Bill Baggs State Park

3/1/16    25 40.399N    80 09.846W    Bill Baggs State Park    .4NM

Hi,

After breakfast, we went ashore for walk in Bill Baggs State Park checking out the bay, beach and 'Nature Trail' down the middle of the park.  There are 7 fishing piers (not really piers, but decks over the water for fishermen) located along the bay where we frequently have seen fish.  The water's clear enough to see into the water, so it's akin to snorkeling without getting wet, although there are far fewer fish than seen from the water by a reef.   We saw several needle fish, one making forays into a school of small silvery fish, something we haven't observed in the past. After stalking, he made lightening fast dashes into the school, sending them scattering before they regrouped - there's safety in numbers. 

Here's some of the wild life we saw on our walk.

Iguana basking in the morning sun

Anhinga, aka the snake bird for it's long neck

I think it's a Monarch, but it may be a look-a-like cousin, the Viceroy -
there were far fewer butterflies this year

A brown anole sunning on a sea grape leaf

A note - On NPR (where else!) I heard a story about last year's wading bird nesting counts in the Everglades.  While white ibis numbers increased 32%,  snowy egrets were down 51% and little blue herons down 70%, compared to a 10 year average.  While weather may be responsible, in part, for these drastic changes in numbers (drought during nesting season, limiting food sources), more work needs to be done on restoration of the Everglades to improve habitat. The Everglades is half its original size.

After checking out the light house and grounds, we walked along the beach.  Although it didn't appear to be refurbished or groomed, there were more people than shells. Several Portuguese man of war jelly fish had washed ashore, and a warning was posted at the beach house - reminding us to keep an eye out for them before going into the water, their stings are painful. 

Cape Florida light house - light keeper's house, privy, cistern, and light house

After lunch, we walked into Key Biscayne for ice cream.  Leonard had been firm that I shouldn't count on provisioning here, but he hadn't said anything about treats.  It's about 2 miles into town, much further to lug groceries than at Cooleys Landing, but it did offer a chance to pick up a few items that hadn't made the original list.

No Name Harbor in Bill Baggs State Park

The plan is to hop over to the Bahamas, departing after midnight, crossing the bank and clearing customs at Nassau.  Leonard estimated it's about 160NM, so we may opt to anchor on the bank if we're tired.  The long range forecast predicts light and variable winds through Sunday, so most of the trip will be under power, not ideal, but better than waiting for weeks for the NE wind to abate.  To facilitate our departure, we moved outside the harbor for the evening, thinking we'd have fewer boats to dodge as we head out.  However, with 15 boats anchored with us, and more arriving, we'll still be dodging boats (radar is wonderful)!  There were at least as many inside the harbor when we left.  Not sure how many are headed to the Bahamas, but we'd like to arrive at the head of the pack to be sure of getting a slip in Nassau to clear customs.  We hoping the forecast is accurate, allowing us reach the Exumas ahead of the wind.

If all goes as planned, it will be a while before we'll be posting another log since we won't have access to the hotspot on our cell phone.

Lynnea