3 Days of Florida Paddling
The early start on the Silver River resulted in fewer power boats encountered than on any of my recent trips there. More birds to be seen as well, whether for the same reason I don't know. Crystal River has the only growing population of endangered manatees. Populations in other locations continue to decrease despite efforts at protection. Rainbow Springs is known for its extremely clear water. SCUBA divers flock to Rainbow year round to take advantage of this clarity.
There was a notable lack of 'gator sightings on this trip, possibly due to the cool weather. More manatees than on my previous trips -- caused by cooler weather also? Spotted two bald eagles. Saw several osprey, one holding a freshly caught fish in its talons. We saw more, and a wider variety, of water birds and other birds than on any previous trip: anhingas, cormorants, white ibis, great blue heron, little blue heron, kingfishers,osprey, bald eagles, pelicans, great white heron, snowy egrets, great egrets, brown buzzards, turkey buzzards, and several varieties of ducks. We saw plenty of the rhesus monkeys along the Silver River, colonies evolved from escaped monkeys from the filming of Tarzan movies in the '30s and '40s.