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Slow start to the month as I deal with some physical issues Trips this month: 8
5/4/08
After spending the entire week downtown on the jury for a first degree murder case I was ready to get out on the water and headed to the Cedar Point put-in a few minutes after sunrise. The abdominal pain that I have been dealing with was still an issue but seemed to be slightly better so I made my way toward the confluence point. The water was glassy and with the tide close to it's peak there was no current whatsoever. As I entered the branch that leads up to the confluence, I spotted a dark shape in the grass to my left and a check with my binoculars showed that it was a Clapper Rail grooming himself in the bright sun. I paddled over and got several shots before he finally noticed me and ducked under cover. I paddled up to the sea daisy island and ate breakfast while listening to the Marsh Wrens buzz around me. My side was feeling OK and I thought about going further but decided against it and headed back. As I approached the area where I had seen the Rail, a Canada Goose suddenly came swimming out from the grass and floated in front of me gently honking as he looked back at me. I have been seeing a large number of these huge birds this spring - far more than previous year's and have been wondering if the ones I see in the wild are migratories that have shifted their routes to use the Timucuan. I thought it unusual for him to be alone and just as that crossed my mind he stopped and began to honk more urgently. At that moment a second goose rose noisily from a hidden pool in the grass and flew low to where the first goose was waiting. I thought for a moment that it would land next to him but the first goose rose from the water and the pair flew off to the south. The rest of my trip was uneventful as I made my way back to my truck. It was my longest trip since I hurt my side but I'm still having to take it slow.
See the pictures from this trip
5/5/08
One of the things that I missed most about not working night shift during this recent spring outage were the days that I could just pack up and head to the Ribault Club for a "veg-out" trip on the FGR. Today I dropped Hopey off at the airport for yet another one of her little trips and then I packed up and headed to the Ribault Club. As I was packing up to launch there was a trio of Red Breasted Mergansers hanging out near the ramp but they flew off before I could get in the water. I decided to do a turn around in the old yacht basin and soon found myself following a female Merganser. As I was shooting her under some trees along the bank, a Pileated Woodpecker swooped down to the roots near the water and began pounding away at them while I shot. I continued my circumnavigation of the basin shooting the Merganser and several Black Crowned Night Herons who always hang out here before I headed back out into the main channel. The tide was heading out and there was a pretty stiff current that I was forced to negotiate but I was able to stay close to the docks and out of the worst of it until I reached the little stream that runs by what we call "our sandbar". I followed another Merganser who was struggling against the swift current for a while until she headed the opposite direction and I made my way slowly out to the main channel where it bends sharply to the west toward the ICW. I was amazed to see how "our sandbar" had grown and developed a healthy growth of vegetation out near the channel. The FGR is always shifting and every time I come out here after an extended absence I have to orientate myself all over again. I paddled across the main channel to the island located on the west side of the entrance to Simpsons Creek - the island where I made my first kayak camp 8 years ago this month. I found a couple of trees suitable to set up my new beach hammock and then took my first dip of the year in the icy water before retiring to my hammock to eat lunch and do some serious "vegging". There were several Redwing Black Birds in the area who serenaded me as I ate, read and dozed for the next few hours. I headed back with the tide still heading out. I dismissed any thoughts of taking the long way around and took the shortest route back to the ramp. As I let the current carry me toward the ramp I shot a Great Blue Heron, a Merganser and a Snowy Egret as I headed back.
See the pictures from this trip
5/6/08
I headed to Guana early this morning and was in the water at 8:00 working my way through the extremely low water out to the main channel. Once there, I decided to head north to see how far the low water would allow me to go. The Stilts were in abundance again and I began to see several females hunkered down in their nests in the middle of the stubble.
