There were three cars in the small, 6 space, County Road 419 lot when I arrived. A couple carried a kayak down the long sloping hill as I arrived. By the time I dragged my yak to waters edge, they were gone. At Snow Hill Road, a line of vehicles, all pick ups, lined the gravel drive.
I was in the water at 9:50. Cool, windy, no clouds.
I saw no one on the water until I was almost at Snow Hill Road. However, I was not alone in the Little Big Econ State Forest. Campers, bikers and hikers were enjoyed a winter day in Florida.
I took just fifteen pictures, which is low for me. But as I look at them, I did get a nice variety with those few photos. That's a red shouldered hawk, above.
Blue heron
Tri colored heron
Belted king fisher.
The "belt" is around the neck. Kind of a high water belt if you ask me. Which leads to the next picture.
Which shows how the water level on the Econ varies with the seasons. Unlike a lot of places I paddle, the Econ is not spring fed. It depends on rainfall and runoff. As the photo proves, it is low now. Not too low, I never ran aground.
Except intentionally when I landed at the Flagler Trail Bridge, ate and took a 20 minute walk.
The Econ is a good spot to see big alligators and bald eagles. I was not fortunate enough to see an eagle on the 8 mile plus paddle. 8 miles from 419 to Snow Hill. I went a little bit past Snow Hill on the "more you paddle the more you see" theory. In twenty-five minutes I saw a great blue heron, a great egret and a cormorant, no eagles. Earlier, I saw my one alligator of the day.
A big one, 9-10 feet if it was an inch. If I'm going to see one, may as well be a big 'un.
Note to my readers. I will not be posting any Tales next weekend. Don't worry, I'll be paddling, in Sanibel. Look for a brief Tale or two a week from Tuesday, full coverage Weds.
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