What Lurks Beneath

This is the rainy season, but we have had some fabulous days that call us out onto and into the water.

Morning view across to Greater Monkey Cay, 0.8 miles distant.

Our new dock gate.

We had to put a gate on our dock.  You will soon see why.

Standing on the dock looking north.  Greater Monkey Cay is just of view to the right of this shot.  When it looks like this, the kayaking is great.

I have learned to get the kayak ready from the dock rather then on the beach, clipping in the seat, positioning the live vest, stowing water bottle, snack, and camera.  This is much easier without help from Barnie!

Poor Barnie can't come through the gate onto the dock.

It got worse for Barnie, too.  Before I got in the kayak, I put her on the chain in the shade of the seagrape so she couldn't swim out after me.  I could hear her howls of despair across the water as I paddled out.  Sorry, Barnie, until your new CFD (canine flotation device) arrives, you are not allowed to go so far from shore.

I had unearthed my old underwater housing for a little Canon PowerShot A95 camera.  My old and well-used PowerShot fritzed out some time back, but Dennis had found a refurbished replacement on eBay and squirreled it away for later.  As eventually happens, later became now.  I got it going with new batteries (thanks, Dennis!) and decided to try it out by just holding under the water.  What better place than the corals around Greater Monkey Cay.  I took the following photos by holding the camera down into the water while leaning over the edge of the kayak.  I basically shot blind and wound up with lots of worthless images.  But I did get a few keepers to show what lurks beneath.

Hard and soft corals near the cay.  The water is a little murky.

The PowerShot does OK.  It has a very small chip, so you can't crop the shots very much.  It does have an underwater setting that seems to work all right.  I still have to white balance the shots after the fact.

In bright sunshine and with minimal ripples on the water's surface, it does pretty good.

The fish moved too fast for me to get any good shots of them, but there were lots around.

Sea fans and brain corals. in dappled sunlight.

Now I must get busy learning the names and types of corals.

I was fairly pleased with the results.  I will take it snorkeling next.  This will be a good way for me to learn more about the local sea-life while getting more experienced with underwater photography.  Not sure if I will upgrade to better equipment or not; underwater camera gear is quite expensive.  For now, I am enjoying this setup very much.

My dog-loving blogging friends will be happy to know that after this trip I went back for Barnie and we spent about an hour paddling along in the shallows.  She is getting better behaved with each trip.

September Stormy Nights Bring Calm, Glorious Days

Averaging more than 20 inches of rainfall, September is consistently one of the wettest months here in southern Belize, and this September is no exception.  Sounds miserable, doesn't it?  But it's not.  In fact it is fabulous - just look at this dramatic dawn sky.

We woke to this after a night of thunderstorms.

The nights are rainy, even stormy, and the days are calm and mostly sunny. The thunderstorms have been very intense and exciting during the night as we lie in bed surrounded by 8 (curtainless) windows and 2 glass doors of our cabana suite.  I am so glad we designed the cabana with 10 foot-deep covered veranda on all sides, or we would never get any sleep!

The view from front balcony is very moody and changes with the weather.  I have another post planned showing colors of the sea and sky.  The image below was taken at noon the same day as the dawn above.

The flat sea calls to me.  I just have to go wade or swim or kayak when it is like this.

The flat sea calls to Barnie, too.  Who is Barnie, you ask?  Barnie is our new dog.  I suggested the name "Bonnie" for her and in local style that has become "Barnie".  Barnie, she is.

Barnie - a rescue dog from the village.  At 9 months, she is still just a puppy!

Barnie expressed an interest in kayaking with me, so we are in the midst of doggie kayak camp.  On day 1, she managed to get on the kayak, with assistance from our neighbor Craig, and stayed on for about 2 minutes before she got spooked and jumped off.

Day 2, she got on by herself, but couldn't stop biting at the paddle.  She lasted about 5 minutes before, in exasperation, I made her get off so I could head out by myself.  She ran out to the end of the dock as I paddled out to the deep and let loose a heartrending howl before she flung herself into the water to swim after me.  I turned around to the shallow so she could get back on and we managed to paddle for another 5 or so minutes before I called it quits in frustration.  Then I got her back on the kayak and walked the kayak through the water while I kept one hand on her to keep her steady.  She liked that.

