04/11/2010 - Threemile Creek (Mobile)

Launch: Causeway Boat Ramp (just west of Oysterella's restaurant)
To see or download the track of this trip, Click Here.

1) For about the first hour, sea gulls were fishing the waters very close to the kayak. Never did get to see what it is they were eating.

2) All along Spanish River were pairs of Black-necked Stilts which are interesting to watch.

3) In Threemile Creek under Telegraph Road bridge there are Cliff Swallows which currently have babies in all their nests, so, the birds were very active. 

4) The invasive Apple Snail is getting closer to the Mobile River. This is a mass of Apple Snail eggs seen next to Shoreline Sedge seeds about a third of a mile west of Telegraph Road - a little over a mile away from the entrance to Mobile River. If you see these type of eggs while kayaking, you are asked to contact the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division immediately. Contact Info: WFF Biologist Ben Ricks (251)-626-5153, or by email, ben.ricks@dcnr.alabama.gov

5) A shy shoreline mud crab allowed its photo to be taken.

6) Moments earlier, a large alligator slid off this trashy bank. One of the baby alligators (about a foot long) is still on the bank in this photo. Click on the photo for a larger view. Can you see the baby alligator amid all the trash? Click here if you give up.

7) Saw some flowers I've never seen before and believe they are littleleaf buttercup flowers (Ranunculus abortivus).

8) There were some impressive displays of Cherokee Rose (Rosa laevigata) along Threemile Creek. Cherokee Rose is the state flower of Georgia.

9) Colorful Butterweed (Packera glabella) was abundant along the banks of Threemile Creek.

 10) It was like kayaking along an absolutely beautiful flower garden.

11) This ship in Mobile River looked awful top heavy.

12) A few clouds appeared in the sky as the winds were calming on Mobile Bay just south of battleship USS Alabama. This was a wonderful kayaking adventure today.