I spotted a small group of Roseate Spoonbills off the main channel, one of whom was sporting his breeding plumage. They were too far off the main channel for me to get very close but I as able to get a few shots off before they flew away. I made my way north, passing a fisherman poling his canoe as he cast a fly rod. I was approaching the area where at this water level I didn't think I would be able to go much further. I reached an area where I could see several Spoonbills, Stilts and Egrets gathered along with a lone White Pelican. Ahead, there was a narrow channel that looked navigable but a large Gator slid into the water off of a small island and sat squarely in the middle as if daring me to come any further. As I watched, a pair of Great Blue Herons flew overhead squawking and sparring with each other as they circled the area. One of them dropped down on one of the exposed flats where several of the Stilts were gathered. As soon as he touched down he was promptly set upon by one of the Stilts who noisily attacked the big intruder until he finally left. I proceeded through the narrow channel ahead since the Gator had since disappeared but as soon as I was in the same location where I had last seen him there was a large swoosh as he moved unseen from beneath my boat.
I could see a mass of pink ahead so I carefully made my way forward in the increasingly shallow water. As I got closer, I could see that the mass of pink was at least three or four dozen Spoonbills. I pulled up slowly and took several shots as they sat there calmly. At one point a Stilt came marching out squawking about the large pink intruders that had invaded his territory. The Spoonies finally spooked and flew off, settling down a few yards away behind a wall of cat tails where I couldn't see them and I decided to head back.
Not long after I had turned around, I spotted a huge Gator on the bank ahead of me and I pulled over to shoot him. As I watched, a Stilt came out and I was able to get some good shots of him and the Gator. It wasn't until I reviewed my shots later that I realized that there was a much younger Gator in the water nearby and as the Stilt came wandering out a Least Bittern was with him so I got some good shots of the pair as the big Gator slid into the water.
I made my way from there back to the ramp. The pain in my side that has limited my trip for the last several weeks was still present but it has definitely gotten better and this was one of my longest trips in months without too much difficulty so I was pleased. See the pictures from this trip
5/11/08
A strong wind has been blowing out of the SW for several days in a row, causing me to cancel a few planned trips after work but since this was my only day off this week I decided to ignore the high winds and threats of thunderstorms and make at least an attempt at a paddle. I headed to Pumpkin Hill with the tide about mid level, outgoing and planned to float out to the point and then wait for it to turn. Not long after setting out however i realized that it was not going to be a very pleasant day on the water and since my abdominal pain was feeling a little worse I decided to cut the day short and turned around once i reached the trails. As I was heading back I noticed some splashing next to some oyster beds and realized that a pair of Dolphins were heading out with the tide, hunting fish as they went so I paused to take a few shots before finishing my aborted trip. Not much of trip. See the pictures from this trip
5/14/08
My side has been feeling a good bit better this week but the high winds that we have been experiencing all spring continued into this week so I decided to stay home for the first few days. Tonight, I decided to head out after dinner in spite of the whitecaps I saw on the river on my way home and the 14 mph winds that my computer said were blowing.
As I launched my boat at Hannah Mills, I could look across Heckscher drive and see the river frothing with the whitecaps being driven by the strong SE winds. The pool on the north side of the road was relatively calm, however, so I headed out as the tide peaked high. I decided to head directly toward the Kingfish Park thinking that I would be mostly shielded from the breeze if I stayed closer to the road. It was still a struggle and my shoulders started to ache as I fought the wind but my side seemed to be handling it well. With the high water levels and wind I didn't expect to see much in the way of birdlife but as I reached the large sea daisy islands near the fishing pier a lone Red Wing Blackbird perched high atop the branches announcing in his musical squeak that spring had arrived. I pulled over to shoot him until he finally flew off and I headed out to the waterway.