Day 3, a breakthrough day!  She hopped onto the back of the kayak with no prompting as I was pushing off and settled right down.  We paddled about 1/2 mile, all within 30 feet of shore.  Later that day, I measured her for a CFD (canine flotation device), which I ordered on Amazon.  It will be here in about a month.  Until she is wearing her CFD, we will stay in the shallows near the shore.  I can't pull her up out of deep water back onto the kayak and she is so dense (in a physical sense) that it is hard for her to swim any great distance.

Today was Day 4 and Dennis took some photos of us heading out and coming back.  Barnie is making great progress.

Get in the back, Barnie!

 She hopped up like she knew what she was doing.

Now sit, Barnie.

She did sit, and we were off for a fine 15 minute paddle.  She sat most of the time, but got antsy after about 10 minutes.  I will make some alterations in one of the seat cushions to give her little more stability and comfort in the back.  More comfort for me, too, if it means she will stop breathing her hot doggie breath on my neck!

She is looking down at the submerged breakwater just beneath the kayak.

 Closing with a sunset shot.

A promise for an exciting night, whether we want it or not!

The First Adventure of Green Shank and Yellow Legs

Still on a kayak kick.  Today dawned just as calm and lovely as yesterday, so as I promised him, Nolbert and I went out to Great Monkey Cay.  He was ready and waiting for me early this morning.

Nolbert, ready to go!

 I had the kayak at the water's edge, waiting for Nolbert to arrive.

Getting the kayak in the water.

Some minor adjustments to the seat cushion and then we are off!

Getting settled.

Dennis took some photos of the start of the adventure.

Nolbert happy and stylin' in his sunglasses.

He was all set with his life vest and we both had bottles of water, hats, and sunglasses as we set out for the cay.  On the way, we decided we should name our kayaks.  I suggested Yellow Legs for mine both for the color and because of the greater yellowleg waders I had showed him yesterday.  Nolbert thought that was a great name and he suggested green legs for his.  I countered with Green Shank and after I explained that shank means leg and that green shanks are real birds, he thoroughly approved. We paddled on in Green Shank and Yellow Legs.

The cay is about 3/4 mile from our dock.

We were able to go around to the outside of the cay; the water was so flat that no waves were breaking over the shallows around the cay.  Nolbert spotted bunches of big orange cushion star fish and pointed out the sea grass and coral heads.  On the north side of the cay, Nolbert tied Green Shanks up to some mangrove roots next to a sandy spot so he could do a little snorkeling.  I paddled around while he snorkeled.  It was a little too shallow at that spot, so next time we will try a different place to get out of the kayaks.  We can't get out over the coral because that would damage the coral, so that limits the choices a bit.

Nolbert handles Green Shanks really well; he can back paddle to make a sharp pivot turn and knows which side to stroke on to move away from an obstacle.  And the kid has stamina!  After the little snorkeling, we decided to head up to the mouth of Pine Ridge Creek before heading back to Craig's place.

Our route is mapped in the Goggle Earth image below and it comes to 3.65 miles.  Not bad for a 10 year old boy and a woman, who may or may not be, 6 times his age!

Our place is in the bottom left corner and Craig's is almost directly opposite the north point of Great Monkey Cay.

Next time Nolbert is here and the weather is good, we will pack lunches and go as far up Pine Ridge Creek as we can.  We should be able to see at least 3 kinds of kingfishers and yellow crowned night herons.  That is also where I have seen my only ever Agami Heron.  I would love to see one of those again.  Nolbert and I are looking forward to further adventures with Green Shank and Yellow Legs.

Small is Beautiful

Almost every time I have been out on Black Creek Lagoon, I have seen a flashes of a small green and cinnamon colored kingfisher flitting through the dense mangrove vegetation.  Back in October, I was finally able to get a good look at one of them and even took some photos that were good enough to ID the little bird as an American Pygmy Kingfisher, aka the Least Green Kingfisher, Chloroceryle aenea.


