News

Sighting updates are provided by Save the Manatee Club’s Manatee Specialist, Wayne Hartley, and Director of Multimedia and Manatee Research Associate, Cora Berchem, after the conclusion of the morning “roll call” at the park. These updates are posted frequently during Manatee Season, which usually starts in November and continues until manatee sightings become intermittent, which is roughly around the middle of March.

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

The river temp was 65.5 °F (18.6 °C). We observed 185 manatees during roll call. Save the Manatee Club adoptees seen were Gator, Moo Shoo, and Phyllis. Then, in the afternoon we assisted our partners with the release of an orphaned manatee that was raised in human care, which went quite well.

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, February 16, 2026

It was a pretty dreary morning, but a good one to count manatees as the sun wasn’t glaring down on the water and the wind held off for most of the count. The river temperature was up to 66 °F (18.9 °C) and I counted 138 manatees. The only adoptee in today was Phyllis. She was also on the webcam on Saturday and Sunday. Adoptee Lily was also on the webcam on Saturday. I have been told by visitors, volunteers, and other researchers that there’s an alligator around. Usually, we see numerous alligators during the season, but this season I had only seen one in November and then never again. I still haven’t seen it in the spring run in person, but at least I saw it on the webcam now, swimming through an aggregation of manatees!

Cora

Friday, February 13, 2026

The river warmed up a bit more to 61.5 °F (16.4 °C) and the manatee count dropped slightly to 233. Most manatees were congregated closer to the river with only a few up the run. The adoptees seen today during roll call were Philip, Lily, Una, and Doc. The weather forecast for the next week looks like warmer temperatures, so manatee season may be slowly winding down.

Cora

Thursday, February 12, 2026

The river had warmed up to 60.4 °F (15.8 °C) and 289 manatees were in the spring this morning including adoptees Nick, Gator, Philip, and Una.

After the count we assisted with the releases of three manatees: Carditee, Clawford, and Lilypad. All three were rescued as orphaned calves and spent time rehabilitating at SeaWorld Orlando, the Columbus Zoo, Cincinnati Zoo, Zoo Miami, and the Welaka National Fish Hatchery. They were all tagged so they can be monitored by researchers from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI)  for the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP). The releases were once again a big team effort including Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, SMC, CMARI, US Fish and Wildlife Service, SeaWorld, Brevard Zoo, Volusia County, and the Florida Park Service, and it was also attended by several congressional representatives witnessing the manatees getting a second chance. Carditee had been released last winter, but needed to be rescued and rehabilitated again once after getting stuck in a mud flat and again after heading to Jacksonville instead of seeking out warm water for the winter. The re-rescues show the importance of the satellite tracking devices these young manatees are outfitted with, allowing researchers to carefully monitor their movements and intervene if the manatees are in trouble. The tracking devices are their lifelines for the first year out in the wild and we want to remind the public to always give manatees, especially tagged manatees, space and not interfere with the tracking devices.

~Cora

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

The river temp today was up some more to 59.9 °F (15.5 °C), but with the wind calm and the manatees at rest, we got a count of 354 manatees during roll call. We also saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Gator, Annie, Nick, and Lily. Those who have followed this blog for a while know I have a thing about hreen herons. Two flew in over our heads during the roll call, so I anticipate little ones in the future.

        Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

The river temp was 58.5 °F (14.7 °C). Still getting warmer. We counted 228 manatees at roll call, but it was not a very good count. The manatees were wandering all over, making an accurate count difficult. We saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Lily, Howie, and Gator.    

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, February 9, 2026

The river temp today was 57.7 °F (14.3 °C). With a warmer river, we had fewer manatees keeping warm in the spring run. Out total at roll call was 405 manatees. We saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Howie, Philip, Flash, Doc, Merlin, Phyllis, Lily, Whiskers, Gator, Rocket, and finally Annie was spotted by our manatee observers.

    Wayne & Cora

Saturday, February 7, 2026

The air warmed up today and the river temperature was 55 °F (12.8 °C). 471 manatees made roll call today including adoptees Merlin, Phyllis, Deep Dent, Doc, Whiskers, Philip, Nick, Gator, Ester, Lily, and Una.

Oftentimes people ask us if there’s “enough room in the spring” for all these manatees. There definitely is! It is quite interesting that many of them gather in large groups in the lower part of the spring run closer to the river, then we have several almost empty transects until we usually have a bunch again at the spring head. Certain individuals also like to hang out in the same areas of the spring every day! This year we haven’t seen as many manatees in the upper part of the spring run as in years past. Maybe it is due to lower water levels and the current very strong so the manatees do not want to swim up against it. The dark water intrusion from the St. Johns River (colder river water) also doesn’t seem as far into the spring run as in years past, which may contribute to the manatees congregating in the lower parts of the run.

Cora

Friday, February 6, 2026

The river temp was 55.4 °F (13 °C). We saw 425 manatees during roll call. With the wind it was probably an undercount. Save the Manatee Club adoptees attending today were Una, Merlin, Flash, Annie (under the observation deck), Gator, Lily, Doc, and Whiskers. Cora spotted two armadillos scrabbling around on the bank near the boil. I have seen armadillos nesting under the boardwalk by the Thursby House, but never on a manatee roll call.

