OCT. 9, 2010, SLAS FIELD TRIP REPORT
INDIAN
RIVER BOAT RIDE WITH CAPT. CHOP LEGE, FORT PIERCE
Great mild weather and a calm river awaited the 23 SLAS members
and guests who participated in thefirst field trip of the season.
Besides being a boat captain, our host, Capt “Chop” Lege , is an
Audubon warden who is involved with teaching local children in
lectures, and on boat trips and nature hikes.
Capt Chop and his assistant Capt Bo were able to take us between the spoil islands on the river; where we treated to the calm, quiet, natural beauty of the area. We saw plenty of Ospreys and Belted Kingfishers and we got to look at the tiny sealife in water samples that Chop scooped up from the bottom of the river…..magnifying lenses provided! We were even lucky enough to come across a pod of 6-8 manatees a few yards from our pontoon boat !
We were updated on the riverfront ( including the plans to build islands planted with mangroves to protect the future marina ) and also learned about the success of the oyster bed re-seeding project. We look forward to our next boat trip with Capt Chop and offer our thanks for a great morning on the Indian River!
18 Species seen:
- Brown Pelican
- Anhinga
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Green Heron
- Little Blue Heron
- Snowy Egret
- Great Egret
- Great Blue Heron
- Black Vulture
- Osprey
- American Avocet
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Laughing Gull
- Ring-billed Gull
- Royal Tern
- Belted Kingfisher
- Palm Warbler
- Boat-tailed Grackle