Econlockhatchee River

Econlockhatchee River Gator

"I love when a plan comes together"...John "Hannibal" Smith

There were only two things in my mind this morning when I put the kayak on top of the minivan. See the eagles at the eagle's nest and see big gators in a sunny beautiful day. Went two for two.

Great Blue Heron

Put In / Take Out: This one started and ended at the Snow Hill Rd bridge over the Econ River. Please check previous posts about this location for more info.

Little Blue Heron (Juvenile)

My day on the river started at 9AM. The plan was to paddle to the eagle's nest, South of the Flagler Trail bridge, then return to the Snow Hill Rd bridge. Did not plan to take too much time but when did arrive to the nest none of the owners were there to be seen. This is what I saw on my way up river....

Belted KIngfisher

Red Shouldered Hawk

Red Shouldered Hawk

Juvenile Little Blue Heron

BIG GATOR!!!...Did not give me chance for a full body pic since went under but got him on my return trip.

Little Gator near the nest area

Same gator of the pic above

Gator Close up

Eastern Phoebe

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Eastern Phoebe

After some minutes of waiting decided to paddle South on the Econ. Did not go too far. Reached an area with a bunch of people camping and turned around right there. Thought about stopping at the nest area to stretch my legs and then continue down river. So glad I did that. Was sipping water from my bottle when saw a white head in the sky. Mr Eagle was coming back to the nest and based on his reaction was not too happy to find no one at home. Will let the pics tell the story...

Mr. Eagle comes home

"Honey...I am home"

Mr. Eagle flew around the nest area for a minute. Maybe looking for his mate

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Mr. Eagle goes back to the nest to do his job

Inside the cup he goes

And here comes Mrs. Eagle

She makes a dramatic entrance...

"About darn time"...said Mr. Eagle starting a discussion

Bald Eagles vocalizing

Mr. Eagle was not in a good mood and gave her a piece of his mind.

After the last pic there was silence, Mr. Eagle turned around and left the nest. Mrs. Eagle took his place in the cup. I did start my trip down river to the Snow Hill Rd bridge. Wait a minute...Time Out... Just after Mr. Eagle left a nice young couple, maybe college kids, came through the trail. They saw something hanging in a tree and went for it. It was part of of something called Geocaching(????). Anyways... I took some pics and promised to put them here. Here you go Shamus and Taylor. It was nice to meet you...

Shamus retrieve the Geocaching box (Sorry if I misspelled your name)

Taylor seems to be having fun

The kids see what is the content of the Geocaching box

Well, after meeting Shamus and Taylor and showing a few of my pics to them, started my trip back to Snow Hill Rd...

Little gator

BIG Gator, the same one I saw on my way down river.

Gator. Trying to get a full body shot

Finally!!!!!!! Got him!!!!!!!!!!!

Another Big Kahuna at the Econ River

Belted Kingfisher

And this is it for this one. Check our Facebook Page (there is a link in My Favorites) for more pics of this and past trips. Thanks for reading and hope you come back soon. We will be share more Views From Our Kayak.

Family enjoys the Econlockhatchee River....

Weekie Wachee River

Manatee at the Hospital Hole in the Weekie Wachee River

If 2013 ended with a blast, 2014 started with a bang!!!!  The temperature dropped under 40 in the Weekie Wachee River area Friday night. It was supposed to climb to mid 40's by noon Saturday. Good conditions to see manatees. We had planned a family trip but knowing how things are called it off because the cold weather was not going to be good for some of my family members. But I decided to go by myself. Really glad I did.

Belted Kingfisher

Put In / Take Out: Rogers Park, located at 7244 Shoal Line Blvd, Spring Hill. The fee per vehicle is $2 and it has a pay station where you can pay by credit card or cash. It has restrooms and is a heck of a facility with easy access to the kayak ramp. I have heard it is a little slippery when wet at the ramp so be careful.

Manatee rolls at the Hospital Hole in the Weekie Wachee River

Started my paddle at 8:20 and immediately headed to the Hospital Hole, a submarine sink located in the river where manatees and fishes like to gather. Three manatees were at the Hospital, at least visible, and did shot some pics from the kayak. Was thinking about going in or not, more inclined not to do it since it was very cloudy and the pics were probably going to come out bad. For some reason the temptation of seeing manatees and hundreds of fish in the clear waters was too much to take for me and ended up beaching the kayak and jumping in. The Hospital Hole is impressive. That hole turns black in a hurry and it is a little scary when you see it for the first time. There were two more manatees at the edges of the Hospital. One manatee was as curious as I was and came to check on me. Did the thing they do rolling and showing you their belly but, warning, they are not asking for a belly rub. They are just looking around and since they lack a vertebrae have to do that to have a 360 degree field of view. Here is a short video of my friend at the Hospital...

Hospital Hole area. Manatee can be seen left in front of the kayak.

Who are you and what are you doing in my river?

Close encounter

Manatee deeper in the Hospital Hole

Left the Hospital on my way up river. The Weekie Wachee River is beautiful but if you do as I learned from my kayaking mentor (see Dave's Yak Tales), it is a tough one. The current is strong and there are so many bends that you can hardly gain some momentum before having to turn. That being said let me show you the pics from this up river part of the trip...

Osprey

Great Blue Heron

Pileated Woodpecker

Belted Kingfisher

Red Shouldered Hawk

Red Shouldered Hawk

Robin

Robin

Manatees

Weekie Wachee River Manatee

Made it to the State Park area where a Bald Eagle's nest is. The female was there feeding and I found a spot where the current would not affect the kayak and did my best to shoot pics under a cloudy dark sky. It also worked as a well deserved break from paddling...

Bald Eagle

Lunch time for Mrs. Bald Eagle, and for me too.

 

Love this one!!!!!!

After lunch, back to keep those eggs warm in a breezy day...

Made it to the State Park limits, a point where you cannot go beyond, just for kicks. Waited for the tour boat to arrive and then started my journey back to Rogers Park, this time with the current in my favour...

Gray Catbird

Pied-Billed Grebe

Turtle

Manatee

Manatee

Deer on the run...Two of them!!!!!!!

Little Blue Heron

Great Egret

Mother and a calf near Rogers Park

Sea Gulls at Rogers Park

My trip down river lasted only one hour and thirty minutes, in contrast with the almost three hours paddle up river. Stopped three times for pics. So, this is it for this one. Thanks for your patience since this one took longer to complete than usual, and check our Facebook Page for more pics from this and past trips. I invite you to come back next weekend for another Views From Our Kayak.

Manatee at the Weekie Wachee River