The Continuing Adventures of Jud

Labels: Alligator, Boat ride, Florida, Florida Wildlife, gators, homosassa, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Jud, Pepper Creek, wildlife

Two weeks ago, 2 Feb, out on Pepper Creek, I saw the first bloom of the season.

After that, I pointed it out to my riders on the return trips, and last week, as I did so, one of them turned to look at me as I spoke and said, "There's another one behind you!"

Sure enough!

And as we moved slowly through the passing point in the creek known to drivers as APM, we saw several new blooms.

We also saw a noticeable increase in the number of birds on the creek last week.

This is an exciting time of the year on Pepper Creek. In my limited time piloting boatloads of park guests up and down the creek, a little over a year now, I have seen that this is the time of year with the most to see on the creek, and for the next few months. At least as far as animals and blooms are concerned.

I mentioned this before: due to a weather front moving in, my duties were ended early last Monday, and I was ordered to come back with an empty boat, and was the only boat left on the creek, so I took the opportunity to stop and smell- or at least get photographs of- all the new blooms that I could.

As always, click on any given image to open a larger view. I hope you enjoy them!






















See also a short video of the two gators from this day.

Labels: Alligator, flowers, gators, great blue heron, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Jud, Pepper Creek, Wood Ducks

Drove all day over at the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park: tram, boat, tram tram tram, boat boat boat, tram. Have several good shots and things to share but have to get this up right away- very exciting!

On Pepper Creek, there are two islands, the second of which is named for one of the very large birds that has a very large and old nest on that island in the tallest tree in the park. It is called Osprey Island. The Osprey is a very elegant bird, with a 6 foot wingspan, and they mate for life. The current pair have been using this nest for 20 years that we know about. They usually return in early December, the male first, to repair and improve the nest. The female comes in about two weeks later and inspects his work. If she's happy, they get busy, if she's not, she gives him a 2DO list and comes back every day to check up on him. Once she's happy, they will raise one or two chicks for about 6 months, then take off, on seperate vacations until they come back and do it all over again next year.

Well, it's January already and no sign of the pair. I did spot an osprey high in a tree down near the western dock last week, and today, I again saw him in the same place as I piloted the boat down that last section of the creek. But next run, I didn't see him.


On the return run, my last of the day, I looked high up in that tree for him, but again, no sign- and then way ahead in the air I saw him flying over the creek as he passed from one side to the other. A moment later, he came into view again, and was heading toward the nest! I got very excited, hoping that he was indeed heading for the nest, and alerted my passengers that we may be here at a very special moment.

There is a point on the return trip where we get the best view of the nest on the creek, and as we made that turn, we all watched and though I didn't see any sign of the bird, one of the guests called out that he had caught a glimpse of his head sticking up above the nest. (Osprey nests are very deep.)

As we headed into the last turn that would take us away from Osprey Island, I paused the boat and zoomed my camera and clicked away, hoping my camera could do what my eyes no longer can, and again, one of the passengers assured me he had peaked out as I was clicking. I wouldn't know for sure until I got home and looked at the picture, and there he is!


The Osprey is in the nest!


And here's a link to my Osprey Nest Highlights video from the end of last years nesting season: http://youtu.be/rkDdeX-OBpc

Labels: Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Jud, Osprey, Pepper Creek

Taken with my old beloved Oly C-740 UZ back in September 2007, the first three shots are of the first time I ever saw one of these- and in the wild. At first, all I could see was the front of the head and the neck fading away into the murky water. Totally freaked me out! Strangest looking thing ever! It was quite a while before its shell became visible and I saw it was simply some very strange sort of turtle. These pictures show more than the naked eye could see "live".




Last Tuesday, the one pictured below was swimming behind the boat as we pulled out of the Visitors Center Dock at the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.


Strange beasts.

Labels: Florida Softshell Turtle, Florida Wildlife, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Jud, Pepper Creek, Softshell Turtle

Labels: Florida Wildlife, great blue heron, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Jud, Pepper Creek, Turtles

Last Saturday had a very exciting moment on Pepper Creek.

We have four kinds of turtles on the creek. Two hard shells, the soft shell and the Florida or Alligator Snapper. There is a very large on in our creek, but he is very rarely seen- I have seen it once in over ten years on the creek- as it tends to lay on the bottom and lure fish into its very large mouth with an appendage on its tongue that resembles a worm. Fish swim in, they don't swim out!

This past Saturday, the boat schedule got all messed up due to rain, but it cleared and I happened to be there and I jumped in. I was given the 1 pm boat. Well, a bit past the halfway mark, we were slowly making our way (as I do) through the "deepest and sunniest part of the creek, where the gators and turtles like to hang out..." when a lady in one of the seats just in front of me leans over the railing and says, "There is one of them now," and I look and there, clearly visible through the 3 feet of clear, though tinted, water was the turtle- the huge alligator snapper that lives in our creek, that I have seen once in ten years, and then only as a quickly vanishing blur in passing.

