictures from this trip
9/6/05
Egret on the St Mary's River
Time for my usual Tuesday thing - exploring the St. Mary's River - little by
little. Today, I got an early start and decided to try the next put-in south
- the Stokes Bridge. To get there I took I-295 to I-10 and then exited at
301 and headed north until I reached CR-119 which took me over to CR-121. It
was just a couple of miles south from there to Stokes Road - a dirt road
that led to a one lane bridge across the river. All of the driving access to
the put-ins on either side of the river have been blocked so I had to climb
down to the sandy beach on the NW side of the bridge.
One of the reasons that I chose to explore the St. Mary's today was because
of the Nor'Easter that was blowing out on the coast and I could see the clouds
racing by above me but down in the river valley I was unaffected. As I set
out I saw a flock of Ibis fly overhead and a White Egret came swooping down
the river shortly afterward making me hopeful of more wildlife than my usual
excursions here.
Wildlife or not the scenery on the St. Mary's was, as always, unparalleled and
this section, much like the section I did last week was undeveloped for the
first several miles and not until the very end did I see signs of humans.
About a mile upstream of the bridge I flushed a Great Blue Heron who was
sitting at the mouth of a creek. Just looking up the stream from the mouth
was beautiful so I decided to take some time to explore it. Cypress on the St. Mary's
It was a good decision as what I found was a primordial stream full of the
best scenery I have ever seen on the Mary. It was dark and spooky and it
was obvious that sunlight rarely touched these waters or the vegetation that
lie beneath the canopy of oaks and cypress. I have never seen such huge
cypress trees and each one appeared to sculpted by an artist. I passed one
that evoked images of the movie "Aliens" as it appeared ready to give birth
to something that lay beneath it's trunk. There was a White Egret that was
wading along the shallows and I wound up chasing him deep into the
forest until I finally decided to give up the chase. The water got
increasingly swift as I got deeper in the forest and that along with the
many snags and narrowing channel made the going tricky. I could have stayed
there for a lot longer but I decided to head back to the river and continue
my trip. Spider on the St. Mary's
The rest to the trip south was uneventful. The river here is incredibly
beautiful with either high banks or pure white sandy beaches on either side.
After about four miles I spotted the head of a small gator peeking out of
the water looking at me but he disappeared before I could get my camera out.
A minute later either he or another one surfaced on the opposite bank and
swirled away.
About this time I began to see what I had not seen for most of my explores
on the Mary - houses. Well, I'm not sure if I could actually call these
houses as most of these were hovels at best and represented what is the
worst of unchecked development in Florida. One trailer was using dozens of
old spare tires to shore up the bank and a few feet away sat a large
satellite dish - in the river. My guess is that it only gets the Fishing
Channel - but who knows?
The river began to widen out here and the current slowed considerably which
made the going easier but I had become so disgusted by the sight of human
habitation that I cut my trip short and turned back to head home.
I stopped at a place I had seen on my trip down where a stream cut through a
white beach and headed deep into the woods. I pulled off and hung my hammock
and ate lunch and then decided to explore the woods where the stream was
coming from. What I found was another unexpected treat of an isolated cypress
swamp surrounded by white sandy banks.
The rest of the trip was easy and uneventful although I could see and hear
the wind whipping through the trees above me. Once I got back I decided to
take the long way home heading west to Georgia's 121 and then north, passing
through St. George on my way to Trader's Hill where there is a nice
recreation area and boat ramp.
See the pictures from this trip
9/12/05
Green Heron hiding in the grass
along Hannah Mills
An after school meeting that Hope and I were planning to attend was
cancelled which made me glad since I was eyeing the flood tides on the way
home from work and thinking - "what a great day to be on the water!"
So - on to Hannah and I was in the water at 5 catching the last of the
incoming tide. I had to park well up the bank since the water levels were so
high and it was that extra water that sent the bird life well up into the
grass in search of food and meant that my photo ops on the way out to the
ICW were few. Just before I reached the waterway, however, I caught a face
peering at me from the grass a few feet away so I pulled over to the side
thinking that what I thought was a Tri-Color would fly off noisily well
before I was able to shoot him. I should have known better - if it had been
a Tri-Color, I never would have gotten the opportunity and I soon realized
that it was a brave little Green Heron who was doing his "hide and seek"
routine with me. He sat there calmly for a few minutes while I shot him and
only flew away when I tried to move a little bit closer.
