I went for a quick solo kayak trip to Hall Creek near Cedar Key (putting in at the #4 Bridge off of Highway 24. I last visited this area in 2012 with a friend.
The first mile or so is very shallow and I made a few mistakes on my way to Live Oak Key, where there is a narrow channel through the oyster beds. Surprisingly the old oak tree on the point is still alive! [compare with 2012]
The next “bay” is deeper until you approach the creek entrance. I saw lots of birds including a molting Loon and White Pelicans.
I hit the creek near low tide so it was hard to follow. I made several minor wrong turns.
The campsite sits on an eroded ridge of limestone that provides just enough support for several small hammocks of hardy trees. Since I last visited all the non-palm trees have died (due to hurricanes?).
I saw no evidence of recent use by humans and had to break a trail through the scrub to get to the campsite, which was surprisingly nice considering much of the remaining area has been taken over by prickly pear cactus!
There were a few noseeums in the late afternoon/morning, and a few mosquitos just after sunset. My Bug Shirt handled these with no problem. Two Rosette Spoonbills flew over just as the sun was setting.
I took several walks and saw several birds at a distance. There are small rock outcrops, tidal ponds, more hammocks, and a whole forest of dead trees as you move inland. There were surprisingly few flowers for April, but there was a lot of this ground cover I named gummy-worm plant or gummywort.
Finally there was new evidence of global warming — lots of small Red Mangrove pioneers. There were NONE in 2012 as far as I can remember. This means their range is moving north. The place would be much different if all the islands grew full mangrove ecosystems!