I knew not to make any changes in the boat lest I scare him away, but I did announce it, and the all the passengers were trying to catch a view, to little avail, already past, but given I was the only boat on the water at the time, and the general free-form nature of the day, and having the time per the run schedule, once I was clear of the beast, I slowed the boat to a stop, with some tight maneuvers, got it turned around and keeping the passengers fully informed, and excited, very slowly headed back to the point where this magnificent creature had been spotted.

And we saw him! I had every one up and on the left side of the boat, quite distinct tilt to that side, and several photographers got shots, including myself, nothing for Nat Geo, but something anyway. He did move a bit as we passed, apparently alerted by such a disturbance so close to the previous, even though I had cut the motor and we were simply drifting, but just slightly, and most, if not all of us, got a good sighting of him. It was all very exciting and we were all chatting about it the rest of the trip. I continued on my new course, went around the back side of the island and into the dock.

On the return trip, I did again vary the route, but to no effect, he was gone. Having traversed the area at a very slow speed, I resumed normal speed as I entered the narrower main run of the creek leaving Osprey Island- and then a young boy on my left gave a shout out and there he was, but alas too late to do anything other than note his presence.

Very exciting!

Labels: Alligator Snapper, Florida Snapping Turtle, Florida Wildlife, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Jud, Pepper Creek

[Note: as always, you can right click and "open in new tab" to see a larger version of any image.]

Over the last week or two, the Wood Ducks have started returning to Pepper Creek and the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.

Last Thursday, I was shooting in the park and found a bunch of new arrivals swimming in the spring waters down near the deer habitat.


And on the ride back up Pepper Creek, spotted a few swimming about near Osprey Island.

This fellow kept quacking at me, enough so, that even in the picture his mouth is open!


Yesterday, as I was driving back with an empty boat, I managed to grab a few more shots including some close ups.




In the last turn before the Visitors Center, I was struck by this Snowy White Egret sitting high up in the shrubbery.


In the creek beneath him, a Blue Heron (as opposed to a Great Blue Heron) was picking away.


After my day was done, I visited with Gail in the office, and we played dueling cameras.

Labels: Blue Heron, Egret, homosassa, Homosassa Spring, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Jud, Pepper Creek, Wood Duck

Two new gator vids from Wednesday, 3 September on Pepper Creek at the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Florida.

JR on the Edge: (0:50)


and

Round Trip with Waldo: (2:19)


And a shot I am very happy with, taken as a passenger on this day, of a Great Blue Heron in the creek.


Enjoy, like, share!

Labels: Alligator, Florida, great blue heron, homosassa, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, JR, Jud, Pepper Creek, Waldo

Lightening strikes nearby cut short my runs last Saturday...

Labels: Alligator, Barred Owl, boating, gators, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Jud, Pepper Creek

So... I'm driving my boat up and down Pepper Creek today, minding my own business, doing my job; hot, very hot, no air movement at all, no signs of life anywhere along the creek, only two or three turtles even, and suddenly this thing lands on my mic support. Like inches from my face. And hands. And just stays there. Like minutes. I finally pulled out the camera.

Labels: Boat ride, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Jud, Pepper Creek

On Tuesday 27 May, 2014, with special permission, I spent two hours out on Pepper Creek at the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Homosassa Florida. I recorded about two hours of video of the Osprey nest that sits atop a tall pine tree on its namesake island in that creek. This is edited from that video.

This is a 45 minute video: for  impatient, or non-bird-watching folks, I suggest the first and final 5 minutes.

Labels: Bird watching, Florida, Florida Birding Trail, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, HSWLSP, Jud, Osprey, Pepper Creek

It was off and on rain here today in Homosassa. We ran the boats, but the riders on my first run out and first run back were but two.

My first trip out, I carried two ladies from Marseilles, France. One spoke a bit of English, the other, none, and alas, by knowledge of the language is limited to "How are you?" Still, I managed to share a few points of interest along the creek, including this, my favorite view, with the Red Cypress standing alone against the green in the center of the creek.


On the return trip, I passed slowly by the Weeping Bottle Brush tree and grabbed a shot.


The rain picked up a bit on the way back, and these two ladies took cover intermittently under a Pepsi-cola umbrella.


Back at the Visitors' Center dock, I grabbed a shot of the cast of an Alligator Snapping Turtle. There is a live one in the creek that is half again as large as this one. I have seen it once, beneath the surface as I neared the Fishbowl Dock. It is quite a thing! Look for the cast on the wall over the door as you enter the dock.


On my third run, as I stopped for the view of the Osprey nest, currently home to two off-spring, we were lucky enough in our timing to catch one of the adults sitting atop the nest, and if you look closely at the extreme crop, you can see another head, though whether it is the other adult or one of the chicks, I can't say. It has been long enough since I first saw the babies that it could be one of them.



Hope you enjoyed this little review of today's outing.

Labels: Bottle Brush Tree, Florida, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, HSWLSP, Jud, Osprey, Pepper Creek, Rain, Umbrella