    Wayne & Cora

Thursday, February 5, 2026

It was a pretty dreary morning, but at least the rain had stopped by 8:30 a.m. and there was no wind. The river temp was 56.5 °F (13.6 °C) and I counted 595 manatees during roll call. The adoptees in today were Philip, Merlin, Una, Whiskers, Gator, Deep Dent, Ester, Nick, Margarito, and Lily. The wind and mist over the run started picking up dramatically after the count—seems like the next cold front is moving in.

~Cora

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

The river temp was 55.6 °F (13.1 °C). This was a bit of a rise and our count during the roll call was 588 manatees. We even saw what appear to be our resident deer walking in the woods above the spring run. There is a large doe, a small doe, and an in-between doe. Our Save the Manatee Club adoptees in today were Flash, Margarito, Howie, Floyd, Phyllis, Philip, Doc, Gator, Lily, and Whiskers.

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

The river temp was down to 53.2 °F (11.8 °C). We expected the count to go up, but it went down. I always think the manatees have a wonderful internal barometer that lets them know about changes in the weather. Many of the older manatees must have bailed out early anticipating warmer weather. The wind was predicted to be very calm and for about half the roll call it was. It helped that the boys that wanted to start a mating herd yesterday have given up the idea and settled down. We counted 677 manatees during the roll call. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees that “answered” were Margarito, Ester, Annie, Doc, Lily, Gator, Whiskers, and a tardy Howie along with an equally tardy Merlin. Talk about tardy. Cora went back after the roll call to clean the underwater webcam and saw Phyllis and Moo Shoo.

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, February 2, 2026

The river temp was 56.1 °F (13.4 °C). Save the Manatee Club researchers had a record count of 834 manatees at roll call.  The lower run by the river was jammed with manatees and a good number were on up the run. We had expected more up the run than we found. An incipient mating herd was moving up and down the entire length of the run and keeping the crowd of manatees stirred up! The wind came up and stopped our ability to ID. We did see Save the Manatee Club adoptees Margarito, Philip, Lily, Annie, Una, Gator, Doc, Aqua, and Whiskers.

    Wayne & Cora

Friday, January 30, 2026

The air temperature was warming up a little bit today and the river temperature was 16.1 °C (61 °F). I counted 606 manatees during roll call, most of them congregated in the lower transects in big aggregations. Right at the beginning of roll call something startled a calf, who startled the entire aggregation. It seemed like the calf was startled by the train horn going by, but we have trains going by every day and it usually doesn’t cause a ruckus. Almost all the adoptees were present again today, including Annie, Aqua, Philip, Gator, Howie, Merlin, Brutus, Lily, Whiskers, Una, Rocket, Ester, Floyd, Flash, Nick, Doc, and Deep Dent. Phyllis was seen after roll call was over. The “old guys” Merlin and Brutus were hanging out side by side, and Doc, Howie, and Philip were not far away. Annie and Rocket were hanging out in the same transect further up the run. When I arrived at the spring head and finished roll call there was only one manatee (in the water) and a racoon (on land). I had never seen a racoon that close up walking along the spring. I thought it was coming down for a drink of water, but it just kept walking.

Cora

Thursday, January 29, 2026

A beautiful day if a bit cold. The river temp was 61.5 °F (16.4 °C). We saw 678 manatees. Among them were Save the Manatee Club adoptees Brutus (the first manatee seen today), Margarito, Merlin, Howie, Phyllis, Floyd, Lily, Ester, Gator, Moo Shoo, Deep Dent, Whiskers, Annie, Una, and finally, late but not least, Philip.

        Wayne & Cora

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

The cold continued and brought more manatees in. Luckily today the wind stayed down for most of the count. The river had cooled down to 61 °F (16.1 °C) and I counted 593 manatees. The adoptees seen were Annie, Aqua, Gator, Doc, Floyd, Whiskers, Rocket, Una, and Lily. More may have been in the big aggregations in the lower part of the spring run, where they were tucked in with other manatees, making identification hard.

It was very warm over the past weekend, which brought both manatees and boaters out. The result was very visible in the spring today as several manatees returned with new injuries. It’s heartbreaking to see. Please be careful out there when boating—go slow, have a designated spotter on your boat, wear polarized sunglasses, and watch for signs of manatees such as snouts coming up to surface for air and swirls (footprints) on the water indicating that a manatee is below.

~Cora

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

The cold front moved in overnight and it was 31 °F (-0.5 °C) at the park this morning. However, the river temperature was still at 64 °F (17.8 °C), which is probably due to the unseasonably warm weather we had the last couple of days and the river flowing from the south. Save the Manatee Club didn’t get a count today, as we had a film crew from Backroad Pictures with us documenting the research and featuring the habitat at Blue Spring in comparison to the Indian River Lagoon. The park staff counted 241 manatees. I managed to spot Annie as the only adoptee—many more may have been there, but gusty winds and working with the film crew didn’t allow for many IDs today. Only cold temperatures in the forecast for the next week, so the manatees are expected to pile in.

