Saturday, August 5, 2017 - West Neck Creek
Well, the weather for the past several weeks has been scorching hot. But finally, there was break this weekend.
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I decided to check out West Neck Creek. It's been a few years since I paddled here. I launched from the West Neck Marina. They have a small (but busy) concrete ramp. Lots of power boats going out. But they have cleared a spot along the bank next to the concrete ramp and let kayaks launch from there, so I didn't have to jockey for position with power boats and jetskis. in order to launch. The staff there is always so nice and friendly.
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I went north under West Neck Road and headed up the creek. West Neck Creek is part of the North Landing River system. The water levels have been pretty high due to winds out of the south. There was a steady 10 mph wind blowing in my face the whole way up the creek.
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Lots of folks out fishing today as is usually the case here, but they were pretty spread out along the creek.
There were a variety of dead and dying trees along the creek. They make for interesting shapes and are still providing great habitat for wildlife. I came across a few osprey that were loud and boisterous in defending their nests. I also came across a group of buzzards that were squabbling with each other very loudly.
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I paddled all the way up to where the creek crosses Indian River Road. I always think it's so cool that there are "street" signs on the bridges specifically for paddlers. There is a house right next to the bridge on Indian River Road. They have an interesting "planter" along their retaining wall on the creek. Great adaptive reuse of that "container".
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The dragonflies were out in abundance as they always are. I managed to capture pictures of them resting on bushes and also on my kayak. Dragonflies seem to always be such social creatures. They are always interacting with each other.
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There were a lot of big clouds in the sky but it didn't rain until I got back to the launch.
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It was great to get out on the water. 3 hours sand 13 minutes on the water and 5.6 miles on the GPS. Scroll below the pictures to see the track maps.
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Edit: Here's the GoPro video.
Osprey in Tree
Underwater