With the flood conditions present I decided to head north on the ICW to the
White Pelican's pool to see if the mudflats there would allow me access to
their home. On the way up I could see dozens of White and Snowy Egrets out
in the flats on either side of the ICW in search of food but once I reached
the slough that leads into the flats where the Pelicans live I realized that
the water levels were not quite high enough. I did manage to get into the
slough and scared off dozens of Tri-Colors and Little Blues but soon
realized that this was not going to be a fruitful adventure. From what I
could see the Pelicans did not appear to be there anyway so I turned around
and got back in the waterway and floated with the now outgoing tide toward
the Kingfish Park.
Along the way I saw a lot of herons and egrets and managed to shoot some of
the rebellious Black Bellied Plovers who seemed to have bred over the summer
and were in the company of several immature plovers. Once I reached the
Kingfish Park I spotted a pair of Oyster Catchers at the corner in the
company of some yet unidentified ducks - the second time in as many trips
that I have seen ducks at this spot.
By now the flooded marsh was flowing out and I had quite struggle fighting
both the current and westerly breeze as I headed back. The sky above me was
interesting though. It appeared as if I was directly below the outermost
band of Hurricane Ophelia and the edge of the clouds was a beautiful
feathery white which contrasting well with the deep blue sky which was clear
to the south. The feathery clouds seemed to curve northward toward where
Ophelia is sitting off the Carolina coast.
See the pictures from this trip
9/13/05
Yellow Crowned Night Heron on Browns
Creek in the SJRPP run-off pond
I just can't resist these flood tides and so today I put-in at Browns Creek
and headed west toward the SJRPP run-off pond hoping that the extra water
would make for some interesting photo-ops.
I didn't anticipate how stiff the NW wind would be and the crossing over to
the main island was rough even with the incoming tide. Once there, I was
shielded somewhat and the waters were a bit calmer. I played hide and seek
with a Green Heron before heading toward the western edge of the creek. Hide and Seek
The extra water made some shortcuts available and I was able to paddle
quickly into the pool. I made my way toward the spillway shoreline and
immediately Night Herons began to make their presence known - "Wokking!" and
flying out to the opposite bank. I managed to sneak up underneath a mature
Yellow Crowned and an immature one and got some good shots of them peering
at me from behind the branches. I stayed in the pool for quite a while
circumnavigating it a couple of times. At one point, an Anhinga flew around
the pool a couple of times but I wasn't able to get close to him.
Dragon Fly on Browns Creek
I exited the pool and took advantage of the high water to access the inlet
to the south of the pond and got some good shots of the sun shining through
the Spanish Moss. Finally, I turned and meandered my way through the middle
islands in the chain and made my way back to the truck. When I got back I
noticed that a very unusual looking dragon fly was sitting on the exact same
branch that he had been sitting when I left two hours before. I got my
camera back out to shoot him and began to wonder if he hadn't expired while
sitting on the twig but he flew up briefly and lighted once again on the
same spot. I guess he really liked the view.
See the pictures from this trip
9/16/05
Roseate Spoonbills on Simpsons Creek
We finally had a day off together where the weather and the tides cooperated
so I took Hopey on a trip down Simpsons Creek. Someone else had launched a
canoe ahead of us and had the former roadway down to the water blocked so it
made our preparations that much tougher but we got in the water at 11:00 and
headed out with a swift outgoing current.
The paddle was effortless and within a few minutes we were in the middle of
the marsh and away from the sounds of civilization and enjoying the
solitude. We didn't see much wildlife on the way out - the extra water made
mid-tide seem a lot closer to high and so the bird life was scarce. We had
just passed Half Moon Bluff and were on the final stretch of creek before
the sound when I was thinking that I had never seen a Dolphin in this creek.
Almost at that moment a pair surfaced directly in front of us and we paused
to watch them head upstream.
Once we got into the sound we were a bit surprised to find several other
kayakers already there. We started to head over to Black Rock to hang our
hammocks but I decided to try to them at the tree I have been using lately.
We managed to get them strung and decided to take a swim in the cool waters
of the sound. While we were floating out there a pair of Dolphins came close
by and could have been the pair we had just seen in Simpsons.
We ate lunch and then were surprised to get a call from our daughter Hannah
out in California - she was waiting for a locksmith to let her back into her
car. Anyway - we had an enjoyable time talking to her and eating lunch and
then reading in our hammocks but we had things to do and so headed back.
I had noticed a lot of water in my boat when I reached the sound and when we
got ready to head back I noticed that the fiberglass patch I had put on the
stern had fallen off and the water that had been in the boat had all drained
out so I wasn't sure how the trip back was going to go. There was nothing to
do but try it - fortunately, Simpsons has good sandy banks the entire way
and at low tide it would not be a problem to stop and bale.