As I approached the entrance to Hannah Mills, I could see a Great Blue seeking shelter behind the oyster shell bank on the north side of the mouth of the creek. I pulled into the little pool that has formed there but he flew off well before I got in range. I could see a variety of shorebirds on the leeward side of the bank so I carefully made my way over. There were several Black Bellied Plovers including some immature ones along with a number of Ruddy Turnstones in full breeding plumage. I managed to get quite a few good shots before they flushed so I headed out into the ICW. I headed north, keeping close to the western shoreline and ducked into the first stream that took me back to Hannah Mills. The tide had been heading out for an hour by now but the current was negligible. The wind had shifted more from the east so my trip back was easy as I rode the swells back to my truck while the sun set to the west. A great evening on the water and my side, although it was still bothering me, seems to have at least begun to turn the corner. See the pictures from this trip
5/15/08 Hope and I decided to go on a paddle picnic this afternoon in spite of the high tides and breezy conditions. We were both a little apprehensive about it but decided to press on and at least check out the conditions at Alimacani. When we arrived, we saw the water rushing past us even though it was close to slack tide. We decided to head to the Ribault Club and paddle across to the big sandbar where we had our last picnic in March. It was a rough crossing but it's only a short distance and soon we were in the channel that runs along the east side. When we reached the sandy beach where we usually picnic, there was only a small patch of dry ground remaining so, fearing getting flooded out, we decided to head on across the river to the shoreline of Little Talbot Island. We passed by a large group of Black Bellied Plovers and Terns hunkered down in the grass along with several Whimbrels but it was too rough to shoot them. We set up the new grill top that I recently purchased and sat around for the next couple of hours enjoying our wine and steaks. At 7:30 we decided to head back across so that we wouldn't be locked in at the ramp by the park rangers. The wind had intensified even more while we were sitting there but I didn't realize by how much until it was too late to try a different route. We had already agreed that I should go on ahead of Hope to make sure we didn't get trapped so I slowly made my way across. By the time I arrived at the ramp, I could no longer see Hope so I kept my boat out in case I needed to rescue her. I could see her hat above the grass line and a check with my binoculars showed that she was out of her boat and walking along the edge of the sandbar. She finally made her way to the point and got back in and made the crossing to the west side of the river but was swept downstream past the entrance the yacht basin. As she struggled to get back to the ramp, the park ranger pulled up and I explained the situation to him. He said it was no problem and soon she was pulling up to the ramp and we loaded up. It was a rough ride and I guess we should have canceled it but we still had a good time. More importantly, Hope is still talking to me.
5/25/08
A flare-up of my SI coupled with some breezy weather kept me ashore for the last 10 days but, feeling much better this morning, I headed to my favorite Sunday morning spot. After a visit to the Mayo Physical Therapists I was assured that my SI and the problem I had been having with my side were connected so I buckled down on my exercises and felt confident that I had the thing finally licked. As soon as I launched my boat I knew that things were indeed better as I felt no pain in my side whatsoever. It was a good bit breezier than I had anticipated and the constant east winds we have been having made the water levels much higher than normal low tide. The winds also kept the birdlife to a minimum so there weren't too many photo ops as I headed toward the point. I saw a flock of birds fly overhead that seemed to have just a hint of pink on their bodies so I hoped that it was the return of the Roseate Spoonbills to this area. Other than a couple of Herons, I saw very little but it was a pleasant trip up to the point and once there I got out and ate my breakfast before walking around. It appeared that someone is doing an archeological dig at the point as there were several piles of oysters surrounding a few tarps that were being held down by logs. Not surprisingly, there is an oyster midden there and it looks as if someone is digging around for artifacts. I got back in my boat and headed on toward the big cove along the east side of the flats but it was empty of birds so I headed back. As I was approaching the point, I saw a lone, immature Spoonbill fly up to a sandbar where he joined some Gulls and Skimmers. I shot him as I passed by and then continued on to the put-in and headed home. See the pictures from this trip
5/27/08
Hope and I are celebrating 30 years of marriage this month and as we approached the date we discussed what we should do to mark the event in a special way. Originally we talked of going to overseas - perhaps to paddle in Scotland in the land of my ancestors with "Nessie" but as the year progressed it became obvious that it was just not going to happen. The Greyfield Inn on Cumberland Island has always been a special place to us even though we haven't been there in 10 years. We first visited it for our 10th anniversary with our chubby 8 month old Andrew in tow and then again a couple of years later. We also visited there on our 20th anniversary in 1998 so I decided that regardless of what else we did to celebrate we HAD to visit Greyfield on May 27th. We boarded the Lucy Ferguson at the Fernandina Pier and headed across the channel to the island - a 40 minute ride that was about half the time it took 20 years earlier when we rode across on the R.W. Ferguson with the woman for whom the Greyfield Mansion was a wedding gift - Lucy Ferguson.
