If you recall our kayak paddle on the nearby Goodale State Park lake a couple weeks back was interrupted with a deluge...so we had to get outta there fast or be swamped with water in our crafts...so we got an opportunity to go back last weekend.
Wouldn't you know it was the same time Hurricane Dorian was hitting the Bahamas and predicted to come to our area so the State Park officials decided to lower the levels of the park lakes including ours! So on That Friday the lake level had already been lowered by 2 and 1/2 feet! See the water level mark here on these Cyprus trees
But notice all the white dots in the trees!! Great Egrets, immature Little Blues, Wood Stork, all dotting the trees as the lake grew smaller.
white ibis
A drained pond leaves MUD and lots of it, so we dragged our kayaks in this manner to the pond...this is not us but some other strong women who would not take mud for an answer...
immature little blue heron
great egrets and wood storks
imm. little blue herons
anhinga
Other wildlife was puzzled and on the move as the water level continued to drop...this American Alligator was seeking deeper water...
great egret
This combo includes 2 Great Egret, one Wood Stork, and the tiny guy just barely in the shot lower left of center, a Spotted Sandpiper!
killdeer
We continued to see the lake bottom, and so we made the decision to get out of the lake before the shoreline receded more...
SO it was a challenge getting our boats of the water and back on the boat racks, this is as Sis noted a self service place! They unlock it for you and that's it, you have to get it off the rack, launch it, bring it in put it back on the rack and lock it up...We would love to go again, hopefully under ideal paddling conditions! 3rd times a charm right?
Our Summer birding season is officially over, now the hope is to catch some migrating birds....I'm up to a count of 119 In my radius as of Aug 31, and added one more since then... our September challenge is "how many shorebirds can you find in your radius." This mud helped me with that 3 so far! AND I moved this park to a tie for #1 hotspot in my county!
PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.
Hello, the birding looks great. I love the Little Blues and Wood Storks. It reminds me of when we were in Florida. I would not want to kayak with gators. It is a shame you have to carry the kayaks through the mud. YUCK. Great bird sightings, love the photos and videos. Happy birding. Enjoy your day and new week ahead!
ReplyDeleteThat mud was yuck for sure I wish they had kept the level down longer tho now it's back up and the birds are back to hiding in the far reaches of the pond where we can't see them.
DeleteIn the third picture with the white Ibis is that a gator to the right half in the water and half on shore? It was nice that you got out again just to bad they had to lower the lake but better than suffering flooding. So many shore birds all around. What a great day.
ReplyDeleteIt was a wonderful day! I think that thing in the water is just a piece of deadwood...this damn is Earthern and it could fail so they did the right thing.
DeleteI guess these are the effects of hurricane preparation we don't even think about. At least you were spared the full force of Dorian. Imagine what your area would have suffered had you received the same impact as the Bahamas. It is hard to believe that they can ever recover, and I wonder what will happen to the Kirtland's Warblers when they start arriving there soon.
ReplyDeleteI can't image how long it will take the Bahama Islands to recover it is almost completely destroyed!! Many Birds will be displaced for a while.
DeleteSure looks like a #1 birding hotspot to me ... and sure looks like Florida! Loved all these reminders, all the birds, the cypress trees, even the alligator, everything except for the fact that you were almost feeling the effects of the hurricane. I guess even that makes me count my blessings that we’re not there during the season. We are too old to deal with the possibility of evacuations...it’s hard enough to close up the house, hurricane shutters etc when we have plenty of time. Anyway, so glad you were safe (and our area as well), so sorry for the Bahamas (it really doesn’t seem fair) and fingers crossed for an uneventful rest of the hurricane season. ....although an uneventful hurricane season is definitely becoming les and less of a possibility.
ReplyDeleteIt does have that Florida feel....we dodged the bullet again but the season is young!! More and more it's a yearly threat.
DeleteWhat a fun way to look around the lake, i've never kayaked before though i'm so sure about being around a Gator!!
ReplyDeleteMy sis is very leary of the gators also...so that's one reason we didn't paddle the trail she said NO WAY JOSE..lol
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