River images

I haven't been paddling much lately. I have been teaching a lot and doing physical therapy for my shoulder. Enough about that though, here is a vase I had in my studio. I had always intended to do some carving on it. I decided to carve this Snowy Egret on it. I am pretty happy with how it came out. The vase is made from Sycamore. The picture is a combination of carving and wood burning. Stuff like this will keep my busy when I am unable to get out on the water. 

Lately there have been 2 wood storks hanging out at the drainage ditch by my house. I need to get some pictures of them the next time they are around.

Black & White Wednesday

These pictures are from my recent trip to the Wacissa River. These were all converted from color to Black and White in Photoshop. I came across this Moorhen standing in these cattails. He was standing still like he was hiding, Maybe if he stood still enough I would not see him.

This Great Blue Heron was hanging out on the river taking in the sights. He had a nice perch on this log. 
This Snowy Egret was running around on the weeds looking for lunch. He looks so skinny in this picture. These birds are so light they can walk around on the weeds looking for their meals.
Enjoy, 

Peace
  

More pictures of birds actually doing stuff

I came upon this Great Blue Egret striking this weird pose. I came to the conclusion that he was drying his wings. After emailing Peggy from Paddle tales she confirmed that he was doing just that. This bird looks about 3 feet tall and it was just the oddest pose. 

I then spotted this Snowy Egret running around on the weeds. He would sink down slightly and have to flap his wings to continue on. It was quite entertaining to watch. Eventually he settled down and went back to the business of fishing.
This Green Heron was standing on this little log that was poking out of the water. He must have been bored with the fishing because he started grooming himself. I thought the way his wing was down was interesting. I either see these birds fishing or flying. So it was interesting to see his wing partially extended. 
I spent more time with each bird this time and I think I got some better pictures. The weeds on the Wacissa make this a little easier as you can kind of park on the weeds. Getting across the weeds can be challenging as well. They slow the boat right down and even paddling becomes a chore. 

Black & White Wednesday

Monday Morning on the Wacissa River. It was just a little foggy when I got there. The sun was coming up from the left side of the picture so it seems a little foggier then it really was. The water was absolutly flat when I started paddling. The breeze did pick up to about 5 kts. Just enough to keep it comfortable. The rain fell later and made things steamy. Check out the last picture of this post.

There were lots of these Green Herons out fishing. They stand on these limbs over the water which is usually covered in this duckweed. How they are able to determine there are fish under there is a mystery to me. I have done some scuba diving in water with duck weed and it doesn't let any light through. I watched this bird for a while and he finally had to move to another branch closer to the water. 
This bird (Snowy Egret) was posing nicely. Neck outstrechted , side profile and a nice background. 
This was after a fairly short rain shower. It was one of those showers that just seems to make it hot and sticky. There was enough moisture in the air to leave this fog across the river and into the woods. There is a sit on top kayak on the left side of the picture.
Another nice day out on the water. I had the river almost to myself. And did I mention no Airboats.  I have lots more pictures so stay tuned. I was able to spend 2 days on the Wacissa this trip.

Back on the Wacissa

The stars must have been aligned or something like that.

The kids are spending the week at their grandparents house in Jay, Florida and Tami is working in Tallahassee for a couple of days. I drove over and meet her. We went to dinner with friends at a place called Masa's it is a Japanese restaurant I definitely want to go there again. This morning I got up and drove to the Wacissa River. This is a very nice river and I think it is worth the drive even with $4 gas. This first picture is the river fairly early. The fog burned off pretty quick. 

The water was as still as glass. A little breeze came up later and keep it pleasant out on the water.
I went over to try and sneak up on a Tri-colored Heron (next picture) and this Butterfly came around and wasn't shy. I managed to get some good pictures and ended up close to the heron.
I spotted this Tri-colored Heron This one was standing there watching me take pictures of the butterfly and patiently waited his turn to model. I took several pictures and even backed away without him moving. These birds can stand still for so long. This one outlasted me. 
This Egret was fishing and keeping an eye on me. It was just starting to rain. The first of several passing showers. The first few I didn't even have to get out my rain jacket. 
I had lunch out on the river and then paddled back in the rain. It was just rain showers without any thunder or lightning. For the last mile upstream it was raining pretty good. I kept the camera in the dry bag and past by lots of birds that were just going about their business. It was good to be back out on this wonderful river. The first 4 hours I had it completely to my self. I saw a couple kayaks and 2 john boats and lots of birds.

