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Posted by Jeff Weber on 09:22:29 09/24/07
While kayaking the Loxahatchee River last Saturday near Jupiter, I saw loads of Limpkins, including what appeared to be a family group of four actively feeding on Apple Snails. Also saw a Limpkin sitting on a nest in a Pond Apple tree, just about four feet off the water. Limpkin calls echoed through the swamp throughout the paddle. Other hightlights were a calling Barred Owl perched in a cypress and a very large-eared bat hanging under a highway bridge (Rafinesque's Big-Eared?). The sandy scrub along the shore was rich in my favorite critters, beetles: Tiger Beetles, Rainbow Scarab, and a large green & red Buprestid I'd never encountered before. There was lots of Gopher Tortoise sign, too (burrows and scat).
The river, by the way, was in near flood stage and flowing at 3-4 knots, after several days of heavy rain in Martin and Palm Beach Counties and a veritable deluge on Friday night. The high water level presented some real challenges involving trying to squeeze under fallen trees across the river, including some with as little as 12 in. clearance. This is the closest I've ever come to whitewater kayaking in Florida.
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