Boating with "The Beav"

There is a local boat tour that leaves out of the Manatee Pocket. Sunshine Wildlife Tours is run by Master Naturalist, Nancy Beaver(aka, The Beav, as we've come to call her). Her tour is great! I can say that because I've done it three times, with parents, friends, and Scott and John. The tour takes you out of the pocket and up the St. Lucie River a bit, then turns and enters the Indian River, also part of the Intracoastal. The Indian River is the longest salt water lagoon in Florida. Nancy is a wealth of knowledge, and you learn a ton of stuff on the trip.

The area is an estuary, like the Chesapeake Bay. It used to be a river, until the St. Lucie Inlet was dug out (originally by hand). This turned the river into an estuary. Later, it was decided that if a canal was built, people could reach the western side of Florida, across Lake Okeechobee, without having to go south and around. The lake used to drain naturally, when it got to over 22 feet. When the canal was built, a dike was put in place. Now, if the water level goes over 17 feet, the dike could be in danger, so the lake is drained....traveling down the canal, into the St. Lucie River and the Lagoon. If the lake hasn't been drained, the waters around the inlet are as blue as the islands! But once the "drain" water hits the area, it looks, sadly, like the waters of the Chesapeake.

Nancy does neat things like trolling for plankton, tiny, microscopic crustaceans and such(the seafood platters of tomorrow, according to The Beav!). The water that is brought on board is put into small, plastic boxes with tiny magnifying glasses attached. A first glance at the box of water with the naked eye is nothing impressive. However, you'd be amazed what you can see upon looking through the magnifying glass! Loads of activity! Scott's friend John was a bit surprised at what he'd ingested the day before, when he swallowed water while snorkeling!

The Beav also passes around pelican bones, which are feather-light and hollow, compared to the Manatee rib that she passes around, which is dense, and weighs a TON in comparison. She also shows pictures of various birds, dolphins and manatees.

One of the stops during the tour is to "Bird Island". It's a sizable island, that is inhabited by Pelicans, Cormorants, Wood Storks, and Vultures, to name a few. At sunset, over 1,500 birds come to roost on the island for the night!

Here are some of the things that I've learned from my travels with The Beav":

Dolphins: Travel up to 25 miles a day to feed. They can put one half of their brain to sleep at a time. Yes, one eye open, and one eye shut and asleep! The dolphins that live in the area of the Manatee Pocket and the Indian River Lagoon only live to be about 25 years old, as opposed to those in the ocean, who live to be 50 or so. A lot of these dolphins have Human Papilloma Virus in their mouths and on their gentiles. Only two species can get this, dolphins and humans. The Beav doesn't think that the dolphins gave it to us!

Manatee: Do not see or hear well, so they can't get out of the way of a boat until it's too late. They hear at a low frequency, and boat motors run at a higher one. They do not mate until they are about 5-6 years old. The gestation period is 13 months, so they can't have a baby every year. They are being killed by boat propellers faster than they can reproduce.

Pelicans: When mating season approaches, their heads turn from white to yellow, and their eyes get bright blue. Once the babies are born, the head goes back to white. First year babies are brown, with a white belly. The second year, the belly turns brown as well. Pelicans can't handle large pieces of food well, they need to swallow smaller chunks.

Ospreys: Have tiny suction cups at the end of their talons, and always carry their prey head-forward, this being more aerodynamic.

Cormorants: During mating season, the face around their eyes turns a bright orange, and the eyes go blue.
Mangroves: There are red, white, and black mangroves. The white mangroves tend to be found at higher elevations, as opposed to at the water's edge. Mangroves are able to obtain fresh water from salt water. Red mangroves have a reddish color at their root. The roots reach down into the water. Indians used to call them Walking Trees. Red Mangroves excrete salt through their roots.
Black mangroves have roots that grow up, away from the water line. The tips of the roots are black. These mangroves have smaller leaves, that are darker, more olive green in color. They excrete their salt through the back of their leaves.
Mangroves make a much better retaining wall than a concrete bulkhead. During a strong storm or hurricane, water will go over a concrete wall, and wash the soil away, tearing down the wall as well. A mangrove will stay put, allowing the water to flow through, and keeping the soil intact. For this reason, mangroves cannot be moved without a permit. It is illegal to cut them down, and they can only be trimmed down to a certain height.
Mangroves also provide a protected area for fish and crustaceans to grow. They also provide food for a multitude of marine life. Many animals find shelter in either the roots or branches of a mangrove, and they are also nesting areas for pelicans and other birds.

Here endeth the lesson. Check out some pictures I took during my time with Nancy "The Beav" Beaver. I'm sorry to say that I was so busy learning and enjoying my tours, that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of The Beav. Check out the one here on her website:
http://www.sunshinewildlifetours.com/tours.html