July 30, 2023 Another banner day. One dolphin, he was longer than my kayak! I got a video of the waves he left behind when he surfaced 15 feet beside me. But the GoPro was pointed ahead. I still am having problems with the GoPro reading the SD card, so I brought a second one with me. I was moving the card in and out trying to get a good connection when zing, the card hit my elbow on its way to the bottom of the creek. I reached for it under the water and it bumped my hand but sank to the bottom. Some archaeologist a thousand years from now may be digging up the creek and come up with it. I put a piece of thin plastic on the back of the SD card I have left to hopefully push it closed to the contacts. I met Nature John out today – he had seen the dolphin as well. I also met a new person, Stefane on her inflatable board.
July 29, 2023 Another great day! No dolphin, but one manatee! I was trying to get the GoPro to record and so missed photographs of the manatee, he was 1/3 the way across the bay which surprised me, I had never seen them out here in the shallow water. Nature John and I waited at the dam for them but they did not show today. I finally got the GoPro to save to the SD card, I will not take the card out again if it continues to work.
July 28, 2023 Another beautiful day, the surprise today was the Nanday Conures who had found the birdfeeder at Alan’s place! Seven of them flew in and chowed down. The lady who lives by the dam said the manatees had been there yesterday, but not so far today.
July 26, 2023 A beautiful day, lots of birds! Another brood of tiny ducklings! I thought that the ducks were done for the year, but here were six itty bitty ducklings with their mother! I tried eight times to get a video, and I thought that finally I got one, but upon looking at the files, three of them had zero bytes, and the others did not register at all! The GoPro kept saying SD card error. At least I did get stills.
July 24, 2023 No dolphins, manatees or sharks (never sharks or alligators!). A few more videos of the birds, you can see how small they are in the videos, but my camera brings them closer.
July 22. 2023 Pleasant day out, no surprises. I learned afterward that 4k was not turned on on my GoPro, but an uneventful day.
July 21, 2023 No dolphins, manatees or sharks (never sharks or alligators!). A few more videos of the birds, you can see how small they are in the videos, but my camers brings them closer.
July 20, 2023 A great day, a dolphin and lots of birds! I was taking photos of the dolphin when it was far away, then when it got closer I should have turned on the GoPro, it would have made a good video as the dolphin passed within 5 feet of my bow! I got great photos as he stayed on the surface for a long time. I did take new videos with the GoPro (link is above).
July 19, 2023 I have been busy with lights and projector for the theater.Â
https://gulfportcommunityplayers.org/
Today was very nice, Allan spotted a manatee covered in barnacles, I paddled out to where he was, the manatee circled around and put his nose up to my kayak! So I petted him! Then a second manatee (with no barnacles) was spotted ahead. I paddled to catch up, but never saw them again. When the one which was beside my kayak I tried to take photos with the GoPro, but it had an error message, SD card error. My big camera said no battery! I reinserted the SD card and it continued to work, then I reinserted the battery and that one continued to work. But in the heat of the moment, I had neither camera and a manatee right beside me! Some birds today, but not many.
Friday July 14, 2023 No manatees today, but a dolphin or two. Lots of birds today, including the baby Little Green Heron out again!
Thursday, July 13, 2023
Dolphin sightings again! Ann went with me today, I tried out the GoPro, unfortunately I had only a 2 GB chip in it, so it only recorded for 9 minutes, not much scenery during that time, just the mangroves and the sunrise. I have a 16 GB in the GoPro now. The Little Green Heron baby was out, looking for food from momma!
Tuesday, happy Forth of July, 2023!
Dolphin sightings! A very nice day, the sea was like glass again, with a light breeze to keep us somewhat cool.Â
Monday, July 3, 2023 Lots of fireworks last night, it may have scared off my birds! Also, no manatees anywhere today, but four dolphins!
Sunday July 2, 2023 Today made up for yesterday, five adult manatees and a baby! Lady Four Scars was at the dam and I played with her for quite a while, still as playful as ever. Then on the way back I saw one adult manatee under a bridge, then across from Bob’s there were three adults and a baby! The baby and one adult were tugging on the prop roots of the mangroves, another adult was munching on the leaves and the last adult had its nose in the grass on the side of the creek. I must confess, I was stationary for about five minutes – splashing with my right hand to get the manatees to come. No one came, they were all out of sight. So I decided to move on. I put my left paddle in and pulled, then put my right paddle in. I had been looking to my left. When I put the right paddle in I hit something. An adult manatee surfaced right beside me! I had not seen him and touched him with the paddle! He continued north, but it was funny that he was there all the time! Five adults, one baby, a record! I also got some good shots of a Pelican fishing.