As soon as I entered Simpsons I looked over to where Myrtle Creek joined
Simpsons and saw that there was a Reddish Egret dancing in the shallows. I
wanted to stop and shoot him but thought better of it. There was plenty of
bird life along the banks all the way up and I managed a few good shots.
Just before reaching the end I spotted a large group of White Herons near a
sandbar and as I approached I could also see a hint of pink in the creek
that fed in behind the bar. I alerted Hope and we stopped to watch the
Spoonbills along with the Snowy Egrets, White Egrets and a lone Wood Stork.
Once back at the ramp I realized that I wasn't too far from swamping with
all the water I had taken on so I have some major repair work to do.
See the pictures from this trip
9/18/05
Osprey on Cedar Point Creek
I was anxious to try out my patch job and was up well before dawn and in the
water about 30 minutes before sunrise. The full moon was setting to the west
and disappeared into the haze about the same time that the sun broke
through.
I made my way north stopping at the large sea daisy island at the confluence
point and after shooting a Great Blue I ate breakfast. I continued on toward
the point and once there I decided to explore some of the islands and
streams west of the point - taking advantage of the extra water of the flood
tides that are still in the area.
After an hour or so exploring this area I headed back south. As I approached
the sea daisy island I could see that it was crowded with Herons and Egrets
of all sorts. Every branch was occupied and there were several Tri-Colors in
the grasses below. They all eventually flew away save a lone Tri-Color who
didn't get the word so I paused to shoot him for a while.
As I was pushing off from the island to continue my return trip a dolphin
came flying completely out of the water and then disappeared never to
resurface. As I got close to my truck I spotted an Osprey sitting on the
same tide monitoring pole that one had been sitting on when I was last here
in July. There was barely any current and absolutely no wind so I very
slowly drifted in on him and got some good shots as he flew away.
The best news is that my patch appeared to work well enough and only a small
amount of water was in my boat at the end of a four and half hour paddle.
See the pictures from this trip
9/22/05
Great Blue Heron on Browns Creek
This was going to be my only chance to get out after work this week so I
ignored the dark skies and white caps on the Back River and set out on
Browns Creek with a 16 mph SE breeze pushing me against the outgoing tide.
A cell of rain passed to the south as I head toward the main island but I
only got a few drops of rain. I could see the trees were full of a variety
of birds seeking shelter from the wind and as I approached the first tree
hanging over the water I could see a Great Blue hunkered down with his back
to me. A few Wood Storks were in the tall pines above the water and a few
White Egrets on the trees below but with the wind and current fighting each
other I didn't get many opportunities so I headed toward the runoff pond at
SJRPP.
As I approached, several Night Herons came flying out and headed to the cove
just south of the pond. I rounded the corner and entered the pond and could
see an Anhinga sitting nearby but he spooked before I could get close. As
always the trees near the spillway were full of Night Herons but no photo
ops occurred and I headed back out to conclude my paddle.
On my way back I spotted an Great Blue sitting on one of my favorite trees -
a palm that juts out at a 45 degree angle from the eastern bank of the main
island and his silhouette made for some nice shots.
See the pictures from this trip
9/25/05
Butterfly on Tiger Point
I was a little slow getting going this morning but I finally got in the
water at Pumpkin Hill at 8:00 am. The water was glassy and the current slow
going as the tide finished heading out. About halfway to the point I saw a
large splash ahead of me and a large, dark shape flew out of the water. As I
got closer I could see the dolphin's fin rising out of the water and I could
hear the exhales. I followed the lone dolphin for quite a while but never
seemed to get in position to get any shots. At one point I saw him head into
a stream that I knew was too shallow for him and I followed. Soon afterwards
I saw a ridge of water come racing past me as he headed back out to the
channel.
I got to the point and wasn't all that surprised to see that it was empty of
Spoonbills. I was surprised that I had not seen a single one feeding in the
shallows on the trip out and I never saw one the entire day so I guess they
were on a road trip. I continued on to the north and skirted the edge of the
Edwards Flats for a while before returning to the point where I set up my
hammock and ate breakfast. I took a walk in the woods and shot some spiders
and butterflies. While I was shooting a Golden Orb spider I was getting
nailed by Yellow Fly after Yellow Fly but was delighted to see that my
presence had given the spider a meal. I could see him sucking on a juicy
little bugger who was probably full of my own fluid. I guess that really is
a symbiotic relationship - spider poses for photographer who attracts flies
who feed spider - glad I could help.
