07/30/2013 - Alligator Bayou

1) Someone enjoying a morning paddle on Dog River.

2) Dolphins in Dog River.

3) Fishing Spider.

4) An rather large alligator in Alligator Bayou.

5) Beach overcrowding.

6) Closeup of an Alien.

7) Alligator Bayou on a Hot puffy cloud summer day.

06/28/2011 - Alligator Bayou

Header image is of a red-winged blackbird berating me for being in its nesting territory.

1) Sunrise at the entrance to Alligator Bayou.

2) Much of the main channel of Alligator Bayou is grass land until it gets narrow and then the variety of plants increases.

3) Grass land attracts birds like this Bittern.

4) A red-winged blackbird advertising for a mate.

5) There were way to many flowers in upper Alligator to photograph and post here. 

6) The flowers ranged from big morning glories to tiny Loosestrife flowers with a streak of pink on the petals. I spent 2-3 hours in upper Alligator Bayou immersed in the moment, like a little kid in a candy store.

7) There is all sorts of life in the vegetation if you look long enough, like this tree frog.

8) I hesitated to post this photo but decided to share the intimate scene because it shows the tender side of nature.

9) A rather big chested fly hitched a ride on the kayak.

10) Not sure what this insect was depositing on the leaf.

06/10/2011 - Alligator Bayou

Header photo is the head of a tri-colored heron's showing a lot of subtle colors.

1) Watching the sunrise from under the Dog River Bridge.

2) Another glimpse of the sunrise about 45 minutes later in Alligator Bayou. Some nice clouds kept the heat down for a little while.

3) I pedaled up to the Nursery canals hoping there might be flowers lining the bank, but the bank was bare.

4) In another canal, there were some flowering plants but they were a good distance away from the shoreline so there were no reflections on the surface of the water.

5) A wonderful person decided to build their patio around a huge tree rather than cut it down. My compliments to those involved!

6) Another tree is so big that the majestic limbs hang down into the water. Do you see the yellow crowned night heron?

7) Speaking of herons, here is a tri-colored heron about to scarf up a minnow.

8) A close up of a virginia saltmarsh mallow or seashore marshmallow flower (Kosteletzkya virginica). How are you suppose to pronounce Kosteletzkya? 
That's easy - click here, find it and click on it in the list, and listen.

04/19/2009 - Alligator Bayou

Launch: Hoppes Launch (northeast side of Dog River at Dauphin Island Parkway)
Cost: $5
Route: Across Dog River and up Alligator Bayou and back.
Weather: Clouds giving way to sun, 60s-70s, breezy, higher than normal water.

1) Went to McNally’s Park to launch and the launch area was full of debris which explains why the parking lot was empty. Decided I’d rather pay $5 to launch at a clean and maintained site – went to Hoppes.

2) Hoppe's Launch – no trash here and there was a snowy egret there to greet people.

3) Snowy egret taking a poke at some minnows. It missed.

4) Pelican pushing off from the water to get airborn.

5) I read a paper that questioned if a large nearby nursery’s fertilizer runoff is causing excessive growth in Alligator Bayou. There was indeed very dense vegetation in the water – a type of vegetation I don’t see much in other parts of the delta. But that vegetation was strictly in the upper part of Alligator Bayou. There are canals that run along part of the nursery where one would expect to see the same dense water vegetation, but the canals didn’t have any. There are parts of creeks completely vegetated in the Delta that are in far worse shape than Alligator Bayou. None of the waterways around the Nursery were not blocked by any vegetation.

6) Whatever the vegetation is in the water, when it dries out on land, Swamp Sparrows make good use of it.

7) Some of the canals around the nursery provide a beautiful view of flowers. With a little planning in the arrangement of flowers, kayaking the nursery canals could be a major attraction for kayakers while providing good public relations for the Nursery.

8) The only negative thing about the Nursery that I saw was loose plastic planters that were lining the edge of the canals in some areas. The Nursery should have their people clean the edge of their property bordering waterways. This isn’t trash that a coastal cleanup effort should deal with. Trash wise, Alligator Bayou was very clean.

9) Saw lots of fish and ducks in Alligator Bayou.

10) If planning to paddle the Alligator Bayou area, it would be wise to have a route mapped out. There are enough canals around the area that one could get lost. The end of one of these canals comes out right at Hamilton Blvd.

11) There are houses along some of the canals that make you want to stop and take a photo like this one. Just four colored chairs turns ordinary into eye pleasing. My compliments go to the owner of this house.

12) Can’t afford a house near the water? Get a mobile home. This mobile home setup looks seriously flawed in terms of being top heavy, but maybe they are not done setting it up yet.

13) Here is another example of taking ordinary and turning it into extraordinary. A partially blown over tree was turned into a beautiful work of art. 

14) There is a wide variety of things to see in the Alligator Bayou area and the open water of Mobile Bay is only a mile away from the mouth of Alligator Bayou.

15) A Dog River sunset.

16) Sunset at Hoppes Launch. Two thumbs up on this paddle and a boo-hiss to the caretakers of McNally’s Park Launch.

03/18/2007 – Alligator Bayou

Launch: Hoppe’s Landing at the mouth of Dog River in Mobile.
Launch Cost: $5.
Route: Southwest into Alligator Bayou exploring it to the end, back out to Dog River, northwest to Rabbit Creek following that southwest until log jams blocked the creek, back out to Dog River and then to the launch site.
Distance: 18.3 miles round trip.
Average Speed: 3.0 mph.
Time: Approx 6 hrs.
Pace: Leisurely to Moderate.
Weather: Clear, temperature 60-65 degrees, winds out of the southeast 10-15 mph and breezy, little in way of tidal change or current.

1) In the upper end of Alligator Bayou, the vegetation in the water became prevalent. The pink flowers are azaleas.

2) What else would you expect in Alligator Bayou?

3) Only about 10 feet away from the above alligator was a Green Heron.

4) Further up in Rabbit Creek, populated areas gave way to dense woods and much clearer water.

5) It was surprising how far up Rabbit Creek a kayak could go and how quiet it was. If you have never kayaked Rabbit Creek, it is worth exploring – especially the upper end.

6) This is the Rangeline Road bridge where it crosses Rabbit Creek – much taller than I expected.

7) Sunset on Rabbit Creek.

8) Sunset on Rabbit Creek.

9) Twilight from near the Alba Yacht Club area.

10) Trip Track. 

"In wilderness I sense the miracle of life."
- Charles Lindbergh