~Cora

Monday, January 26, 2026

It was not an ideal day to do a count—very warm and the wind started picking up after counting the manatee in transect 0 and 1, though luckily there really weren’t many manatees beyond those 2 transects! At least the rain held off for the most part. The river temperature was 62.6 °F (17 °C) and I counted 67 manatees. Annie was the only adoptee in today. It is incredible to see how quickly numbers drop after we had 770 manatees 5 days ago. Today is supposed to be the last warm day before we are getting a major cold front. Apparently, yesterday the temperature difference between North Dakota and Florida was 117 degrees. Pretty impressive.

The rest of the week should bring in some more manatees.

Cora

Sunday, January 25, 2026

The river temp was 63.1 °F (17.3 °C). We counted 139 manatees at roll call. Unfortunately, none were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. The second day of the Orange City Blue Spring Manatee Festival had beautiful weather, and plenty of the manatees hung around to be seen. Starting Tuesday, more manatees should be coming in as the cool weather returns!

    Wayne & Cora

Saturday, January 24, 2026

The first day of the Blue Spring Manatee Festival was a success if a little warm. If you missed it, you ought to come out tomorrow! The river temp was 61.7 °F (16.5 °C). The air temp on my way home was 79 °F. We saw 264 manatees at roll call. Only two, Doc and Gator, were Save the Manatee Club adoptees.

    Wayne & Cora

Friday, January 23, 2026

The river temperature came up just slightly to 59.5 °F (15.3 °C) but the manatee count dropped by almost half. I counted 330 manatees during roll call, with 320 of them located in transects 3 and below (close to the river). After that only one manatee was found per transect. The adoptees present were Howie, Ester, Whiskers, Floyd, Philip, Gator, and Doc. Ester has been avoiding roll call, but she was on the webcam almost every day the past few days which we only realized when reviewing the footage. Adoptees Lily and Phyllis were also on the webcam yesterday afternoon. Temperatures for this weekend are predicted to be very warm, but some manatees should still be in the spring for the big Manatee Festival tomorrow and Sunday.

Cora

Thursday, January 22, 2026

The river temp was 58.5 °F (14.7 °C). Just three tenths of a degree warmer and our manatee numbers dropped by 158. I think out roll call count was a little low. We saw 612 manatees. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees were Flash, Merlin, Floyd, Deep Dent, Gator, and Philip. The lower quarter of the run contained 604 manatees, and the rest of the run only eight. With the manatees so crowded together, any little thing startled the manatees, with waves and water splashing everywhere! Fortunately we had just finished the first quarter of the run when the first waves occurred.

    Wayne & Cora

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

The river temp was 58.8 °F (14.6 °C). We recorded a record (for SMC) 770 manatees at roll call. It included Save the Manatee Club adoptees Merlin, Margarito, Philip, Phyllis, Lily, Floyd, Doc, Whiskers, Aqua, Gator, Howie, and Annie. Not bad!

Seeing such high numbers of manatees is wonderful and a testament to the importance of Blue Spring State Park providing a protected sanctuary for manatees during the cold winter months where they can rest and be undisturbed by swimmers, paddlers, divers or boaters. Having this sanctuary gives manatees the opportunity to conserve energy at the most critical time when they need the warm water to survive.

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

We got the river temp the old fashioned way by dangling thermometers off the tour boat dock. It was 58 °F (14.5 °C). We had a Save the Manatee Club record of 755 manatees present for roll call. Still a wild estimation, but better than yesterday! At one point, the manatees got excited about something back behind us and when the waves hit us broadside, I wished I had turned the canoe to catch the waves bow on. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees we found were Margarito, Philip, Gator, Floyd, Phyllis, Deep Dent, Whiskers, Merlin, Lily, and Howie.

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, January 19, 2026

What a day. Being a holiday, the park was overwhelmed. The line to get in at 8 a.m. was so long the park opened early, and I got caught having to wait in line for twenty minutes to get in. I found Cora waiting for a media interview at 9:00 a.m. We went out for forty minutes, and then Cora was interviewed again at 10:00 a.m. After that we finished the roll call. The USGS river temperature gauge is malfunctioning, as is Cora’s. Mine seems all right, so I will bring it in tomorrow. The river temp appeared to be around 60 °F or just below 16 °C at 2:30 p.m. yesterday. It must have been colder today.

The wind was terrible, and the manatees were stirring up the silty bottom. The visibility from the canoe was awful. With wild estimations, our count was 618 manatees. The park counted 825 from the boardwalk where the visibility was much better due to the height. I am sure the park count was much closer to reality than ours. 

The Save the Manatee Club adoptees seen were Phyllis, Lily, Moo Shoo, Gator, Brutus, Margarito, Ester, and Deep Dent.

Sunday, January 18, 2026

It warmed up yesterday and today before another cold front is predicted overnight. Most of the manatees were congregated by the river today in a big aggregation, which made it hard to get an accurate count as they were all moving around and it’s always a fine balance to try to count and ID as many as possible without causing disturbance. 489 manatees were counted, including adoptees Floyd, Phyllis, Gator, Philip, Brutus, Flash, Nick, Margarito, Whiskers, Doc, and Aqua. More may have been hiding where they couldn’t be spotted. We had a wonderful visit from 8-year-old Avery from Georgia, who is passionate about manatees and came to visit with her family to meet some of the adoptees today!