There are 2 other green kingfishers found in this habitat that this one can be confused with, but, at 5 1/4  inches, this one is the smallest of them.  Probably why it is called "pygmy".  ;-)


The American Pygmy Kingfisher has a cinnamon collar, in contrast to the white collar of the Green Kingfisher and the Amazon Kingfisher.


A few days later I was able to get a look at and some better shots of another Pygmy while kayaking in the mangroves.

Unlike the Amazon Kingfisher, which is considerably larger (11 plus inches!), the Pygmy Kingfisher and the Green Kingfisher both have rows of white spots on their green wings.  The female pygmy and green kingfishers have a green band across their breast.






This was a very friendly male who sat and talked to me for about 15 minutes while I photographed it from the kayak.

Nearby were what looked like nest holes excavated on the bank of the creek.  I will definitely come back later to see if I can detect any nesting behavior.

A Bit of Belize: Land, Sea, and Air

A small selection of photos from two of my Belize kayak trips back in October and November; mostly to bring to mind a warm,sunny place on these cold February days when we are so ready for spring.  Spring is still a few months away for us in Minnesota.  :-( 
The two "land" photos were taken along the canal where I was surprised to see a couple of ferns growing just above the water line.  

I haven't keyed this fern out yet.  It appears to be a climbing fern that was growing profusely on the banks of the canal. I need to get photos of its spore-bearing leaves to help ID it.

Actually, I am not positive that this one is a fern, but I think it may be in the genus Ophioglossum (adder's tongue ferns) or maybe a tongue fern.  
I will have to go back to take a closer, more definitive look.   hmmm... a good mystery to work on next time I'm in Belize.
Seeing the ferns along this part of the canal made me realize that I was upstream of the tidal portion and in an area that is fresh water.
Back out into the salt water, I saw this sting ray making its way along the shallows.  This is a medium sized individual.
Closer to home in Belize, this little whelk was grazing in the shallows.  I love the way the sunlight is refracted by the little ripples on the water; you can see how clear the water is.

While paddling back in the mangrove marsh, I heard this  frantic flapping of a flock of birds that I disturbed as they went crashing through the trees.  When I was finally able to see them, I was surprised that they were doves.  There is no solid ground below these mangroves, and I am more used to doves that like to hang out on the ground.

They wouldn't sit still for a second so my shots are not very good.  But they were good enough for me to identify them as Pale Vented Doves, which are known to prefer mangrove habitats.  I would like to get some better shots of them.
Looks like I have work my cut out for my next trip.  :-)

Kayaking with Dennis

Dawn came with a silky stillness in the primordial air.  

Gentle undulations rock the sea like a faint heartbeat, punctuated by the silent passage of egrets skimming the surface.

To the north, the sky clears as dawn breaks free of the low clouds and day begins in earnest.  

A day made for kayaking, slipping soundlessly along the water's surface, at one with the natural world.  Dennis and I head toward the sunlight in the north, easing in and out of passages amongst the mangroves.

We glide up to herons, like this yellow-crowned night heron.

Alert to our prescence, this yellow-crowned night heron is not unduly agitated.

OK, you are getting into my personal space here.

A little too close for comfort; I am out of here...

Way back in the marsh we saw a flash of peacock blues and greens.  What on earth?  It flew into the heavy mangrove tangle and walked from root to root, always keeping on the far side of vegetation, giving us only glimpses of a bird with a heron-like neck and bill but with a bulky, turkey-like, body.  It cautiously peeked out at us, seemingly as curious about us as we were about it. I got a couple of shots in hopes of being able to key it out later.  I succeeded in capturing the world's worst photos of the world's most beautiful bird - the Agami Heron.  Click here for the world's best photos of this fabulous bird.

I marked the tip of its beak with a purple arrow and its eye with a vertical arrow. Doesn't seem possible, does it?  But you can see it again in the next shot.

And again vertical arrow marks the eye and the horizontal one marks the tip of the beak.  The unusually long beak is one of the Agami's identifying characteristics.

Better luck in photographing a juvenile green heron.

The gloom of the tangled vegetation can't hide this lovely bird, but doesn't do much for the photo.  :-(

It very nicely cooperated and turned its streaked breast toward the camera.

We'll be back for more of that Agami heron and perhaps to see the green heron mature.