Arthur and I had a quiet morning paddle at Blue Spring State Park on Thanksgiving Day. The warm spring is very popular with swimmers, though it’s recently been closed to human-type swimmers for the season because of these guys.
![Manatee](http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6229/6422544489_7807611e03.jpg)
All three manatee photos were taken November 21st
![Manatee Party](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6422545447_5987926fea.jpg)
![Rolling with the flow](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6422544953_5316d2250e.jpg)
Walking to the river with our kayaks, the first bird we saw was a Red-shouldered Hawk perched above the dock. A good start to the day.
![Red-shouldered Hawk](http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6218/6422546807_7be4fe2168.jpg)
Our short trip began at the canoe put-in next to the St. Johns River Cruises pier. We paddled against the slow-moving northward flow of the river, and struggled a bit in windy conditions.
![St Johns River](http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6113/6422550529_111543f03a.jpg)
There was a big American Alligator across the river from the dock.
![American Alligator](http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6043/6422548697_fbe4964de7.jpg)
We took our first right to stay with the original flow of the St. Johns (going straight would have taken us through a part of the river that was straightened during the riverboat boom).
![map](https://www.poweredbybirds.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/map.jpg)
Another right took us to Snake Creek, a naturally winding path that would have lead us to Hontoon Island, if we had that much paddlin’ in us.
It was quiet, but we were not alone.
![Snake Creek](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6422549971_40907596e9.jpg)
![FL Red-bellied Turtle?](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6422546417_374109344a.jpg)
![Snake Creek](http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6227/6422551751_a474b47d18.jpg)
![Little Blue Heron](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6422548113_15de0a7ee4.jpg)
![Snake Creek](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7172/6422551267_1d4ac97682.jpg)
On the way back, we had a peek at the place where the spring run meets the St. Johns. We were hoping to see manatees. No joy, though there were several Double-crested Cormorants perched at the end of the run.
![Double-crested Cormorant](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6422547587_971786b5e7.jpg)
As we headed back to shore, we spied a Black Vulture having a drink.
![Black Vulture](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6422549229_5a00ce1538.jpg)
Several of his friends were waiting in the trees above us.
![Black Vultures](http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6120/6422547241_e68784661e.jpg)
We had a great morning out and just may have started a brand new Thanksgiving tradition. Belated best wishes to my blog readers – I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!
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