Black and White Wednesday, Exchange Island pt.3

I have been to Exchange Island 3 times in a row now. I have been there for a few reasons. Gas prices are high, I can drive there and paddle and still be home for lunch and despite the trash I like the island. It is located in the middle of the city and yet it feel like you are miles away. As long as you don't hear the traffic from the bridge.

There was an Egret and a Great Blue Heron in this tree. 

This is what years of neglect and people who don't care looks like. This was just a small area of a much larger one covered with glass and trash. I had already picked up the cans and bottles. I am not to sure what to do about the broken glass.
Here is the Snowy Egret sitting on a stick overlooking the water. 
As always Take it with you when you leave.

Birds of Exchange Island

This Egret was coming in for a landing and spotted me and made a slight turn so as not to overfly me. This bird looks very elegant flying through the air with its wings outstretched. You can see how translucent the feathers are. It is amazing how something so thin and lightweight can hold up a bird.
This Great Blue Heron was flying along the shoreline looking for a place to land. He flew past me and landed about 1/4 mile down shore. He sure looked good going by. 
I spotted this Snowy Egret and was able to paddle along the shore line and get pretty close and take several pictures. The reeds came out and I just paddled up to the reeds and sat there taking pictures. This bird knew I was there but I was partially hidden and apparently not threatening. I was able to back away after taking my pictures. This picture was taking on my way back to the boat ramp. I had already picked up trash along the shoreline in this area so there is nothing in the background to ruin a good photo.

Black and White Wednesday, Exchange Island

Usually B&W pictures look good but for this subject it doesn't matter. This is just somebody's mess plain and simple. There is just no good reason for people to leave a mess like this. If they ever want to go back to this spot it is covered in trash. I would hate to plan an outing and be greeted by this. The sad thing is to get to Exchange Island you have to go by boat. So stuff like this can't be blamed on any one except the people that are actually using this island. 

PLEASE TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE!!!

Here are some nicer looking pictures. These flowers are nice they have great colors (see the Post below) They also look good in B&W because of the contrast.
This Egret was taking off as I came around a bend. Look at that wingspan. These birds are great flyers and are really good at fishing. 
I spent most of my time picking up trash on this trip so I didn't take too many pictures. I did go home with 2 bags of trash, a milk crate and a boat fender. Which I gave to one of the power boaters that was launching at the ramp when I got back. 

Wild life on the Santa Fe River

This was a group of Turkeys I spotted. This was the edge of someone's backyard right on the edge of the woods. This picture was taken early in the morning. There was another grouping of 4 or 5 just in the tree line. I wasn't able to get a decent picture of them. 

This alligator was cruising along in the river. It looked to be about a 6 footer. He headed over to the bank and I stayed on the other side of the river.  In the picture he is floating pretty high in the water. As I got closer he sank down until only his eyes and nose was out of the water and then he disappeared completely.

These 2 turtles had a nice little rock to sit on and check things out. They were keeping an eye on me as I passed by. Of course I was keeping an eye out for submerged rocks. I did manage to get a few new scratches on the bottom of the boat. 
I spotted this deer standing in the brush. As I got closer she started to walk up towards the trees. Finally she turned and looked back posing for a picture and then walked off into the trees.
This Yellow Crowned Night Heron was hanging out fishing. He looked at me once and then went back to fishing. I took a few pictures as the current carried me by.  
This snail appeared to be laying this eggs on the side of the Cyprus Tree. This was another early morning picture. 

I saw a good bit of wild life along the river including some Wood Storks , Red Tailed Hawks and some Cattle Egrets. I also saw 2 snakes swimming across the river in the rain so I wasn't about to get out the camera.

I have lots more pictures and don't forget Black and White Wednesday

Wacissa River Black and White Wednesday

These are some pictures that I took in black and white last weekend on the Wacissa River. This Great Egret was hanging out. I like the breeding plumage.

These two turtles were sitting on a rock enjoying the sun. I like the little Cyprus Tree that is growing there. This was in the middle of the river. I can image in a few decades this will be a small island. 
These moorhens were making a racket and chasing each other around. This was good for me since they came right by. I like the frozen water droplets.
I got a little close to this Great Egret and off he flew.
This is a sepia tone. I sometimes like to change things up a bit. This color conversion was done in photoshop. 

 

Wacissa River 3-08

Saturday afternoon I drove to Tallahassee I camped at the KOA Campground just off of I -10. It is a little close to the highway. The trucks woke me up several times during the night.  Sunday Morning I drove over to the Wacissa River and launched my boat by 9am. There was not a drop of wind. It was really nice paddling. As always I am on my mission to bring home more trash then I take. I picked up 10 beer cans and 3 soda cans, and a styrafoam cup. I left my grabber thingy in the car so I couldn't get the cans and bottles I saw underwater. I will save those for next time. Enough about trash. 

