The Hillsborough River, Tampa, Florida
From Days Gone By
We
fell in love while canoeing the Hillsborough River over 40 years ago!
So many years later we were in the area and decided to put in at the
Wilderness Area at Morris Bridge Road. This was our usual put in
spot those many years ago. Back then, it was just a place alongside
the road, with ease of entry. The Hillsborough River Basin Board
with the Southwest Florida Water Management District has bought up
much of the property along the upper river. Several parks along the
river have developed walking trails, loading ramps, and even docks
which make the river easy to access. This makes it easy to canoe
from one park to the next and get out and take a stretching or
bathroom break. Maintaining it as a wilderness area has also helped
to maintain the special qualities of the riverine/swamp ecosystem.
We were excited to be back on the river.
 |
| Alert to the Wildlife |
We
had only one car, so instead of asking for a shuttle, we canoed 2 or
3 miles upstream and then turned around and canoed back. As we
glided on the intimate river, we soon realized how easy it was to
fall in love, not only with each other, but with the natural Florida
environment. The Hillsborough River runs through an enormous cypress
swamp with huge fluted cypress trunks and cypress knees everywhere.
Lilies were scattered on the moist banks. It remains a perfect haven
for a wide variety of wildlife. If you are counting the various
birds, turtles, or alligators, you quickly give up because there are
so many it is impossible to keep your count accurate.
There wasn't a
moment that we were not seeing some kind of wildlife and often there
were three to five different species visible at the same. And if
there was a moment with no wildlife visible, the whole environment is
absolutely beautiful! Obviously the birds, turtles and gators are
used to seeing people float by in their various sized canoes and
kayaks as they casually watch you pass by. We were pleased to see
that Roseate Spoonbills have found the river to be good place to
live.
The indigenous Limpkin were numerous and frequently seen.
Hearing their raucous call was a wonderful reminder of our visits in
the past.
Instead of creating a list of the wading birds we were
seeing we started a list of those that we were NOT seeing. We didn't
see any little Green Herons or any Black or Yellow-crowned Night
Herons. Other birds? Yes! And lots of them – Kingfishers,
Limpkins, Great Blue, White Ibis, Little Blue, White Egrets, Anhingas
and Cormorants! Plus the call of a Barred Owl. Unexpectedly we also
saw a Blue Macaw! Only this one came riding on someone's kayak as
someone's pet.
Canoeing the Hillsborough River not only is a great experience, but it is so easy and takes so little of your time. We saw so much and our total time spent on the river was 3 hours. People spend lots of money in the area for 3 hours of entertainment. The Hillsborough River experience is free and you can do it over and over again at the same price! Enjoy!!
