Saturday August 25th

It was like rowing on glass. There wasn’t a breeze blowing if you exclude the wind bags in the canoe. (This will surely draw the ire of Deb and Mayra. Linda knows nothing of the internet. I’m feeling a bit impish tonight.) We had at 50% chance of rain, in the afternoon, and thunder claps in the distance of the Gulf of Mexico. The low tide at Boca Ciega was 1.8 and high tide would be sometime around 11:00 AM.

The wildlife was still also. Only seen a couple of Osprey. Usually in the mornings we see a couple in the air looking for food. Saturday it was the one in the tree that caught our attention. I don’t think he liked us being so close to his fishing hole.

He wasn’t the only want that wanted his privacy. Just below I spotted the Green Heron. I tried to gently maneuver myself into position for a picture, when I heard, “what do you see?” The solitary bird took for cover in the mangroves. I’d like to blame it on the people in the canoe, but I most likely drifted to close. I think I need an anchor.
I soon heard Mayra cry out, “look Mick.” I followed her finger, and a Roseate Spoonbill had just landed in the the Mangroves. I rowed over to the little island to get a shot of this juvenile.


The canoeists headed for the other side of the island, while I rowed towards a bird I spotted high in the mangroves. I finally got a good shot of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron. I also got spotted a very photo shy juvenile. None of the pictures came out very well. He kept moving deeper into the mangroves

One minute Mayra was rowing and the next the oar was in the water. Good thing it floats. Linda was feeling testy and refused to go back for it. (I don’t have a picture of the three in the canoe; so I thought I would use this picture to represent Linda. This bird looks like he was having a bad day too. Linda gets this way each year, when the seasonals at work get let go for the year.)

I’m renaming Mayra. She shall be called Hawk Eye. She spotted this lure hanging in the mangroves. The boater didn’t have a chance to get it. The nice thing about kayaks, you can get up close. Now I have to decide what I want to do with my little trophy.

No dolphins or manatees were seen.

A family of Double-crested Cormorants too a saturday swim.

Another Double-crested Cormorant takes to the air.

We were greeted at the canoe launch by a Cloudless Sulpher. He’s supposed to be yellow, but as you can see he picks up the green from plant. Yes Deb, another butterfly picture.