Cora

Friday, January 16, 2026

The river temp was 63 °F (17.2 °C). The air temp was 26.1 °F (-3.3 °C). The park staff counted 626 manatees and thought it was too low a count. We did not get a count. The mist on the run was so thick on the way up, we could not see to count until the halfway point. We were counting on the way down as the mist had lifted, but the manatees near the river (which was by far most of them) had become active and stirred up the silt, so we could still not see to count. We had to be content with IDing the manatees that were close to the canoe. We did well. We ID’d 209 manatees including Save the Manatee Club adoptees Howie, Whiskers, Lily, Gator, Rocket, Phyllis, and Floyd. Who knows which of the others were hidden from sight!

Wayne & Cora

Thursday, January 15, 2026

The weather predictions were all over the place, but luckily there was a little window that allowed for a count between the rain stopping and the wind really picking up. Some mist was coming off the spring run, which made counting and identification challenging, but I managed to count 276 manatees. Adoptees Nick, Una, Gator, Lily, and Howie made roll call. Temperatures for tomorrow morning are predicted to be freezing, so the next few days should see very high numbers!

Cora

Wednesday, 14 January 2026

The river temp today was 65.8 °F (18.8 °C). The wind was up, making IDs hard, and the manatees were jammed together near the river, making counting hard. We counted 193 at roll call. We saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Nick and Una. Wind, rain, and cold are predicted tomorrow. Hopefully we will work in a roll call.

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, 13 January 2026

The river temp was down, and the count was up. The water temp was 66.6 °F (19.2 °C). We counted 243 manatees at roll call. Save the Manatee Club adoptees Una, Lily, and Annie were seen today. Annie was late, but at least we saw her!

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, January 12, 2026

The river temp was 68 °F (20 °C). The temp that gets them in at the beginning of the season. It is the warmest river temp in weeks. However, the manatees have good barometers and know colder weather is on the way! Roll call found 160 manatees in the run. None were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. I believe the Park counted 23 manatees yesterday.

    Wayne & Cora

Friday, January 9, 2026

The river temp was 65.5 °F (18.6 °C). 99 manatees made roll call. None were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. This is the second day without adoptees at roll call. However, Gator was caught on the webcam yesterday later in the day.

    Wayne & Cora

Thursday, January 8, 2026

The river temp continues to warm. It was 64.8 °F (18.2 °C). We had 161 manatees for roll call, and none were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. The return of cooler weather is still predicted for Sunday. Boaters, if you are out because it is warm, so are the manatees. Take care and keep a look out!

We have been monitoring Annie and her small calf very closely over the past few weeks, as it seemed a bit undernourished. Calves born at the beginning of winter face a really hard time. Annie’s calf seemed to be doing ok. Unfortunately, we have not seen the calf with Annie since January 4, and we recovered a deceased calf on January 6. While we have no evidence that it was Annie’s, it’s possible.

    Wayne & Cora 

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

The river temp continued up today. It was 63.5 °F (17.5 °C). The manatee roll call found 219 manatees. The fog was dense, but above the surface of the water, so we could do a count without waiting for the fog to clear. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees present were Annie, Doc, Una, and Gator. The cool weather is predicted to return on Sunday and hopefully more manatees.

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

What a beautiful day, and with the wind so calm, it was a beautiful day to take roll call. The river temp was 62.2 °F (16.8 °C). It had gone up, so the manatee count went down to 382. Our Save the Manatee Club adoptees in were Doc, Howie, Margarito, Lily, Philip, Flash, Phyllis, Brutus, Gator, Annie, and Whiskers.

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, January 5, 2026

The river temp today was 61.2 °F (16.2 °C). We had a crowd. Roll call found 556 manatees present. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees were Flash, Howie, Una, Annie, Deep Dent, Moo Shoo, Floyd, Lily, Phyllis, Nick, Philip, Doc, Gator, Rocket, and Whiskers.

    Wayne & Cora

Sunday, January 4, 2026

The river was still a pretty cold 60.4 °F (15.8 °C), but the air is warming up. The manatees can probably feel that, and most were congregated towards the river. Conditions were much better for counting and IDing today, although toward the river the manatees were bank-to-bank, making it hard to maneuver the research canoe around them without bothering any of them. 516 manatees made roll call, including adoptees Aqua, Annie, Brutus, Gator, Deep Dent, Phyllis, Howie, Margarito, Nick, Philip, Whiskers, Lily, Floyd, Una, and Doc. This was Doc’s first visit this season—we had been waiting for him! Doc was further up the run, and briefly joined a cavorting group before settling down next to Whiskers. Aqua greeted me as I was launching the research canoe—an uncommon sight!

Cora

Friday, January 2, 2026

The river temp was 60.1 °F (15.6 °C). So the river temp has gone down, but the weather is warming up. Our count went from 645 to 550. We are still sure we are missing many manatees on the count with the water so stirred up and murky. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees in today were Flash, Gator, Philip, Phyllis, Whiskers, Annie & calf, Moo Shoo, and Aqua.

