Saturday, July 15, 2006

The Paddlin' o' the Green: Lake Munson in the Sun!







I had the good fortune to be in the company of Peggy of http://paddletales.blogspot.com, today on Lake Munson. It was a very hot and sunny day but we managed to spend four hours because the birds were so many and so interesting! I was also happy to have a partner to go into Alligator Cove which did not disappoint. There were several small gators and one monster which I have seen on the other side of the lake at various times! Mating season for alligators appears to be over, however; so none of them charged us!

The water is warm and very green from an algae bloom, presently. The lotus blossoms are going to seed and their fragrance was undermined by a distinct odor of pig farm. I couldn't figure out why some parts of the lake smelled like a pig farm. It was tolerable though and we pressed on. We traversed the entire Lake which I had not done and I saw some new sights. One delightful discovery was a large flock of redwing blackbirds on the south side of the lake. They are among my favorites because of their distinct song, which reminds me of childhood.

I love snaking in among the cedars and cypress and looking for limpkins. This lake has very few boaters and the birds are quite shy. We saw many anhingas, cormorants, white herons, great blue herons, osprey, seagulls, limpkins, and even an ibis or two. I saw some hawks I could not identify. We saw the nest which Peggy identified as having been recently rented by osprey!

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