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| Econ Bald Eagle |
On Feb 7th put the kayak at the Snow Hill Rd and went up river on the Econlockhatchee River. The Econ, as is commonly known, is prime habitat for the Bald Eagle and more times than not the majestic birds can be spotted there. There is this particular area where a nesting pair has a nest and to that area, up river from the Snow Hill Rd bridge, I headed at 7:30 AM on a cold morning.
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| Great Blue Heron |
Put In / Take Out: Snow Hill Rd bridge over the Econ. No fee to use this facility. A little steep with loose gravel so be careful. It is usually busy on weekends so get there early. It was also my take out point.
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| Econ River Turtle |
There is not too much to say about this trip. It is a bit hard to spot wildlife in the Econ, except gators...big gators, but it was too cold yesterday morning so did not expect to see any. Saw a little one on my way down river which gave me no chance for a pic. Here are my pics from my up river paddle.
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| Econlockhatchee River early in the morning |
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| Red Shouldered Hawk |
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| Red Shouldered Hawks |
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| Red Shouldered Hawks |
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| Great Blue Heron |
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| Great Blue Heron |
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| Flagler Trail bridge over the Econ ahead |
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| Belted Kingfisher |
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| Belted Kingfisher |
Made it to the eagles nest by 9:15 AM, where the Belted Kingfisher above greeted me. Pretty cooperative lady was this one. Let me take a few pics before flying away. Did not see the eagle at the nest first and was going to kept up river for 30 more minutes but then saw movement and saw an eagle there. Beached the kayak across the river and spent some 20 minutes taking pics of it while on the nest. It jumped to a branch so I jumped into the kayak to get closer and more pics. I think there are eaglets there since heard some noises coming from the nest. Here are the eagles' nest pics...(not my best pics...the eagle was partially in the shade and did not know how to set the camera for that situation).
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| Bald Eagle |
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| Bald Eagle |
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| Bald Eagle |
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| Bald Eagle |
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| Bald Eagle |
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| Bald Eagle |
At 11 AM started my paddle down river back to the Snow Hill Rd bridge. Here are the pics from that leg. Missed otters, twice, and a little gator jumping of a log...
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| Turtle |
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| Turtle |
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| Turtles |
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| Juvenile Little Blue Heron |
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| Juvenile Little Blue Heron |
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| Snowy Egret |
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| Snowy Egret |
And this is it for this one. Thanks for coming and hope you liked this one. A few more pics to be posted on the Facebook page. Consider yourself invited for the next post, when we will be sharing with you more Views From Our Kayak.
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| Econlockhatchee River Bald Eagle |
I've only seen otters once on that stretch of the Econ, and didn't get a picture as they were too fast for me. Lovely kingfisher pictures. The Econ eagles are always the first to have eaglets.
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