By Peter Clayton

In the 15 years the MCK has been paddling, Wednesday’s outing was among the best as the cool temps limited the people on the water (we saw about 10) while bringing the manatees to the spring’s warm waters (Theo counted 16) and drawing an amazing variety of birds. When we put in just after 10:00, it was 42 degrees but sunny with a light wind and no one else launching. 

During our 3.5 hour outing we saw several gators in the 5-7′ range and dozens of turtles but the birds were the highlight. There were hundreds of ibis, dozens of anhingas sporting their glossy black and white breeding plumage, great and snowy egrets, great blue and little blue herons, cormorants, pied grebes, black and yellow crowned night herons, limpkins, gallinules, a pileated woodpecker, red shoulder hawk and a kingfisher. Winter conditions with bare trees allowed for excellent sightings and an appreciation of the number and size of the trees, especially the cypress. Water hyacinths and bank-side vegetation added to the color. We also saw more fish jumping than ever – some quite large and one which became a meal for a cormorant – see photos.

The park has added some smaller glass bottom boats and the vendor operating the launch now offers clear acrylic 2-person boats providing the glass bottom experience in addition to canoes, kayaks and water boards. If you haven’t visited the park, it’s a wonderful time to do so.

We finished the day at Corky Bell’s in East Palatka and were home around 5:00 – a magical day. Welcome to Jon Belleville, our newest member who joined us for the trip.