By Dan Dotson

After living in this area for nearly 18 years, we have looked out at the salt marshes and bayous in Upper Tampa Bay often wondering what was really out there. And now we had a chance to find out. Taking advantage of Bay Bayou's new Kayak rentals, my wife and I have taken two distinctly different trips so far, each one lasting about two hours. Long enough to see something, but not too long to wear ourselves out. And we did our homework by planning our trips for high tide as the waters are pretty shallow and you can avoid getting stuck on a mud bank or an oyster bed. Never been kayaking? Don't worry, it's not too hard. Although we are experienced canoeists, we watched the instructional CD on the Clubhouse's big screen TV to learn some pointers on using a 2-man kayak, and we put some of those lessons to use first time out.

Speaking of first time out, we donned our vests, got help from Manager David and headed south under the Hillsborough Avenue bridge. We were able to slide through the salt marshes, meandering in and out of the cuts through the mangroves. Man, were the mullet jumping that day - we must have seen a hundred leaps, and a couple of times thought, one was going to land in the boat with us - that would have been an easy catch! We viewed a few large shorebirds, like Great Blue Herons and Egrets, in the trees and we could catch the melodic call of Red-Winged Blackbirds often. After about 45 minutes of paddling, we spotted the kayak launch dock at Upper Tampa Bay park and decided to pull up and dock there to take a snack break (mixed nuts and an apple), from our dry bags. You will want to put everything in some kind of waterproof bag, as you will get some water on you and in the kayak from paddling (it can't be helped), but it's really not a bother. Precautions should be taken, especially for a camera. After the break, we explored some more and easily made it back in our two-hour window.

Our second trip was a morning trip and we decided to head East through the salt marshes past the two Bay Bayou docks following the slow-moving water. It was interesting picking our way through the wire grass maze and seeing the underwater stirring of what must have been some good-sized fish. Too bad I didn't bring a rod! After passing an old boat wreck, we headed back, as we wanted to head north past Bay Bayou and under Old Memorial Highway up the channel (you know, the one right up the street from the entrance). We found a big shady oak hanging over the water and stopped for our snack. Continuing on, we passed many an old home with little boat docks, crab traps - all reflecting more of a river environment. After making one bend, we spotted an immature Yellow Crowned Night Heron roosting in an old tree at the edge of the water and got some great pictures. A little further along, a White Ibis was feeding at the water's edge. As you probably surmised, we really enjoyed the birding . . .

Try it soon for yourselves!