Saturday July 1, 2023 For three days John and I played with the manatees. Today Noa and I went out and – no manatees. It was a nice day and we saw a few birds.
One thing you may notice, I used a different camera, my Coolpix P900. I also did not crop or edit any of the photos at all. I usually lighten or darken them a bit and crop them, not today.
Monday, Memorial Day, May 29, 2023 Another 70° morning, light clouds, same wind, hard paddling going north, nice ride back.
Sunday, May 28, 2023 Cool again this morning, sunshine. Wind still is out of the north, fab four and the neat nine were around, but the babies were not present again.
Saturday, May 27,2023 A cool (66°) start to today, but not a cloud in the sky. Wind is up out of the north so paddling was difficult going out, and a cake walk coming back! Not too many birds, only the fab four today. I made the trip quickly as I needed to go in to help set up the lights for the upcoming play.
Friday, May 26, 2023 Another great day, one dolphin, all kinds of ducklings, an Anhinga and other great birds!
Thursday, May 25, 2023Â I missed a photo of the shark again, too far away. I was watching a Great Blue Heron as he landed in the mangroves, and right below him was the shark! I paddled over but the shark was gone. There are another five new ducklings! The juveniles are still with mom, now the ten of them are indistinguishable (they are the same size as mom!).
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 Tuesdays I volunteer at the Gym, so no kayaking. Today it was cloudy at first, but it cleared up. I only saw the older ducklings, the others were not around.
Monday , May 22, 2023 One dolphin, one manatee, lots of ducks today. A bit of rain, but it passed quickly.
Sunday, May 21, 2023 Yesterday I did a shore cleanup @tampabaywatch instead of kayaking. Picked up a lot of trash in Maximo Park where boaters leave their trailers. One shark, several dolphins, and one manatee! An amazing time today!! No photos of the shark and the manatee but many of the dolphins and ducks! A friend named me Daddy Duck! The shark went across the bay, I thought it was a dolphin until I compared its dorsal fin with the dolphins, it came to a sharp point and it stayed out of the water and did not take a breath. The manatee just came to the surface and then dove, a huge wide bodied one but I never saw him again.
Friday, May 19, 2023 Clear sky, no wind, flat water, 72°, nice. All three sets of ducklings out!Â
Thursday, May 18, 2023 Still cloudless, no wind to start, water was like a mirror!! The only ducks I saw were the mom with four. The mom with the new ten and the mom with nine were not around. Bear Creek Alan (not Allan) said that his neighbor’s cat (the black and white one) had caught three ducklings, but he said that he had saved one.Alan has a bird feeder that sways. When the birds try to eat, they dump much of the seed on the ground, the ducks come up onto the lawn and eat the seed. That makes them vulnerable to the car who lives next door.
Maybe that is why they are hiding, or went up the creek where I cannot go. Alan said that the Great Blue Heron was visiting his place every day now.
Wednesday, May 16, 2023 The beautiful weather continues. Another set of ducklings!!! Ten new day old ducklings, shepherded by 3 or more females!
Monday, May 15, 2023 One dolphin, one Kingfisher, and one Black Crowned Night Heron – none with photos! Ducks all fine though. Four Yellow Crowned Night Herons with photos.
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Allan said that I missed seeing two dolphin yesterday by a few minutes, his photo!
Friday, May 12, 2023
Another fine day, ducklings are well, I also saw an Anhinga and a Cormorant drying their feathers.
Thursday, May 11, 2023 The beautiful weather continues. Osprey, ducks and other birds today. No dolphins or manatees.
Wednesday, May 10, 2023 Super weather still, I saw a herd of manatees, one with acorn barnacles on its back! Also at least five dolphins! An exciting day!
Monday, May 8, 2023 Beautiful day, started 68°, ended 74°. No wind at first, breese started later. Ducks are in great shape.
Sunday, May 7, 2023 Super day, but very windy, many birds seemed to disappear. Mother Mallard and nine babies passed right beside me! I was paddling along, but they were faster and went right on by! Then on my return, the mother who had six plus one babies, now has only four.
Another superb day. People said that they saw manatees but I was too late. No dolphin either, but lots of ducks!
Friday, May 5, 2023 Another superb day, cool, dry, low breeze (zephyrs really.) Marian caught up with me and we gently returned home. She is gone for the summer. We saw a dolphin going upstream, then later saw him again going downstream, catching fish each way we imagine! Two families of ducks, Osprey fishing, I then saw an Osprey with his catch, just a glimpse as he flew by. I also saw a glimpse of a racoon.
Thursday, May 4, 2023 Only 62° the weather service said, but it did not feel that cold, it was very nice. Best wishes go out to Allan in this time. Lots of ducklings still; mother with nine, another with five and another with one today. I thought that the male who was sitting near one mom was there to help, but he reached out to nip the little one as it scurried past.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Another cool, dry, beautiful sunny day. Lots of photos today. All the mothers and their ducklings were out! #1 mother and nine, #2, mother and five, and …#3 the newest mother with two! I watched an Osprey fishing, then 15 minutes later he flew over me with his catch! He was flying too quick for me to get a good photo, but I took one photo anyway.
Monday, May 1, 2023
Another great day, cooler after that storm. The wind storm yesterday dislodged a huge paddleboard and a round fender. I found them both up Bear creek and returned them to their proper places. I also found a very nice pad and an inflatable bag (Gorilla it said on it) and Bob is going to dispose of them for me.
Saturday April 29, 2023 Sun only appeared hit or miss. Warm though, mid 70’s. Found my momma duck and 9 ducklings and momma with 5 ducklings, I think momma with 2 made it north of the pipeline where I cannot go.
Wednesday April 24, 2023 Beautiful day, saw rays, dolphins, Marian, and lots of birds. I was surprised when I heard a voice. Being deaf in my left ear [and Marian turned out to be to my left] I did not know where the voice came from. But I circled, and there was Marian on a bridge I was about to go under! She had gone around the neighborhood and found one of the bridges I go under, and came out just before I would have gone under! What a neat surprise!
I asked ChatGPT.com ( an AI chat BOT) to write a paragraph to describe my mornings taking photos. This is what it wrote:
“A morning spent kayaking and photographing birds is a truly magical experience. As you paddle through the calm waters, the cool breeze on your face, you are surrounded by nature’s beauty. The gentle sounds of water lapping against your kayak and the melodious chirping of the birds create a peaceful and serene atmosphere. As you spot various birds, you reach for your camera to capture their exquisite beauty, frozen in time forever. The soft sunlight shining through the trees and casting a warm glow on the water creates the perfect lighting for capturing stunning photographs. The tranquility of the experience fills you with a sense of calm and rejuvenation, leaving you feeling refreshed and energized. It is a wonderful way to start your day and connect with the natural world around you.”
The ChatBot nailed it!
April 22, 2023 Fantastic day, 70° to start, 74° at end. I saw one dolphin (others said that there were two) and one manatee…no photos.
April 21, 2023 More beautiful weather. No dolphin nor manatee today. I did not spot the Mother with one duckling, but the Mother with six plus one was there as was the Mother with ten (now it appears to be nine). No Anhinga’s nor Cormorants today.
April 20, 2023 Another nice day, little wind going out, a nice breeze pushed me home. People were standing on the seawall watching manatees they said, I did not see them.
April 19,2023 Another great day kayaking, I saw Oyster Catchers on the oyster bar, manta rays(or skates), three dolphins, as well as many birds. Update on Ducklings: 1. Mom with 10 now has 9, but they are growing fast. 2. Mom with 6 that took in one – all are doing well. 3. Mom with 3, now is down to one. 4. A new set appeared today, they appear to be much older, mom with 9 mostly grown ducks. Eileen and I are taking a trip to England, Bob told me that he and Di are going too (three months apart, but similar itinerary)!
April 16, 2023 Now that my site is up and functioning I can upload photos from yesterday and today. Marian was able to come today and see all the ducklings! At one time the 10 ducklings were in the lead with two mothers behind. They came right up to me, under my bow and continued on like I was not there! I could not focus that close when they went under but got good photos anyway. We talked to Ann, her husband and two grandkids, as well as other friends along the way.