While on the point I could look across to the flats and saw that it was full
of hundreds if not thousands of Ibis who were feeding in the grass. At one
point the entire group rose as a cloud into the air before settling back
down elsewhere.
I set back out toward my put-in now that the tide had turned. A fairly stiff
sea breeze had kicked up which slowed my progress but it was still and easy
paddle. About halfway home I spotted ahead of me a sight I rarely see - more
than one Great Blue Heron sitting on the bank. These normally very solitary
birds occasionally will group up and I have seen as many as 8 together but
today I counted at least 25 on a stretch of sand no more than 15 yards in
length. I watched as about half of them rose up and then most of them
returned to the same location. As I drifted toward them they left in smaller
groups until finally they had all moved on.
The rest of the trip was easy and uneventful. Lots of shrimp flipping but
none came into my boat this time.
See the pictures from this trip
9/26/05
White Egret on the ICW
Iffy weather in the forecast for the rest of the week so I headed to Hannah
to get in at least one more September paddle and push my mileage over 400
for the year.
The tide had just peaked out and the water levels are still above normal.
There was a 10 mph sea breeze coming in as I headed north and then took my
westerly route toward the island I have dubbed "Center Marsh Island" just
east of the confluence of Hannah and Cedar. Just south of the island is a
small branch that heads toward the ICW and after a few wrong turns I finally
found the right stream and made my way toward the waterway.
It's a pleasant little stream and so small and remote that most people don't
know about it which makes it very nice. About halfway to the waterway a
Great Blue flew up and a few seconds later five Black Crowned Night Herons
flew up one by one and began circling the marsh. I saw them light and a few
minutes later I found out where but not before they were aware of my presence.
Once in the waterway I fought the wind a but had a pretty uneventful paddle
south to the Kingfish Park. At the corner the ducks were there was usual
but not much else. I paused to shoot some herons on the pilings of the old
marina - the evening sun on the wind blown feathers made the normally dull
white egrets look beautiful. I had a hard time negotiating the outgoing tide
rushing under the pilings while the winds pushed me the other way.
Once back at my put-in I scared up the usual Night Herons and there was also
an Anhingha that flew out frantically before returning.
See the pictures from this trip
9/30/05
Reddish Heron on the Nassau Sound
Another four day weekend and another opportunity to cruise the outgoing tide
with Hope to the Nassau Sound to veg out in our hammocks.
We got in the water at the A1A bridge ramp (yes, I still stubbornly refuse
to accept the state's closing of this public access!) and caught the
mid-outgoing tide on a glorious day. The trip out was relatively uneventful
but peaceful and beautiful. We saw a couple of Great Blues chasing each
other and a pair of Ospreys seemed to be fighting over a prime perch but it
appeared that most of the activity was occurring beneath the surface of the
water which was writhing with life and attracting the attention of the
Ospreys..
Once we got to the sound we headed toward Black Rock Point to hang our
hammocks, stopping along the way to shoot some Oyster Catchers, turnstones
and a lone Reddish Heron who was sitting on the end of Little Talbot Island
in the company of some Brown Pelicans, Seagulls, Terns and some immature
Skimmers.
As we approached the beach where we wanted to set up we saw some Vultures
sitting in some of the downed trees. Once we got out hammocks strung we
walked over to see what they were feeding on and saw with some sadness that
it appeared to be a dog.
We spent the next couple of hours swimming, eating, reading and vegging in
our hammocks,. We waited until the water touched our boats once again before
grudgingly setting back for home and that proved to be a wise move. The breeze had
picked up but it was out of the SE and that combined with the current made
our ride home pleasant and fairly easy .
I passed a couple of more Reddish on the way home. One was on an oyster bed
along the Sound and the other was sitting in a tree above the campsite on
Long Island that I visited over five years ago . I was reminded that it was
on that camping trip it was the first
time that I had seen or taken a picture of a Reddish - sitting in almost the exact
same tree that he was sitting in now. Osprey in Simpsons Creek
As we got closer to the ramp we began seeing five or six Ospreys circling
and diving over a section of the creek ahead. Once we got to that part of
the creek we were amazed to see what appeared to be five or six apparently
immature Ospreys circle and dive in the same spot of the creek. I got some
unexpectedly good actions shots of this scenario. Once we got to the ramp an
Immature Osprey swooped in to perch on a lamppost above us with his catch.
See the pictures from this trip
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