    Wayne & Cora

Thursday, January 1, 2026

The river temperature was 62.1 °F (16.7 °C) and we counted 645 manatees. Conditions were a little bit better than yesterday, but still not optimal—the manatees had the water very stirred up, mist was rising off the water as the sun produced glare, and the manatees moved around. We managed to see adoptees Merlin, Phyllis, Deep Dent, Gator, Margarito, Flash, and Whiskers. Many more may have been hiding in areas where we could not see them. This was Merlin’s first season visit, and we are so relieved to see him back at Blue Spring! Now we are just missing adoptees Doc and Lenny. We did not see Lenny last season, which was unusual, so we are starting to worry about him. We still see many new non-adoptee arrivals every day.

Happy New Year everyone!

Wayne & Cora

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

The river temp was 64.4 °F (18 °C) but the air temp was -1 °C. Manatees stirred up the run, mist covered the surface, and wind rippled the water. Manatees were very difficult to ID or even see in many cases. The manatee count during roll call was 477, but that is a low estimate more than a count. Save the Manatee Club adoptees in were Howie, Gator, Phyllis, Una, Annie & calf, Whiskers, Aqua, Deep Dent, Flash, Philip, and Nick!

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

The river temp was 67.3 °F (19.6 °C). Two tenths warmer than yesterday. But the manatees were breathing cooler air, and their internal barometers must have been telling them temps in the thirties are coming. 169 showed up for roll call. Flash was joined by Annie & calf to represent the Save the Manatee Club adoptees. A non-adoptee named Matthew (I call him Matt) likes to butt, push, scratch, and rub the canoe as he rolls against it. He is not gentle about it. He used to do nothing but sleep near the bank and we worried about him. Now we kind of wish he would go back to sleeping by the bank! Several deer came down to drink near the boil. One was standing in the run. We love this job!

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, December 29, 2025

The river temp was 67.1 °F (19.5 °C). 77 manatees were present for roll call. Flash was the sole Save the Manatee Club adoptee at the count.

Last week we were sent pictures of two dead manatees from Astor on the St. Johns River. The smaller one could not be ID’d, but the larger one was a Blue Spring manatee named Sharkbite (not an adoptee). Sharkbite, a male, was first ID’d in the 2010-11 season and was a loyal winter visitor since then. The interesting thing was that he had a microchip, meaning he had been in human care at some point in time. Due to an obstinate computer, we did not find out who it was until today. Back in 2009, a Blue Spring manatee named Della (not an adoptee) was injured and rescued near Palatka. Shortly after rescue, she had a calf, who had been given the name Pal. They were released together when Della was well, along with an orphan calf she nursed in rehabilitation. All had been microchipped, and Sharkbite turns out to be Della’s calf Pal! For researchers, it is exciting, but rather sad.

    Wayne & Cora

Friday, December 26, 2025

The river temp was 67.6 °F (19.8 °C). The manatees present for roll call were 78. Sweet Annie and her little calf were in to represent the Save the Manatee Club adoptees. In fact, Annie & calf were on the webcam about five pm yesterday so there was a Club adoptee present for Christmas after all!

    Wayne & Cora

Thursday, December 25, 2025

The river temperature was up to 67.1 °F (19.5 °C), and most manatees were spending the Christmas morning in the river. 104 manatees were counted during roll call, but just like yesterday no adoptees were present. Most of the manatees were congregated towards the river and a large group of youngsters was cavorting around the logs.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Cora

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

The river temp was 66.2 °F (19 °C). Roll call found 170 manatees present. None of these were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. Starting Monday night, it is predicted to get cooler, and we should have more to report as the week goes on.

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

The river temp was 65.8 °F (18.8 °C). 185 manatees were seen at roll call. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees present were Annie & calf and Gator. Gator was not late, and Annie & calf were side by side. That made our job much easier.

        Wayne & Cora

Friday, December 19, 2025

The river temp continued to rise to 64.4 °F (18 °C). The number of manatees at roll call continued to drop. We counted 159 manatees. The only Save the Manatee Club adoptee was Annie. Looks like Annie’a calf has a case of wander lust. Like yesterday, the calf was not with mom and unlike yesterday, the wind kept us from finding the calf. We will be watching for the calf.

    Wayne & Cora

Thursday, December 18, 2025

The river temp was 63.1 °F (17.3 °C). As the water temp was higher, the manatees counted were fewer. We counted 415 manatees at roll call. They were crowding the lower part of the run, eager to get out in the river to feed. Our Save the Manatee Club adoptees present were Philip, Howie, Brutus, Lily, Gator, Flash, Floyd, Annie & calf, Rocket, Moo Shoo, and Phyllis. Annie’s calf had us worried; we had never seen the calf away from Annie’s side, but Annie was in transect five and the calf was well into transect six. When the canoe came up, Annie’s calf headed for mom. We have seen all the adoptees except Doc, Merlin, and Lenny. We especially hope to see Lenny as he never came in last season.