We arrived and were greeted by the Inn Staff and given a brief orientation. Our room, the Dungeness suite, wouldn't be ready for another hour so we grabbed our lunch and a couple of bikes and headed down the Grand Ave to the Dungeness Ruins on the south end of the island. Before we left the grounds of the Inn we got a taste of the varied wildlife that wander both the island and the immediate vicinity of the Inn as both wild horses and turkeys wandered about like they owned the place. We headed south and were at the Park Services Sea Camp after a few minutes of easy peddling. We stopped there to look around a bit before continuing on to Dungeness. We drove down to the dock where the Ice House Museum is located and spent some time looking at the exhibit telling the story of Cumberland Island. We peddled on to the Dungeness grounds and parked our bikes at a picnic table. We spent the next 30 minutes or so walking around the grounds taking pictures. At one point, a group of horses came trotting up from the beach and one of them sniffed a pile of droppings before backing over it and letting loose with a fresh covering - a horsey text message. After eating our delicious picnic lunch, we got back on our bikes and headed back to the Inn and after a brief nap in our room we headed out to the beach - a walk of about a quarter mile through the woods. The water was a lot warmer than I expected and the beach, as usual, was beautiful. It was tempting to stay right there for the rest of our stay but dinner is served family style promptly at 7:30 so we headed back to clean up.
We stopped at the "honest John" bar to drink a couple of beers while we sat out on what we always remember as the best spot on the island - the front porch at the Greyfield Inn - more specifically, the porch swings located at each end of the enormous porch that are actually twin beds hung by heavy chains from the ceiling. On the swing at the southern end they had hung a Hummingbird feeder and we watched with fascination as a group of Hummingbirds fought a vicious battle over the rights to the feeder - often thudding into each other and chirping angrily. I grabbed my camera from the room and shot a few shots of the battle while Hope got ready and then we both returned to the porch to enjoy the cocktail hour.
The evening meal and preceding cocktail hour is the highlight of the day at Greyfield and is what we remember the most fondly of our previous trips there. There is always someone new and interesting staying at the Inn and since the meal is served family style you always meet new people who become temporary members of your own family. Of course, the meals at Greyfield are also memorable and we have never had a bad meal - usually a really outstanding meal. After dinner, Hope and I were pretty exhausted so after spending some time gazing at the stars we headed to bed. See the pictures from this trip
5/28/08
Our first full day on Cumberland was already planned for us by the staff at Greyfield as they arranged for a tour given by the Island Naturalist, Fred Whitehead, who has been on Cumberland since 1981. When we first started coming to the Inn, the tour was an extra expense and we chose not to partake of it but in 1998 it became part of the package and we had a wonderful time learning about the history of the island from a really great guy - Fred.
We all crowded into the back of Fred's truck and after a quick warning about low hanging branches we headed toward the beach. Cumberland is nearly 20 miles long so the only way to see most of it in a short time is to take Fred's tour. He stopped along to way to point out a few things like Horseshoe Crabs, Sea Turtle Nests and some Wilson's Plover chicks before we headed inland at the north end of the island. We stopped at the little African American Church where John Kennedy Jr. was married back in 1996 and then he took out to a bluff overlooking the north end of the island near the old pier for the Cumberland Hotel which was owned by the Candler family of Coca Cola fame.
