Category Archives: Kayaking

Paddlin’ around the lake

Creature Feature 2023 #5

It was a really nice late fall day today, and one that made me think about getting out on the lake one more time this season, even though there was some wind making the lake a bit choppy. No matter, on to the lake!

Any time there’s good sun on a cool day the turtles will be out.

This big white guy (duck? goose?) seemed intent on crashing the duck party:

I’m not sure how this picture happened, I saw some ducks on approach and started shooting (with the camera, of course):

Splash down! This is what I was wanting to get:

There were several large groups of Canada Geese around. One took off near me:


I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, just when I think I’ve seen about everything the lake has to offer, I see something new. I don’t remember ever seeing an American Coot here before:

And for the obligatory Great Blue Heron picture… I passed a Heron who was almost hidden in the brush along the shore, and figured I’d gotten by without disturbing him. Then he took off, flew past and ahead of me before I could grab the camera, but then he circled back towards me. I got a lot of camera frames from his fly-by, making it hard to pick the ones I wanted to post. Imagine flying on those big wings!


And I wished him well as he flew south towards the sun; looks like something out of “Jonathan Livingston Heron”…

The trip on Strava.

Creature Feature 2023 #1

Well, everything else around here seems to be getting into spring early, so I figured I might as well join in and start using my new boat permit. (Reminder, since it’s been a while, you can click on the images here to get to a full-resolution version.)

A little catch up, a few weeks ago I was about to go out the back door and stopped to see if I’d be disturbing anyone out there. I saw this Cooper’s Hawk in a nearby tree:

Turns out he stopped by for a late dinner (there wasn’t much light left). Later I looked around and found what looked like some Chickadee feathers below the dinner table.

Lots of creatures find a meal in my yard.

Anyway, like I said, things are greening up already:

And there were a bunch of these little flowers popping up along the bank of that little feeder stream:

A few ducks were out and about:

A group of my Corvid familiars were hanging out in some trees on an island:

Motion caught my eye, and I was a bit surprised to be able to get a picture of this little Tufted Titmouse in a bush on the shore:

A Turkey Vulture was soaring up high, on patrol for a cleanup job:

Cormorants are starting to gather in numbers here, getting ahead of the shad probably.

Not too early for the Osprey to be getting down to business:

Didn’t see any Herons around, but of course the Canada Geese are here all the time (I hear ’em partying all night):

This guy let me get a bit closer than I would have thought, but she was also keeping a close eye on me:

Route on Strava

Creature Feature 2022 #5

I was planning a bike ride this morning, but there was just a bit too much fog in the area for my tastes, or risk analysis. A quick change of plans got me out on the lake instead.

Some Double-Crested Cormorants are still hanging around:

Great Egrets are around this time of year, but this isn’t one of them. This is actually a juvenile Little Blue Heron (fool me once…):

The Geese are, of course, here year-round:

These Geese might have been migrating, but I suspect they were locals out practicing migration formations:

This Osprey seemed to be just playing around in the wind. I’m sure, though, that if he spotted a fish, play time would have turned quickly into lunch time:

Now here’s the Great Egret:


And, of course, the Great Blue Heron picture. This one was standing on top of a duck house at the end of a backwater and didn’t seem concerned at all about my approach.

This one was hanging out near the Cormorant and decided to head off into the fog:

Creature Feature 2022 #4

Playing some catch up on the pictures from the last couple of months.

This might be one of the Spotted Sandpipers I noted earlier

Those geeselets grow up fast.

Seeing Great Egrets around already; in the past I wouldn’t see them until later in the summer.

That’s a lot of bird to land in a tree.

But birds have a LOT of flight control authority to make things like that happen.

Early one morning I found where the Egrets were having their morning meeting.

Turkey Vutures like soaring. That’s a lot of feathers; it’s no wonder there’s so much rustling when they settle in to roost for the night.

Osprey also like to get up there to look for fish.

I was out on foot early one morning and caught the sunrise through the trees across the lake.

Not a great obligatory Great Blue Heron picture, but I had to use this early morning shot so I could caption it “with legs like these, who needs a chair?”

Creature Feature 2021 #6

I know, where have I been? I was all set to make a trip out on the lake about a month and a half ago when I was alerted to an advisory for a hazardous algae bloom, and while boating was not discouraged, in a small kayak you might as well be in the water. But, with the advisory now lifted, it was time to get back Out There! I just hope none of my wild familiars were harmed by the algae.

Is that a little touch of color in the trees? That might be more due to the dry spells we’ve had than any change of seasons:

I’m not sure who these geese are; they’re definitely not Canada Geese:

This guy passed right near me…

and the encounter ended predictably, for a Beaver:

This Crow was surveying everything from the very tiptop of a lone tree:

It’s the time of year to start seeing Great Egrets. This one found brunch to go:

While this Killdeer pondered the menu in this very productive little end of the lake:

I guess something you just have to stretch your legs on a long flight, even if you’re an Osprey:

This one threw me the first time I saw one. The bird in the foreground is actually a juvenile Little Blue Heron. Notice she doesn’t have the yellow peak of the Great Egret in the background:

And of course, we have to have the obligatory Great Blue Heron picture:

Yup, another one, yawn.