I spotted this Black Crowned Night Heron fishing, I sat and watched this one for almost an hour. I even moved the boat 3 times and then the wind took pity and pushed me over closer. I finally ended up about 20 feet away from this bird.

Dinner at last! Not only did he catch this fish but he stepped out where I could see him eat it.
The fish is still wiggling. 
You can see the lump in the birds throat. He took a few drinks of water and did a little preening and then flew off. It was an hour well spent. I was amazed at how still this heron could stand. And with the layer of Duck weed he couldn't see under water.
I wanted to get some pictures of flying birds. This is pretty hard in practice. You are in a boat that is moving you don't usually see the birds till they are pretty close then you have to get the camera out and focused on the bird. There were several birds flying today so I had some practice. This is a Great Egret in flight. They can have a wing span up to 4 1/2 feet.
There were several airboats on the river today. Man those things are very loud! The fact that the people are wearing hearing protection should be a give away that they might be too loud. I did spot these Ibis's flying from the noise. When these birds have their wings folded up on the ground the black wing tips are hidden from view. Only in flight is the black visible. 
This Great Heron has found a prize. I looks like some type of weed or grass to me. He flew off with it when he left.
This Red-Shouldered Hawk was making all kinds of noise. I could hear another on on the other side of the river and finally saw it fly off as well. They appeared to each be hunting their own sides of the river.
These 2 Moor Hens were chasing each other all over the place. And I thought the hawks were making a lot of noise. These 2 were carrying on like they own the river. 
It was a very nice weekend. I camped out and paddled a very nice river. Picked up trash so I did my good deed for the day. And I got to see several different types of birds. Stay turned for Black and White Wednesday. 
 

Part 2 Silver River

Here are some more of the pictures from the last weekend. I figured the monkeys had their 15 minutes. Here is a close-up of a Cormorant. These birds actually swim underwater to catch fish. I love the color of their eyes. This one is looking right at me. 

This is a young Heron. I like these birds. They can range from almost black to a pale blueish gray. This one was just hanging out watching me pass by.

This Great Blue Heron was stalking some fish in the water. The current was sweeping my by pretty quickly so I never saw him catch anything. But I did get to watch him stalking fish which is better then either flying away or just standing there.

Here is an Ibis(R) and a Heron(L) They were hanging out among these lilly pads. The Ibis was busily looking for something to eat while the heron was just watching. 

It was a great day on the water. I took lots of pictures mostly of the monkeys but I managed to see many other things as well.

Blue Springs, Orange City

The Case of the Missing Canoe

I drove to Blue Springs today to go paddle. I carry my canoe down to the water and return back to the car to get the rest of my gear; Lifejacket, Paddle, Camera. Walk back to the launch area and my canoe is missing. My first thought was I went down the wrong boardwalk. Then I thought someone stole it. Then I got to thinking they rent canoes and someone must have taken it by accident. I walk back up the boardwalk and see one of the Rangers. I tell her my canoe is missing. She calls the law enforcement people that are at the park. A Dept. of Environmental Protection officer shows up.(Quickly) I explain what happened, he calls another officer. A female office shows up and tells me they have an officer in a boat and she will ask him to look for my canoe. She was very helpful and waited with me while the search was under way. My boat was found and the people were asked to return it to me. I didn't ask any names so I can't thank the people that helped. I know they were just doing their jobs but they acted in a very professional manner to everyone involved. (Thanks very Much)

Out on the Water

I see this Osprey flying right towards me I take a few pictures and then notice he is carrying a fish. Did I mention it was windy, he was flying pretty slow upwind. But he did have lunch.

I paddled over to the side of the river because I saw this Snowy Egret working his way along the shore. If you look closely you can see the minnow in his beak. I bet I saw him catch 20 of them in the time I was watching. 

He walked right around the front of my boat. I was making sure to be extra still and not make any sudden movements. He just continued on with the business of catching lunch. 

I did see some manatees while waiting for my boat to be returned. when I was on my way back I passed by this one pretty close. I was drifting with the wind so I didn't even have to paddle. I did take pictures as I went by. It looks like the manatee has it's mouth open. 

It was a nice day out. The park was crowded but the manatees were out in big numbers. I had to actually ask people to move so I could carry my boat up the hill.  It was a nice day the wind made it a little more challenging But it was quite a nice day.