Hey y'all, Welcome to my Website courtesy of the 

University of North Florida

It sure was a windy weekend wasn't it?  And being on the water at Guana was brutal at times. Charlie Bear and his daughter Donna joined us for this outing. Dot and I started off with her in the back and me in the front of the tandem so I could get some 'clear' shots. After a couple hundred yards into the trip, we had to change places. Between the low water and the wind (MOSTLY the wind) Dot couldn't keep us headed in one direction. Heck, I had a hard time at times keeping us going in one direction, having to back-paddle more than once to straighten out our heading. Even with the fierce wind, it was a day to remember being at Guana. Guana is not scenic like the St. Mary's River is, but Guana has one thing the St. Mary's doesn't have. An abundance of wildlife.  Guana is a bird-watchers' paradise, as you will see. The alligators are an added bonus. Enjoy the trip!

This was the first gator we saw sunning itself out of the water. We had already seen a few others in the water where all we saw was the eyes and the nose. He was still a good piece off, but there was no mistaking him for anything but a gator. It almost appears as if the great blue heron is sitting on him. We are sure the heron was behind the gator. Obviously they pretty much pay each other no never mind. 

Here is another heron we saw along the way.

We were fortunate enough to encounter a flock of roseate spoonbills. We counted 27 heads in this flock. I gleaned some information from Donna and the internet about these beautiful birds that I will share with you. 

Adult: 

Red eyes 
Bill grayish with dark mottling 
Head greenish and unfeathered with black nape band 
White neck and back 
Pink back and wings 
Legs red, feet dark 

Immature: 

Yellow eyes 
Bill yellowish 
White or very pale pink body plumage 
White feathered head 

Roseate spoonbills don't mate for life, but they do keep the same mate for an entire breeding season.

Roseate spoonbills are plentiful in much of their range, but that hasn't always been the case. In the mid- to late-1800s, they were driven to the brink of extinction in North America and Cuba. Spoonbills were intensely hunted for their beautiful feathers, used for ladies' hats, fans and screens. Their numbers also suffered with the draining and pollution of their wetland habitat.

By the early 20th century, there were only a few dozen nesting pairs of roseate spoonbills on this continent. Various groups, including the National Audubon Society, set aside preserves for the birds. Spoonbills received legal protection in the 1940s and their numbers slowly started rebounding in parts of the southern U.S.

It's ironic that roseate spoonbills were hunted for their plumage: their feather color fades rapidly, so the fans and hats made from their plumes had only a limited lifespan.

A spoonbill's nostrils are located at top of the bill, making it possible for the bird to breathe while the bill is under water.

The roseate spoonbill gets much of its pink color from the food it eats. The crustaceans that it eats feed on algae which contain pigments that impart a pink/red color.

Neat stuff, huh?

Dot and I sat within 20 to 30 feet of this flock waiting for Charlie and Donna to catch up. I had phoned him to let him know we were in a flock of spoonbills. He told me he was shooting a flock of stilts. He stopped doing that as soon as I told him about the spoonbills. But it took him a LONG time to catch up to us.

Of course I put the time to good use shooting hundreds of pictures.

Here is an example  of the stilts Charlie was shooting. 

Here are some American White Pelicans flying overhead. I didn't know what they were until Donna and Charlie finally reached us and they told me what they were. I'll have more info on these magnificent birds later on.

Charlie and Donna finally arrive. By this time, Dot and I had repositioned ourselves near the spoonbills which kind of woke them up and they started doing some serious feeding. The nice thing is they could have cared less about our close proximity.

I started to take a picture of Charlie shooting the spoonbills when he saw me and returned 'fire'.  You can see how windy it was from the nearby reeds.

When the spoonbills take to the air, it is truly a glorious sight. As you can see the undersides of their wings are the most beautiful pink imaginable. 

When I shouted to Donna that one of the spoonbills was banded, she told me to get a picture of the numbers on the bands. Yeah, Right! Donna must have had a mind link with this banded bird because he started walking right toward me. I shot numerous pictures of him and this one was the winner. I was able to use the photo editor and zoom in and enhance his legs.

This one is for you Donna. We had seen the red band but I (we) didn't know the other leg was banded as well. You can plainly see  3C  on the red band, and make out what appears to be 587 or 567 on the other leg band. Canon makes darn good lenses!

Donna, if you want me to send you the original high-res photo, let me know.

After leaving the spoonbills, we came across this flock of American White Pelicans. I did an internet search for info on them and came up with some interesting tidbits. Here they are.

The white pelican is 60 in. in length and 107 in. in width, one of the largest of the 8 true species of pelicans.

It has the second greatest wingspan of any bird in North America.

They have a yellowish pouch connected to the lower mandible of the beak that stretches up to six inches. Their bodies are mostly white, with black primaries and outer secondaries, which are hidden until the bird outstretches it's enormous wings. During mating season the male develops a fibrous plate on the upper part of the beak, this is a unique characteristic of the white pelican. Also the bill is bright orange during the mating season. Their feet are orange, and are webbed not only between the four front toes but also between the second toe and the inwardly directed back toe. They have an enormous wingspan of 8 - 9.5 feet. Their legs are orange, and are extremely short.