When I got back to the boat ramp, there was a bit of a traffic delay, where these ducks were also using the ramp:

But they moved on and I was able to complete my trip.

Creature Feature 2021 #5

I snuck out early this morning to beat the forecast thunderstorms. Turns out that was a good idea as the weather started getting convective right around noon.

Last time I was on the lake I was surprised to see an Egret this time of year. Looks like that wasn’t the only one, or maybe this was the same one; birds do get around:

Speaking of getting around:

The usual residents were out and about:


There were several swarms of these guys. These two got caught in a spider web, and there was no untangling them. Another one of those predator-prey relationships:

The water level was down a bit, but no so much that I couldn’t get into at least one of my little hangouts:

And, of course, the obligatory Great Blue Heron picture:

Creature Feature 2021 #3

I’ll kick off this creature feature in my back yard. I went out back doing a couple of chores and something caught my eye. There, under a couple low branches, was a small fawn in the grass. He was so small I could probably have picked him up with one hand (not that I’d try of course):

They grow fast though:

There was plenty of “lawn maintenance” going on this morning. These geese were
working on the lake dam:

And crows were working the other side of the lake:

The new nesting platform that was put up for the Osprey looks to have had some activity since I was last out there a few weeks ago. Seems kind of late in the season to be starting a nest, but I’m sure the Osprey know what they’re doing.

And, of course, the obligatory Great Blue Heron picture:

Plus a bonus!

Creature Feature 2021 #2

Spring is defintely happening here! For those of you in more northern latitudes, if you haven’t seen those first Robins of spring, rest assured they’re on the way. I don’t have any tracking, but I suspect they’ll be more reliable than some of our package delivery services lately.

It was a really good day today to get out on the lake, and I couldn’t let it slide by. The camera was going full speed within 10 minutes of launching, but I’m going to back up just a bit to a couple of shots right in my own back yard, a relatively rare sighting:


I’ve seen Pileated Woodpeckers on occasion, but this was the first time I’ve gotten one on camera.

Out on the lake, the Cormorants were having a bit of a dust-up (can you have a dust-up on the water?):

Geting one of these airborne off the water takes some work. Ready…..

Launch!

And a few more hops to get fully weight-on-wings:

There’s a new nesting platform for the Osprey near the lake dam, being checked out:

and these guys were cavorting in the air nearby:

Turtles! Everywhere there was something sticking out of the water, there were turtles!

Follow the leader…

A few Crows gathered before crossing the lake:

Of course, the Geese are still here, but seem to be more dispersed, probably out nesting. This was was doing a little “airframe maintenance”:

I’m please to report that the Bald Eagles are still around too. I saw this one high above the lake:

And, of course, the obligatory Great Blue Heron picture:

As usual, you can click on the pictures to get to a full-resolution version. Enjoy!

Creature Feature 2021 #1

It’s kind of early in the season, but with these unseasonably warm days, and needing to make up for a nearly-disastrous 2020, I decided to venture out on the lake for a bit. Being so early, I didn’t expect to get much in the way of wildlife pictures, but, well, below are the best of the 329 frames I came back with.

The water sure seemed cold to me, but there were turtle heads poping up all over one area to eyeball me as I went by.

And there were a few out enjoying the early spring sun.

This hawk was enjoying the sun and the wind:

With the rains we’ve had, the lake level was ample to allow me to get into some of my favorite nooks, cranies, backwaters, and feeder creeks. Yes, I was up a creek, but I had my paddle.

The year-rounders were here, of course, like these Mallards:

…just before they flew off…

And the Canada Geese.

The small birds are out and about too, like this Chickadee:

Now if these guys can get along, as different as they are, why can’t we?

By the way, that wasn’t the Obligatory Great Blue Heron picture. Wait for it…..

And a second one to make up for lost time:

Creature Feature 2020 #3

I’m still here. Like I’m sure is the case for all of y’all, things have been a bit “abbynormal” lately.
Anyway, with a rare day off (if I didn’t take some time off, I was probably going to end up yelling at someone), I decided to get out on the lake first thing.
My favorite time of day, early morning:

There are some flowers that only come out early in the day. These remind me of morning glories, if they aren’t:

The early morning light made this fallen piece of tree really stand out:

I saw a lot of these white splotches on leaves in a couple places around the lake. I suspect they’re insect egg cases, perhaps one of those species that hatches and drops into the water to start life there:

There wasn’t a lot of bird activity visible. As we push towards late summer, the breeding season is mostly over, the kids have grown (boy, do they ever grow fast), and things have settled down to a more relaxed pace. If being a bird is ever “relaxed”.
It is, however, definitely the season of the spider. They’ve had time to grow big, and as they get big, so do their webs:

Obligatory Great Blue Heron picture, heading off into the fog:

Here’s a little better Great Blue Heron picture. A lot easier to catch them when they’re standing still, especially if the lighting isn’t great: