​Paddle into the sunrise to summer clouds streaked with purple & pink, see it permeate nature and stir the slick-calm surface of the bayou to life! 
 
 Several tarpon rolled and snook swirled as a water snake slide across in front of a traveler from Ohio. It appears their are people more afraid of snakes than I! Squabbling birds bitching for the best fishing branch & calling crickets echo through the mangroves. Mornings are the perfect choice this weekend for visiting & touring the bayou, here's a few more reasons; 
 
 Heron's are hatching and still  dropping  new eggs in the upper creek... a promise of a bright future in the bayou. Ten chicks have been counted and more to come!  Who remembers the gator wallow? Well, the "big fella" has emerged from the swamp and is making a new hole in the mud bar.... he's been eating well by the looks of his belly-marks. Remember the nice house with the burned out roof?  (old drug dealers house in the upper creek)  In a matter of hours it was demolished and is now gone!   
 
  Spoonbills have been occupying the dead tree near the pass of the bayou nearly every day. The only pair of Black Crowned night herons in the bayou have built a nest in the lagoon that was filmed in our "Priceless" video! (visit youtube Video page) This is exciting because before we cleaned and restored circulation to the lagoon the area was nearly dead!  
 
 Daylight in the bayou comes early this time of year and awakens life to a new day... are you awake?  

 

"One question I ask of you: Where flows the water?
Deep in the ground, in the gushing spring,
A water of magic power—the water of life!
Life! O give us this life!"
—Native Hawaiian poem
​
When rain fell on the bayou this morning, I had nearly forgotten. The dark sky unleashed a noisy, sizzling deluge, drowning out the nearby traffic’s hum. Do they know? As it dripped from my coal-black hat and traced a cool path down my spine, I didn’t mind. There, under the mangrove forest’s canopy, in nature’s embrace, I was reminded.The shower awakened the spoonbills, who fluffed and stretched their wings, welcoming the wash. A great blue heron puffed to twice his size, letting the fresh water cool his skin, while a snowy egret followed suit. Mangrove crabs scurried up branches in neat rows for their freshwater bath—they know! An osprey soared above, and a stingray leaped on the flats, sharing a fleeting moment in the same magical element. I think they know.Just in time, I turned to see a kayaking family from Boston, acting naturally. Shaking rain-soaked clothes and tossing their heads, they settled into the magic. They doffed their hats, rubbed rain into their hair, and let it drip from their noses onto their laps. Then, like a well-trained flock, they tilted pale, sun-starved faces skyward, tongues out to catch the dew. Birds of a feather, I suppose—they knew.Water’s cleansing, healing, and renewing powers are unmatched by any resource on Earth. It is as fun as it is awe-inspiring, the most sought-after recreational treasure on the planet. But you likely already knew.

by Kurt Zuelsdorf

​Who doesn't love the otter? Their playful, care-free demeanor will forever capture my attention. Even watching them sleep is entertaining - laying on their back with feet up in the air or "spooning" one another on a bare rock in the sun...it's pure joy!
 
 
 A couple visiting from Ontario toured Clam Bayou today. I'm always skeptic about a low-tide tour, but the sunshine and perfect temp (and quite frankly I was bored on land) lured us out the south pass to visit the oystercatchers & dowichers feeding on the flats between the jumping mullet & diving osprey.
 
 
The night herons held tight in the mangroves allowing us to get within arms length - never moving - just letting us pass quietly & even the usually "chatty" kingfisher was quiet & content today. Paddling through Brandt's lagoon the egret stood silently next to the wood stork beneath the soaring vultures and today...two bald eagles!   In case you didn't know, Gulfport is partially known as an artists colony, but here on the bayou the pelicans are the true talent! Numbering almost twenty they've moved in for the Winter roost and the once green mangrove canvas of the gallery is being creatively splattered with pelican poo-paint! Such patterns... such artists...what creativity...is that a depiction of the Virgin Mary I see in the leaves? Come see for yourself and you tell me! Dropping into the narrows of the cross channel (once littered and choked with shopping carts) I'm thrilled to see nature restoring herself to the hard sand bottom. Now it's scattered with "nature's litter" - discarded tiny shells! Just before passing under the canopy into Magorrie Channel something big stirred off the bow. I first thought it to be a coyote, but it  turned out to be two river otters bobbing and swimming right at us! My heart skipped a beat as I've not seen the otters for over 18 months and this was the first time someone (other than me) has seen them.  The female was carrying something in her mouth and I'll be darned... it was a newborn otter pup! Discovering us she quickly dove and disappeared under the legs of the mangrove.  The big male's curiosity on the other hand  got the best of him as he barked and snorted at us. I scrambled for my camera that was buried in my dry bag and tried to get off a few shots, but the closer he came the more I excited I got.  By the time he reached the front of my kayak I was trembling so wildly I couldn't keep the camera still and the photos only reveal shots of MY  thumb, feet, leaves and blurred objects!  Then he popped up right next to me with his mouth wide open. He wheezed while looking me straight in the eye then vanished like a ghost.  I don't remember the last time I was so excited by a wildlife encounter...and hopefully with the successful rearing of the new otter pup it won't be our last in this place called Clam Bayou!

  
Thousands of people herded like cattle toward Gulfport  to see a beach chocked-full of "Real" Florida charm. People picnicing and swimming, sailboats by the dozens and powerboats galore anchored up to get  a spot for the gala, but kayakers get the best show of all!

  This is the perfect time of year to kayak Gulfport Florida. It's only a  20 minute paddle from Gulfport beach to the entrance of Clam Bayou Nature Park which is a pasture for the feeding manatee  that roam Boca Ciega Bay - as a young couple from Boston discovered; While paddling lazily across the flats they drifted over the top of a sleeping cow manatee and her calf.  He awoke the sleeping giant with a paddle-bump that trigger a startling event. A giant whale-like tale rose from the calm surface like the great whales of the oceans. It hovered momentarily with water running off its rubbery black skin, then in a thunderous slap it crashed defiantly onto the back of the kayak and sent an enormous wake across the entire length of the boat! It could have been a 'bottle rocket' or maybe a 'Whistling Pete' screaming across the bay, but no, it was the little “Mrs” in the front of the kayak clutching all she owned  belting out an ear-piercing squeal that got my attention.


  My cell phone rang. Before I could say hello a flurry of stuttered, unfinished questions  roared through the phone with high-pitched chaos in the background!  
“What the heck? What kind of sea creatures are... do you have alligators...there's no killer whale's out here is there.... SHARK!  It looked like a giant sea lion, do you have....?”   
Wildly entertained I interrupted calmly, respectfully smiling,   "Could it have been a manatee?"   
Now with the phone in her hand – not that she needed it cause I could hear her anyway – she screamed, "What the #$%^ is a manatee and are they dangerous and do they eat people?"    Her excitement then redirected toward her husband in a series of muffled direct orders. - Like the wheel on a riverboat his kayak paddle was spinnin-n-slashin with rapid strokes toward shore. Constant glaces over their shoulder's suggested that my advice of manatee being harmless was disregarded. 


  So back at O'Maddy's Beach Bar the couple shared their experience using wild arm gestures and contorted facial expressions that over a few beers grew to an entertaining side show for the friendly  locals who gladly acknowledged with applause, laughter &  congratulatory slaps-on-the-back.


  Being from Wisconsin I can honestly say I've never actually "tipped" a cow.   But this I know;  Cow Tipping... the 'sport of farmers'  was created and perfected  by the largest consumers of beer in the country!  So if your up for a little Southern styleesea-cowow tipping, load up a kayak and launch from Gulfport Beach, head East to the turtle grass pastures of Boca Ciega Bay and watch for the critters that look like sea lions. And if you get up the nerve to tip one, our best advice is to wear a life jacket & bring your own beer!

 by Kurt Zuelsdorf
  Dog days, dripping dew & dastardly storms are the reaccurring theme these days, but have you noticed the nightly noises are louder than ever! The approaching full moon pulled me out of bed long before daylight streaked the surface of a choppy bay off Shell Island. It was clear to me that noise pollution had built up in my ears as all I could hear was the distant traffic crossing the Skyway bridge. Then, like an inner ear plane flight pop - all was clear.
 
  No less then a mile from Ft Desoto's dense foliage I could here them, ratcheting and buzzing to one another. Sister Island's swarm chimed in and the Cabbage Key  crowd raised the decibel level above any traffic noise! Why, just this morning I found the molted shell of a huge fly-like creature crimped on the side of my truck tire... they're everywhere!  All day and into the night the male singers flex their abdomen belly muscles against a rib membrane and with the help of a hollow tummy to amplify  the sound our Cicada is the loudest insect on the planet!  
 
  “There are some that are basically as loud as a jet engine taking off,” said Jeff Cole, a Ph.D. candidate at Kansas University’s ecology and evolutionary biology department. “The loudest species can get up to 120 decibels, which is about the pain threshold of human ears.”
 
  So if today's Moon doesn't have you stirring in your sleep you won't be alone, the song of the Summer Cicada will keep playing over, and over, and over again...can you hear it now?