Titusville - The manatees have fled south!

A blue heron is still around

When we were here in the fall, they manatees were everywhere. When I washed my boat, they hovered under the deck overflow and slurped up the fresh water. Now, however, they have all gone. There used to be a population of 20 or so manatees in the marina. If you wanted to watch manatees, you had a better view here than anywhere else within 20 miles! That is no longer the case. The weather has turned cold and the manatees have fled south.

None are apparent here now but I have photos from last year - they are around!

Also fleeing south are the alligators, or else they've found hiding places in the ponds. I've photographed alligators in the marina and even in the pond next to the playground. They liked to sun themselves on the banks of the pond. When I approached one time for a better photo, the alligator slide silently into the water. They are no longer around.

A wood stork, seems to be more tolerant of the cold weather

Not all wildlife has fled south. The great blue heron is still in evidence as well as the osprey and smaller birds. I think they are all telling us something. It's time for us to go south too. We're still on track for a Saturday departure after a Friday of high winds and rain. It has not been a good year for Bahama crossings so we expect that Vero Beach will be quite full. We've never had to raft up to get a mooring but I expect that might change this year. Vero Beach requires up to three boats to a mooring if they are full. Of course, you still pay the full freight. It would seem that if there are three boats on a mooring that they could split the cost of the mooring three ways - NOT.

So we're still here and watching the weather and looking at Saturday for a departure date.