We then headed south through the woods and stopped at the huge Plum Orchard Mansion located at the midpoint of the island. We got out to look around and Fred told us about the pond in the rear of the mansion where he told us they had spotted a couple of Alligators the day before. Sure enough, a large Gator and a much smaller one were swimming around in the duck weed covered waters which was quite a treat for most of the people who had never seen one in the wild. There were also some Wood Storks perched above the water and I spotted a Yellow Crowned Night Heron after everyone else left. The rest of the trip was more or less uneventful as we passed by the Stafford House before returning to the Inn after a full morning. Hope and I ate our lunch on the grounds before heading back out to the beach for a relaxing couple of hours in the sun and water. Our second evening was as rewarding as the first - more good company and good food as we met more new people and heard more interesting stories. We were informed by the staff that Fred was going to lead a birding tour at 7 am the following morning so we headed to bed. See the pictures from this trip
5/29/08
I woke up about 30 minutes before the birding tour was set to depart and after Hope informed me that she wasn't going to go I hurriedly dressed and made it downstairs. The turnout was so good that I had to ride up front with Fred which I thought was pretty cool. As we headed out the gate of the grounds a female turkey crossed in front of us with about a half dozen babies in tow. Of course my camera batteries had died but it was probably too dark for good shots anyway so I didn't try.
We headed south and pulled into the Dungeness grounds a few minutes later and turned east toward the beach. Fred stopped in the dunes and pointed out some deer feeding a few yard away, several of whom were pure white. He told us that they weren't albino but this herd tends to produce white offspring from time to time. We walked up the dunes to an area where dead trees were sticking out of the sand - a remnant of a forest that was buried by the sand years ago as a result of free range cattle killing the vegetation thereby allowing the sand to drift over the trees - killing them. Once the park service took over in the 70's they removed the cattle and the sand has slowly blown into the marsh uncovering the trees. We walked on down to a boardwalk that I believe is a fairly recent addition to the park. It's located on the SE corner of the marsh where Beach Creek flows up toward Dungeness. According to Fred, this boardwalk is the best place on the island to view the wildlife and that he has seen everything on the island from this location. As he told us this we watched as a huge hog walked across the marsh in the distance and Fred said that he has seen deer, Gators and Bobcats from this spot. There are a couple of spotting scopes located at the boardwalk's midpoint and we stopped as Fred pointed out a few of the highlights of the salt marsh, including a Clapper Rail, some Red Bellied Woodpeckers and some Downy Woodpeckers.
After we returned to the truck, a horse came trotting up from the dunes and let loose with a loud whinny which was quickly answered by some unseen horse in the distance prompting him to take off in a gallop in that direction. Fred informed us that horses are very territorial and this one may have been separated from his family group. We continued out to the beach and headed north stopping when we spotted a pair of Oyster Catchers who were with a lone chick near the high tide line. As we watched one of the adults grabbed something in it's mouth and came running by the truck as it headed to the ocean. I wondered if it was trying to draw us away from it's mate and offspring but it stayed by the water's edge while the other adult stood between us and the fuzzy chick.
We headed further up the beach where we stopped to look at some more Sea Turtle nests and then headed back to Grand Avenue and back to the Inn. We arrived there as breakfast was being served so I rousted Hope so that we could head down. We sat with one of the young couples we had met the night before - Zach and Jennifer who were celebrating their first anniversary 29 years to the day after our own. After breakfast, we packed up and checked out and inquired about the kayaks we had seen on the docks as we came in. A few minutes later we were set up to go kayaking on the Cumberland Sound with a few tips on where to go. We headed to the dock and selected a pair of Old Town Dirgio 140 kayaks to launch. The gal at the the inn told us about a creek they refer to as "the Loop" that I later discovered is also called "Old House Creek".
We found the entrance to the creek and headed in but were soon confronted with a decision as to which way to go. It was dead low tide when we set out from the Greyfield dock and we were told that we may have to wait for the tide to come in before we continued and after taking the branch that seemed to head close to shore we were stopped by low water. After waiting a couple of times for the water to rise we turned around and chose the other branch. We still had to stop and wait a few minutes for the water to rise but we were soon at the place where we saw a long boardwalk leading to a dock. From there the stream wound its way back out to the main channel and we headed back to the Greyfield dock.
We cleaned up and collected our final picnic lunch and camped out on the front porch one final time. We watched the Hummingbird war continue unabated and then watched what appeared to be a very wobbly new born foal trying to nurse from its very unwilling mother. Finally, we saw one of the staff members load our luggage down to the dock and we knew it was time to head back home. See the pictures from this trip
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