Lakes Maitland, Nina, and Minnehaha

Did a short, 90 minute paddle on the Maitland half of the Winter Park Chain of Lakes this morning, Wednesday, March 2, 2010. Launching from Fort Maitland Park into Lake Maitland at 8:50. An early rising kayaker landed as I went out.

There were other paddlers on Lake Maitland.   Racing shells. I headed into the canal leading to Lake Minnehaha, the opening pic is from the canal.  Made the detour to Lake Nina.

Back to the canal.

Into Lake Minnehaha.

A rare sight in the canal and Lake Mineehaha.  A kayaker.  He went to the left out of the canal, so I went right.

One of at least six osprey circling, occasionally diving for fish.  Would an eagle join them?

 There were more osprey than I have ever seen on Lake Minnehaha.  And then, I saw  bald eagle dive down into a raft of cormorants on the Lake.  The same ones as in the above photo, taken later on.  It took off, rising higher and higher, I was unable to get a photo

 Osprey with fish.

Ospreys overhead. The, or maybe a second bald eagle appeared. It again eluded my lens.

Back to Lake Maitland.  The wind was out of the west, so I headed that way,to the launch, a short paddle.

I wonder if this is the osprey I saw flying with the fish.  Getting away from the competition. 

As I drove into Fort Maitland Park, I noticed azaleas in bloom.  It seemed as if overnight, spring arrived.  The ones above are just before I landed, at 10:35.  Before 1990, I moved to Florida in the late summer of 1989, I'd only see azaleas when watching the Masters on TV.