Ocklawaha River

The Ocklawaha River winds it way through Marion County from the origination point at Lake Griffin (actually the Green Swamp) to where it leaves the county near the Rodman Dam and the ridiculously stupid Cross Florida Barge Canal.  I took this photo at the Sunnyhill Preserve located in the southern edge of the county about a mile from Lake Griffin.  I bought an antique Nikon D1h a couple of years ago off of EBay.  I got it to use with my old Nikon AI lenses that I've had since the 1980's, in this case I used the 28mm F3.5.  The D1h is 2.7 megapixels which will get those in the megapixel races to laughing but I find the shots can be amazingly sharp.  This image is actually 6 images (3 high by 2 wide) that I spliced in photoshop and then cropped.  I know all about the rule of thirds but I ignored it and put the shoreline right in the middle.  I like the image and have a large print of it on the way.

The Ocklawaha River has 2 dams restricting it's flow and animal migrations, the manatee and sturgeon come to mind.  Manatees are killed in the Rodman Dam because they are still trying to move through it and into Silver Springs during the winter.  There is a move on to destroy the dams and free the Ocklawaha, on one side are the tree huggers like me and on the other are the fishermen that think there won't be any bass to catch if Lake Rodman suddenly reverts back to a river.  I say blow them up and be done with it.  The entire 7.5 mile walk from Moss Bluff Dam to the bridge at County Road 42 is atop a large dike that prevents the water from flowing into the Sunnyhill Prairie during times of high water.  That's assuming we'll see those times again.  If you're interested in this river please take a look at the St John's Water Management District web site and record your opinion.

Yellow Rat Snake

There is nothing like almost stepping on a snake to get the heart beating.  My wife and I were out on our morning walk on the Ocklawaha River dike in the Sunnyhill Preserve.  I was so busy scanning the trees for raptors and watching the far shore for gators that I came within 2 feet of stepping on this 4 foot long Yellow Rat Snake.  He stayed very calm and stretched out full length until I touched his tail to try and entice him to leave the trail as there was another hiker coming and I don't trust people with snakes.  He put on his threat display and it was impressive.  When we backed away he immediately chose to flee into the high grass.  It was awesome!

Oklawaha Gator

I saw this gator during an early morning walk along the dike at the Sunnyhill Preserve.  The trail beginning at Hwy 42 east of Weirsdale is a great place to combine exercise with wildlife observation.  In addition to the gator we saw a variety of egrets and a couple of egrets.  There are also a couple of Osprey nests on platforms above the orange groves on the drive to Sunnyhill.

Cooper's Hawk

This is another shot from the Sunnyhill Preserve dike trail along the Ocklawaha River.  There are a great number of hawks and vultures that occupy the perches along the way.  The west side of the river is largely uninhabited with no trails along the waters edge while the east side has a very wide trail along the top of the dike.  The water management people do a great job of keeping this trail mowed.  There aren't many trees on the east side but they are usually occupied.  If you start at the Blue House trailhead off of county road 44 you will find a nice shelter (no facilities) at the 2.5 mile point.  It's another 5 miles northward to get to the Moss Bluff dam trail head.  I highly recommend this trail for the cooler months.  It would be brutal on a hot summer day due to the total absence of shade.

Eastern Phoebe

This is another shot from the Sunnyhill Preserve dike trail running alongside the Ocklawaha River.  Phoebe's are great birds.  I rarely see them in pairs but I almost always see one of them hanging out with the bluebirds.  I find it very hard to follow their behavior or nesting for this reason.  I get one of these on my property but nothing else.  I guess I'll have to read up on them from someone who has had more success in documenting their lifestyle.  The fall colors are provided by the vegetation on the prairie that comprises a large part of the Sunnyhill Preserve.

Bald Eagle

My wife and I went on a 6 mile walk along the Ocklawaha River this morning.  It was a brisk 40 degrees at the beginning but quickly warmed up as the sun rose.  We spotted several hawks and this one Bald Eagle on the opposite side of the river.  I wasn't carrying a long enough lens for the tight closeup but these birds are magnificent anyway. 

Alligator Sunning on the Ocklawaha River

This is the only gator I saw on a recent 7.5 mile hike along the Ocklawaha River in the Sunnyhill Preserve.  It was braving temperatures in the low 60's but with an intense sun.  There were no turtles, snakes or other cold blooded creatures out.  I'm looking forward to making this hike again and am looking forward to seeing some of these on the same side of the river as the trail.  I'm also curious to see if there is any nesting activity along this stretch of the river.

Cooper's Hawk

This photo goes along with my previous post.  This Cooper's Hawk was facing the early morning sun but managed to keep a wary eye on us anyway.  I keep hoping to spot a Barred Owl along this walkway but nothing so far.

Red Shouldered Hawk

I took this shot along the Ocklawaha River in the Sunnyhill Preserve.  There is a 7.5 mile trail along the eastern bank that is a super place to see hawks, black vultures and other raptors.  On the day I took this there were red tailed, red shouldered and Coopers Hawks.  The trail runs along the dike that was put in years ago as part of attempting to control the Ocklawaha.  On the prairie side of the dike are canals and smaller dikes.  There has been talk of  trying to undo all of this "progress" but I doubt if it will happen.