Photos from 4-15-2023
April 15, 2023 Nice weather, but foggy. I saw one manatee and several dolphins, but no pictures. Mother Mallard Duck #1 still has 10 ducklings, #2 still has seven, a neighbor said she initially rejected the black one, but he persisted and now she has accepted him, mother #3 had three duckling but now has two. The ISP was down all day until tonight at almost 11 PM, and so it is too late to upload photos, I will upload them tomorrow, it may rain tomorrow, so that would be a good thing to do.
April 13, 2023 Beautiful weather, breezy but nice. Three momma Mallards today! #1 – 10 ducklings about two weeks old #2 – 6 ducklings prior, now 7 ?!?, a little black one has joined, now a week old. #3 – 3 tiny ducklings about 2 days old.
April 10, 2023 More tee-shirt weather, sunny and beautiful, but windy first thing, wind 6mph with gusts to 20mph! It was hard going north the first half of the trip, but I just coasted on the way back!! All 10 duclings were with mom, but I did not see the six, they may have gone north of where I can go.
Saturday, April 8, 2023Â A beautiful day, started out with some clouds, but they went away. More tee shirt weather! We have another set of momma Mallards, the 10 ducklings with one, and now 6 ducklings with another mother!
Thursday, April 7, 2023 Still 10 ducklings, another fantastic day! Saw three dolphins, no photos of note.Â
Wednesday, April 6, 2023 The 10 ducklings were cute still! Below are mom and all 10 ducklings pecking on the growth on the floating dock.
Next is a video of a Great Blue Heron preening:
A Cormorant on a piling drying his feathers.
A little Blue Heron below:
Monday April 3, 2023 Another beautiful day, and yes, all 10 ducklings are fine. Mom sits up on a floating dock and the ducklings on the rocks. Today all 10 ducklings hopped off of the rocks and came to greet me. Mom hopped down and gave a tiny vocal signal and all of the ducklings reversed course and paddled over to her. Tomorrow I will try to remember my phone so I can make a video of it, it is so very cute!!
January 28, 2022, 59°, calm at first, 6 to 10 knots at return, partial sun. Water temp 61°.
January 27, 2022, 60° – 6 to 9 knot winds, water 61°, partial sun. “My dog ate my homework”, nope…my computer hard drive has the photographs and will not give them back. I have gleaned a few.
Friday, January 21, 2022, 64° to start 74° on return – tee shirt weather! No breeze to start 3 knot on return. Partly sunny.
Thursday, January 20, 2022, 58° to start, 71° on return, 0 breeze to start 3 to 5 knot on return, SUNNY again today!
Wednesday January 19, 2022, 58° to start 67° on return, 0 breeze to start 3 to 5 knot on return, SUNNY!
Friday January 14, 2022, 67° to start 66° on return, 1 knot breeze. Beautiful day. No clouds, all sun.
Thursday, January 13, 2022, 61° to start 64° on return, no wind. I tested negative for Covid-19. This was a dolphin day! A school of dolphin came by and gave us a show!
Wednesday January 12, 2022, 57° to start 69° on return, wind 4 knots, water 1 inch waves. Don flew off to San Francisco yesterday. His wife is still in the Turks and Caicos due to Covid-19.
Monday, January 10, 2022, 69° to start 75° on return, no wind. Donald my brother went with me today. He just got back from the Turks and Caicos scuba diving.
Sunday, January 9, 2022. 67° to start, 74° return. 4 knot wind to start 7 to 10 knot gusts on return, Yesterday I helped the theater group move the set to the Hicks Theater, then worked with Bob to program the lights for the upcoming production of Gilligan’s Island..
Friday January 7, 2022. 69° to start 75° upon return. Wind zero at start 7 knots upon return. Yesterday I had a washer and drier delivery I had to wait for, so no kayaking or photos.
Wednesday January 5, 2022. 70° at start, 75° when I returned, wind zero at start, 4 knots upon return.Monday was very windy- winds reached 20 knots, I could not go out. Tuesday I manage the gym.
Sunday, 1-2-2022, 72°, wind 4 to 6 knots out of the south, water has a slight ripple.
Happy New Year everyone! 1-1-2022, Saturday, 72°, wind 4 to 6 knots out of the south. Water calm.