By Peter Clayton
Paddling the Ocklawaha from Rodman Dam to the US 19 bridge always provides a highlight and it happened again Wednesday – we saw our first manatee in the river – a large adult which swam right under my boat. The water levels were down and no water was being discharged at the dam – a result being the best water clarity we’ve ever seen. The Spring bloom on the trees provided a spectacular background while on the water there were plenty of fish jumping and Theo counted 52 gators – a new record – most of which were in the water vs. on logs. The low water also made it easier to pull out at Davenport Landing for our rest stop. We didn’t see the bald eagle usually spotted during the side channel portion at the outset of the trip, or, the dozens of ibis among the trees, but we did see a pileated woodpecker fly across the river, green herons, a black capped night heron and several small yellow songbirds which we couldn’t identify.
We launched at 9:20 and pulled out 3.5 hours later followed by lunch on the deck at Corky Bell’s – a superlative day.
Next Wednesday we’ll return to Peter’s Creek just above Green Cove Springs – probably an 8:00 meet-up in Marsh Creek. The following week will be our overnight to paddle The With South and Rainbow River from Tuesday, June 4th-6th, staying in Inverness – more details to come.
