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Kayak and Canoe Adventures
RiverTrek 2021: Five Days on the Apalachicola River
Lower Lake Lafayette: Kayak Tallahassee’s Hidden Swamp
Chipola River Paddling Trail | The Ovens and...
Kayaking Bald Point | Adventure on a Living...
Wacissa Springs Adventure | Kayaking a Wild Florida...
A Geologist’s View of the Apalachicola River |...
Upper Chipola River Kayak Adventure | Ghosts &...
Tate’s Hell & the Apalachicola River Delta |...
Kayak Scouting Mission on the Ochlockonee Water Trail
Merritt’s Mill Pond | Kayaking and Spring Caves

The WFSU Ecology Blog

  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
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      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
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    • Gardening Web Resources
Aucilla/ Wacissa WatershedEcoAdventuresKayak and Canoe AdventuresRivers and Streams

Wacissa Springs Adventure | Kayaking a Wild Florida River

by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 16, 2017
by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 16, 2017 0 comment

Kick back and relax on a short trip down the Wacissa River.  Recent rains had darkened the water on our shoot day, but wildlife was out in full force.  This segment aired on the February 16 episode of Local Routes.

Music in the video was provided by Brian Bowen.  Thanks to Brian, and to Dave Murphy of Winterstone Sound for providing instrumental versions of Brian’s songs.

Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU Media

“If I had to come back to the same place over and over again, I would pick the Wacissa,” Harry Smith told us as we paddled back to the boat ramp.  Harry is an outfitter based out of Tallahassee’s Railroad Square.  We spent the day kayaking with him, his wife, and a few friends.  Retired FWC biologist Michael Hill came along to get in some fishing and share his knowledge of aquatic flora and fauna.

Kayakers make their way out of Big Blue Spring on the Wacissa River.We put in at the headwaters of the river, in Wacissa Springs County Park.  In the openness of the main river channel, a headwind pushed against us.  A couple days earlier, a harsh storm tore through the southeast, and some wind persisted throughout the week.  Luckily we were here to check out the river’s springs, which are tucked away in sheltered side channels.

The rain had turned the water tannic and turbid, shifting our focus away from underwater photography.  As you can see in the video above, we didn’t lack for things to see and do.  The Wacissa bursts with wildlife.  And, even in January, it wasn’t a bad day for a swim.

It didn’t take long to see why Harry picked this place for our outing.  The Wacissa River is a favorite of many of my water loving friends, and for good reason.

Planning your Wacissa River Paddling Adventure

For one, you can plan a multitude of different trips on this river.  Our trip focused on the many side channels towards the head of the river.  But you can also choose to paddle ten miles from the headwaters to Goose Pasture.  South of the Goose Pasture campground, the river breaks apart into several braids.  One of these channels is the popular Slave Canal, which connects to the Aucilla River.  You can tackle a headwaters to Aucilla trip in one 15 mile shot, or break it up and camp at Goose Pasture.

To plan your trip, consult the Wacissa River Paddling Trail Guide.  Camping at Goose Pasture is free, but is on a first come, first served basis.  Parties of six or more can make reservations.

When it’s warm, the water gets crowded on weekends.  As Harry pointed out to us, people tend to congregate on Big Blue Spring while mostly leaving the other springs alone.

Wildlife on the Wacissa River

The Wacissa is also a reliable river for seeing wildlife.  You can see alligators, snakes, and turtles the video:

Alligator face.

Animals on the Wacissa are used to humans on the river, and so they tend to hide less when they hear you coming.  A decent zoom lens will let you get closer shots without intruding on their space.

Brown water snake in the crotch of a tree.

This is a brown water snake, as identified by Georgia Ackerman on the Local Routes Facebook page (and confirmed by Tall Timbers herpetologist Kim Sash).  Our group had a good eye for snakes on branches.

Water moccasin?

I believe this is a banded water snake.

Yellow bellied slider on a log.

This is a yellow bellied slider.  I had always had trouble differentiating between sliders and Suwannee cooters until last year’s Ochlockonee Bio-Blitz.  There, Florida Fish and Wildlife biologist Pierson Hill (no relation to Michael) taught us to look for green spots below the neck.  We learned a lot about wildlife on north Florida rivers that day.

Cardinal flower along the edge of the Wacissa River.

Michael spotted this cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) as we were leaving Big Blue Spring.    The Wacissa River is heavily vegetated.  In fact, it can sometimes make for slow paddling.  Aquatic plants provide shelter for snails, crawfish, and fish.  These feed the abundant wading birds and reptiles we see, as well as river otters.  This unseasonable splash of color above is a threatened species.

A River with an Ancient Past

Our last story on this river took us under the surface and into the river bank.  A team of archeologists donned scuba gear to excavate a site discovered by Ryan and Harley Means (the stars of our last two EcoAdventures!).  Texas A&M PhD candidate Morgan Smith and his team found evidence of the Suwannee Culture, which is believed to have existed about 10,000 years ago.

The Aucilla/ Wacissa watershed is a hotbed of Paleolithic history.  Last year, not far from where Slave Canal meets the Aucilla, a team led by Morgan’s faculty advisor made international news.  Artifacts excavated at the Page-Ladson site were radiocarbon dated at 14,500 years old, earlier than humans were supposed to have been in the United States.

If you wondered what a “braided river” looks like, look at the map.  The Wacissa is surrounded by protected land, and is one of Florida’s wildest rivers.

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Rob Diaz de Villegas

Rob Diaz de Villegas is a senior producer for WFSU-TV, covering outdoors and ecology. After years of producing the music program OutLoud, Rob found himself in a salt marsh with a camera, and found a new professional calling as well. That project, the National Science Foundation funded "In the Grass, On the Reef," spawned the award winning WFSU Ecology Blog. Now he spends time exploring north Florida's forests, coasts, waterways, and the endlessly fascinating ecosystem that is the backyard garden. Rob is married with two young sons, who make a pretty fantastic adventure squad.

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iNaturalist became a part of the WFSU Ecology Blog during the EcoCitizen Project in 2019.  Since then, we’ve used it to help identify the many plants and animals we see on our shoots.  And on the Backyard Blog, we show how it can be used to identify weeds and garden insects, to help figure out what’s beneficial or a possible pest.  Below is the iNaturalist profile belonging to WFSU Ecology producer Rob Diaz de Villegas.

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Upcoming Ecology Blog stories

We’ve been busy working on the north Florida part of the NOVA | PBS #ClimateAcrossAmerica initiative. Our first story for that initiative has just dropped, on protecting Florida’s coasts from storm surge. We’ve been out in the field recently for a few other stories you won’t want to miss

 

Fire and Black Carbon in the Longleaf Forest

 

Prescribed fire helps maintain biodiversity in longleaf ecosystems, but it releases carbon into the atmosphere. Despite this, burning might help these systems store carbon in the long term. This is our second story for the #ClimateAcrossAmerica initiative.

 

Black and Yellow Rails: the most secretive birds in North America

 

Fire also helps maintain biodiversity in coastal salt marshes. We head to the coast with Tall Timbers Research Station in search of two seldom seen birds that rely on fire: black and yellow rails.

 

The Brown-Headed Nuthatch, a bird with a unique family structure

 

Back at Tall Timbers, we visit the nests of one of the cutest inhabitants of the longleaf forest, the brown-headed nuthatch. It’s one of a few birds where extended family help raise young.

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