Wayne & Cora 

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

The river temp today was down to 62.2 °F (16.8 °C), but the air was warmer with more warmth to come, so the roll call numbers were down. We counted 484 manatees. We saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Brutus, Howie, Philip, Deep Dent, Moo Shoo, Una, Gator, Lily, Annie & calf, and Flash. For those of you that adopted our departed Lesley. We were amazed to get pictures from our partners at Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute that showed Lesley’s granddaughter, Leona. She had a large square chunk of her tail taken out by fungus, so we thought she would be easy to ID. She never showed back up and still hasn’t, but at least we know she is alive and well. Leona, born in 2020, is the daughter of Lesley’s daughter Lennox who nursed her for two seasons. We last saw Leona in the spring of 2022.

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

The river temp was 63 °F (17.2 °C). 504 manatees were at roll call. Save the Manatee Club adoptees Gator, Lily, Una, Whiskers, Annie & calf, and Flash were in. Three sandhill cranes were on the lawn of the Thursby House. No big deal, they are everywhere. They have adjusted well to urban life. Except for crossing roads. I have been held up in traffic many times in Deltona as cars waited for the cranes to make their slow way across the street.

    Wayne & Cora

Saturday, December 13, 2025

The river temperature was 63.1 °F (17.3 °C), and the manatees had the water pretty stirred up again, especially in the lower transects making counting and identification difficult. I ended up counting 452. The park who counted before I started even counted 670, but told me many were heading towards the river. They probably felt the air warming up for a few days.

Adoptee Nick made his first season visit! In addition, adoptees Brutus, Phyllis, Aqua, Gator, Lily, Una, Howie, Floyd, Philip, Annie with calf, and Rocket were in.

Cora

Friday, December 12, 2025

The river temp was 64 °F (17.8 °C). That is fairly cold for a manatee. The wind was very calm, but a heavy mist was on the run. When the mist lifted, the glare off the water from the sun was blinding. The manatees, meanwhile, have continued to murk up the run with constant movement. If a manatee came close, we could ID them, but if the manatee was over six feet away and not on the surface, we could not even see the manatee. The Park counted 450 manatees and felt they had missed many. From the canoe, a count was impossible, but we saw 211 manatees and ID’d 200. We decided on an estimate of 422 manatees present. After the roll call, we ID’d 28 more for a total ID’d of 228. Among the ID’d were Save the Manatee Club adoptees Margarito, Howie, Lily, Una, Deep Dent, Gator, Annie & calf, Floyd, Phyllis, Aqua, Philip, and Brutus.

        Wayne & Cora

Thursday, December 11, 2025

The river temp was 65.3 °F (18.5 °C). Before we began the roll call, the manatees got into some self-inflicted uproar and mucked up over half the run with silt and other debris. As a result, we are sure our count was too low. We just could not see them all! We counted 414 manatees. On the good side we saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Brutus, Gator, Una, Philip, Annie & calf, and Whiskers!

    Wayne & Cora

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

The river temp was 66.2 °F (19 °C). We counted 329 manatees at roll call. Big jump from 163 yesterday. We did better with Save the Manatee Club adoptees today. We saw Lily, Una, Moo Shoo, Annie & calf, and Deep Dent. Deep Dent was late, but it was good to see him again. Gator was even later and arrived after the count was long finished. Moo Shoo was also in yesterday. Don’t know how I missed that.

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

The 45 °F (7.2 °C) air temp last night got some manatee attention. The river was 67.3° F (19.6° C) this morning, and I counted 163 manatees at roll call. Annie, with her calf, was again the only Save the Manatee Club adoptee present. We are getting new returnees, so some are bound to be adoptees.

    Wayne

Monday, December 8, 2025

It was wet today. We had to wait an hour for the rain and mist to let up before we could get on the run. The river temp was 68.4 °F (20.4 °C). We counted 72 manatees at roll call. The same number we counted on Friday. At least they were not all the same manatees. Annie & calf represented the Save the Manatee Club adoptees again.

       Wayne & Cora

Friday, December 5, 2025

The river temp was 67.1 °F (19.5 °C). The river was a bit cooler today, so the number of manatees present for roll call should have gone up a bit. But manatees, being contrary, the count went down to 72. None of our Save the Manatee Club adoptees were in today not even Annie.

    Wayne & Cora

Thursday, December 4, 2025

The river warmed overnight, but only by a tenth of a degree. The manatee roll call count was up by two to 102. The only Save the Manatee Club adoptee again today was Annie and, as always, her calf. Not much else to see. A green heron did a flyby of the canoe. As we left the boil after the roll call, tarpon were parading past the canoe on our right headed toward the river. I kept watching to the left of the canoe and after we had gone about fifty yards here came the tarpon parading back to the boil! Nature is fascinating!

       Cora & Wayne

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

The river temp was up to 67.3 °F (19.6 °C). We counted exactly 100 manatees, which amused us both for some reason. Our sole Save the Manatee Club adoptee present during roll call was Annie and, naturally, her calf. 

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

The river temp was 66.4 °F (19.1 °C). Our roll call manatee count was 106. The weather was very windy with a threat of rain, but we still managed to ID one Save the Manatee Club adoptee. It was Annie with her calf. Annie was also on the webcam yesterday after the roll call ended. We have seen adoptees Annie, Deep Dent, Ester, Flash, Gator, Lily, Moo Shoo, Rocket, and Una. That’s nine out of twenty-one. Twelve yet to come in. Frustrating, but they will get here if the weather ever gets colder.