Pelicans are naturally very large in size, but in spite of this they can sit high on the water because their bones are full of air and the air sacs in their body are large. Also as a benefit, their large beak and stretchable skin underneath make it easier for them to catch food. The American White Pelican is different from other pelicans, in that it does not drop from great heights to catch its prey, it simply floats along the water and scoops up fish with it's enormous bill. The bill can hold 3 gallons of water, and after the fish have been caught the bill is pointed downward allowing the water to drain, and then the bill is raised and the bird swallows.

Lifespan: 12-14 years in the wild.

Status: Endangered

This flock of birds was flying around us as I was photographing the pelicans. I tried to get some pictures of them flying by, no small feat in the best of conditions. 

This one is pretty good.

Hopefully Donna can tell us what they are.

Back to the pelicans.

We saw this small spit of 'land' that looked firm enough to walk on. Later when Donna and Charlie came paddling up, Donna said she was considering trying the same thing but was more than glad to see me try it first. It wasn't 'firm' at all. I sank almost to my knees in gooey mud. Dot thought it was so funny she used my camera for the first time to get 'proof'. She did pretty good. 

Just like up at Ft. George river walking on sandbars in very soft sand, it was take a step, wait until my foot bottomed out, then take another step. 

After getting back in the boat and washing off, we came across the pelicans out in the water feeding. 

After we got too close to them they all took off. Seeing such large birds take off this close-up was breathtaking.  

Absolutely breathtaking.

Boy, does this bring back some nasty memories. Dot and I  spotted this gator nest that I had seen on my previous trip as we were heading back to the take-out point. We had waited for quite a while for Donna and Charlie to show up so we could point it out to them. Getting tired of waiting (again) we headed off the the far side of the channel to get out of the wind. We waited a while longer and said the heck with it and took off. Unfortunately I made the really, really, really, really bad mistake of forgetting we were on the wrong side of the channel. The side of the channel we were on led us to a broadened out area of water. After getting a ways into it we bottomed out on the mud. We tried to 'pole' our way forward but it didn't take me long to realize we were going nowhere fast. Pretty quickly I realized that, hey, I could get out and walk. Sort of. I got out and immediately sank to my knees which put the water level at the bottom of my shorts.  I pushed us toward what looked to be deeper water. It wasn't. Let me make a point here. At work we have a saying. If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough. NEXT TIME, if this happens, we will go back to where we came from and start again. I ended up 'walking' through a hundred yards of mud. Dot wanted to get out too and help but I told her no. My thinking was if I got seriously stuck in the mud she could help to pull me out. Only later at her house did we connect the dots and realize the mud would have been past her knees, almost midway up her thighs. And the water would have been over her shorts. At one point I was taking a serious breather and I started losing my balance in the soft mud. I pulled up on the side of the boat to try to keep my balance. Dot thought I was messing with her and trying to scare her by tipping her out of the boat. She eventually realized my dilemma. The second time I stopped for an even more serious breather, the same thing happened. I started sinking deeper into the mud and I tried to use the boat to keep my balance but couldn't and I had to let go. PLOP! Into the mud I went on my keester. I got back up again. I don't think Dot even says the word 'damn'. But I sure blistered her ears as I got myself out of the mud and back on my feet again. Now I was getting miffed. I decided to change course again and head to what appeared to be another channel. A few minutes later Charlie and Donna finally showed up in the channel I was now headed for. Charlie was only about 40 feet away and wanted to know if I had a rope I could throw to him. I said I did but we were so close I would just keep slogging through the mud to get to the channel. No sooner said than I stepped into a hole and went in up over my shorts. If you're gonna be dumb, you be be tough. We finally made it to the main channel, but believe me, I was a lot worse for wear. That really kicked my butt. 

We saw these small brown birds on the shore darting in and out of the decaying reeds.  Maybe Donna can tell us what these are too. 

After we got back to where the spoonbills were, we were surprised to see they were still there. I know I shouldn't have, but I induced them to leave the area. On second thought  ..   DOT DID IT ..  DOT DID IT !!  But I was ready to take the picture when she 'induced' them. Seeing spoonbills in flight close-up is even more breathtaking than seeing white pelicans close-up taking off. 

Absolutely awesome, ain't it?

Dot spotted this guy sunbathing so we took off toward him. He was really out of it as we glided right by him. 

Of course this is using the telephoto, we weren't really this close to him. Close, but not this close. 

This was probably Dots' first experience at being this close to a gator. We were probably within 30 or 40 feet of him.  After we got by him, I told Dot to stop paddling and I would swing us back around for a closer look. Just as we got turned around he woke up, sensed our presence, and hit the water with a big splash. That is a sight to see! 

Needless to say, in spite of the wind and weather, we had a grand day at Guana. We hope you enjoyed our outing. I think we will be going to Guana again next weekend as it is Dots' granddaughters' prom night and she wants to be there when she leaves for that. And Guana is relatively close to where she lives. A heck of a lot closer than the St. Mary's is anyway.

Enjoy !!

P.S. 

If you want me to add your name/email address to my 'list' when I add new photos to this website, email me at the address below and I will gladly add your name and address.

Email to Jack Woodward      mailto:  jackwoodward66@hotmail.com

Link To HomePage Welcome to my website

42