Wildlife On the Wakulla

While the manatees were definitely the highlight of the trip, we did see other wildlife when we went paddling last Saturday.  We only saw a couple of alligators, but we also encountered four snakes----two of which were moccasins, one was a dead rattler and the other was unknown (and unseen by B and me.) Of course, there were plenty of turtles, in sizes from plate-size to tiny.

 

 

A deer came down to the river to drink.  There was the expected variety of birds. We heard many prothonotary warblers, and I thought I saw one (in bad light) fly down the river for a  bit before it disappeared into the dense vegetation that lines the banks. Several anhingas were drying their feathers in the sun, including one that marked its territory with a serious squirt that landed right between two of our canoes when we were having lunch. (His tactic worked and we promptly relocated the canoes out from under "his" tree.) There were red-shouldered hawks screaming in the woods. Once we heard a  barred owl. There were some ducks that looked like scaups to me.

The water was clear and we could see mullet and bass;  one bream was caught.

 

We also saw sheepshead and a blue crab.

It was a beautiful day: one to remember for years to come.