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, December 1, 2025

The river temp today was 65.3 °F (18.5 °C). The number of manatees counted during roll call was 131. Rocket made his first visit this season and was the only Save the Manatee Club adoptee present. However, Lily was on the webcam Saturday. Yesterday Annie and Flash were on the webcam after the roll call.

    Wayne & Cora

Saturday, November 29, 2025

The river temperature dropped to 65.8 °F (18.8 °C) and the manatee count jumped to 136! However, the only adoptee seen was Lily! There was quite the commotion in the lower part of the spring run, but it was just two cormorants fighting over some fish followed by two great blue herons fighting over the best spot to view the cormorants. A bunch of manatees were cavorting in the middle of the spring run.

We didn’t co a count on November 30, but the park staff counted 173 manatees.

~Cora

Friday, November 28, 2025

The predicted cold front arrived overnight and the air was a chilly 42 degrees this morning. The river temp dropped slightly to 68.9 °F (20.5 °C) and 59 manatees were counted, none were adoptees. The 19 mph wind gusts made counting and identification pretty difficult.

Why were there only 59 manatees when it was THIS cold?

The river is a very large body of water and takes longer to cool down (and then warm back up) than the air. Manatee numbers depend mostly on the river and not the air temperature, so an overnight low of 42 degrees will not bring hundreds of manatees in immediately. Also, during warm spells, manatees swim further out to feed and it may take them a little while to return to the warm-water refuge.

~Cora

Thursday, November 27, 2025

The river warmed up even more to 72.1 °F (22.3 °C) today, so it’s almost the same temperature as the spring. The dark water intrusion from the river reflected that, too. Usually, in the wintertime, we see the colder dark water on the bottom and the warmer spring water on top. In the summer months this reverses and the colder spring water will be on the bottom with the warmer river water on top. The past few days that’s what we saw—the warming river water on the top!

I counted 11 manatees in the spring run today, none of which were adoptees. A few more were cavorting in the river. The cold front is predicted to move in later today and overnight. As the river temperature will take longer to cool, we expect to see higher numbers of manatees starting over the weekend and early next week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cora

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

The river temp was 71.2 °F (21.8 °C). The manatee count was 14. No Save the Manatee Club adoptees were present. Next week should be better.

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, November 25, 2025

The river continues to warm. The river temp today was 69.6 °F (20.9 °C). Our count for the roll call was 26 manatees. No Save the Manatee Club adoptees were seen. Cooler weather is still in the forecast, so there is hope for early December.

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, November 24, 2025

The river temp is up to 68.5 °F (20.3 °C). The manatee count was 29. No Save the Manatee Club adoptees were present. There were many tarpon in the boil. Hopefully the count will increase in a few days as we get a bit cooler weather.

    Wayne & Cora

Friday, November 21, 2025

Just over half a degree warmer than yesterday, but the count remained the same: 66 manatees. However, today Annie and her calf were back in. No other Save the Manatee Club adoptees were sighted.

    Wayne & Cora

Thursday, November 20, 2025

Beautiful day. The wind was calm, and for the first time this manatee season the water was clear. There were only 66 manatees for roll call, and none were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. The warming river temp was 66.7 °F (19.3 °C). We see no break in the warming trend in the days ahead. We saw another manatee that rarely shows up at Blue Spring yesterday. It was Numa, BS375 (aka Marcelo, MI45). We have seen Numa (not an adoptee) during the 2003-04 season, the 2005-06 season, and the 2021-22 season. Such sightings help refine the survival formulas.

    Wayne & Cora 

Wednesday, November 19, 2025

The morning felt cooler to me today and the manatees seemed to feel the same as their numbers only dropped by twenty to 135. The river temp was up to 66.2 °F (19 °C). Since the manatee season started, we have depended on Annie and her calf to represent the Save the Manatee Club adoptees. Today, with the warmer water and the calf doing well, Annie took the opportunity to spend more time in the river. All other adoptees were absent as well. Sadly, we found a stillborn female calf in the run. There is no way to tell who the mother was. These things happen, but that is small consolation.

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

The river temp continues to rise, and the number of manatees continues to decline. The river temp was 65.5 °F (18.6 °C). The manatee count was 155. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees present at roll call were Lily and Annie with her calf. Also in, but late for roll call, was our East Coast adoptee Millie. We have also had a manatee we have not seen for five years make an appearance. That is always good for the research program.

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, November 17, 2025

It continues warmer and the number of manatees counted has dropped from 313 to 179.  The river temp was 64.8 °F (18.2 °C). Our only Save the Manatee Club adoptees were Lily and Annie with her calf.

    Wayne & Cora

Friday, November 14, 2025

The river temp today was 62.8 °F (17.1 °C). That is almost half a degree warmer than yesterday but still under 63 °F, so manatees kept coming in. Our count was 313 manatees, and it was probably more as the water is still very murky. We had 30 cow-calf pairs today! As we have said before, cows with calves and juveniles are the bulk of the early arrivals. Save the Manatee Club adoptees were down to Deep Dent, Una, Ester, and Annie with calf.

    Wayne & Cora

Thursday, November 13, 2025

The river temp continued to fall to 62.4 °F (16.9 °C). The manatee count was 269. That leads me to declare the manatee season started on 11 November. Today our Save the Manatee Club adoptees at Blue Spring were Lily, Deep Dent, Gator, Annie & calf, Flash, and Una. Flash and Una were seen after the count, but they showed! We also had another Save the Manatee Club adoptee in from the East Coast, Millie! It is getting warmer now, but hopefully more manatees will keep coming in to check out the spring. The count is still more of an estimate, as the run is still clouded up by so many active manatees as Cora reported yesterday.

    Wayne & Cora

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

The river had dropped to 63.3 °F (17.4 °C) and I counted 194 manatees. The wind had died down but the water halfway up the spring run was extremely murky making it impossible to see the manatees. I had to count snouts as they came up for air. This early in the season, the manatees are very active and stir up the bottom. Good for them, but tough for us researchers!

The adoptees in today were Annie and her baby, Ester, Una, and Moo Shoo. More may have been hiding in the murky water.

Cora

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

The wind was very bad. I would not have made it into the run from where we are keeping the canoe, but I received help from the concession rental folks. Very difficult to ID or even see manatees due to the wind. We persevered and counted 60 manatees. Annie and calf were there, and Lily appeared again to represent the Save the Manatee Club adoptees.

    Wayne

Monday, November 10, 2025

Annie was the only Save the Manatee Club adoptee in again today. Annie does go out in the evening to feed in the river; she is not in twenty-four seven. Thirteen other manatees were in for roll call as well. The river temp was 71.6 °F (22 °C). Air temps are predicted to be in the thirties tonight, so many more manatees are expected soon!

    Cora & Wayne

Friday, November 7, 2025

The river had warmed up to 70 °F (21.1 °C) and the manatee count dropped to 17, which wasn’t surprising. Most manatees were located close to the river, probably ready to go out and feed for the warm weekend before we get a major cold front next week. The two adoptees seen today were Lily and Annie with her little calf.

~Cora

Thursday, November 6, 2025

Annie with calf was again our only Save the Manatee Club adoptee. She and the calf had 30 other manatees for company. The river temp was 69.3 °F (20.7 °C). Very calm, pleasant day. It is supposed to get very cold sometime soon.

    Wayne & Cora

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

The river was cooler today, 68.7 °F (20.4 °C), but the manatees must know it is getting warmer for a bit, as we only counted 26. As for Save the Manatee Club adoptees, we saw Annie with her calf during roll call and when it was over, Lily came by being pursued by Mr. Mann (not an adoptee). 

Saw two green herons today. The first I did not see until it flew, even though Cora tried to point it out. The next was easy as it was beside the canoe and moving its head. Normally, they crouch down very still and seem to say, “You can’t see me!” even though I tell them I can. Yes, I talk to the animals. Even though they don’t talk back.

    Wayne & Cora

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

I did not know how cold it would be today until I stepped out of the house. But the manatees knew. The count went up from 13 yesterday to 39 today. The River temp was 69.1 °F (20.6 °C). Annie is still the only Save the Manatee Club adoptee in. Had a bald eagle across the river today, there were two yesterday. I was hoping the black vultures had found a new place to roost, but they were in force today. Thirty to forty watched the roll call.

    Wayne & Cora

Monday, November 3, 2025

The river temp was back up to 69.4 °F (20.8 °C). The count was 13 manatees. Our Save the Manatee Club adoptee Annie was in with the new calf again today. Manatees will be easier to spot once they and the tilapia clean the algae off the bottom to reveal the light-colored sand. The high water does not help either.

    Wayne & Cora

Sunday, November 2, 2025

The air temperature warmed up quite a bit, but the river, which always takes longer to cool and then to warm back up, was a bit cooler than yesterday at 68.7 °F (20.4 °C). The park staff counted 35 manatees, and I counted only 20 about an hour later. The only adoptee in was Annie with her newborn calf. They had moved down from the diver entry where Annie had given birth yesterday, to the refuge. Visitors along the boardwalk were thrilled to see them. It is also nice to see some of the manatees, who we helped release over the last several years, return, and everyone so far looks good. We are always surprised to see manatees Amelia and Irma return together. They were released together in 2020, and it’s highly unusual for them to still hang out together almost 6 years after release!

We have also already seen a few new cow/calf pairs. Moms and calves usually come in first when it gets cold.

The next days look like some warmer weather again.

Cora

Saturday, November 1, 2025

Annie was our only Save the Manatee Club adoptee again today. Then with the roll call over, she gave birth at 3:15 and Cora was there! This is Annie’s seventh calf. She prefers to have them in Blue Spring run!

More prosaically, the river temp was 69.4 °F (~20.8 °C) and we counted 32 additional manatees. I predicted we would see 46, oh well. 

    Wayne & Cora

Friday, October 31, 2025

With air temps near 46 °F (~8 °C), we decided to do a roll call. The only Save the Manatee Club adoptee that answered was Annie. Annie is so pregnant she is about to burst! Twenty-three other manatees were in as well. Not enough to declare the season started. Two very calm deer were also along the run.

    Wayne & Cora