News

By Wayne Hartley, Manatee Specialist, and Cora Berchem, Director of Multimedia & Manatee Research Associate

May 2021

Blue Spring State Park: Annie (with calf!) on May 16th, Gator on May 18th, Margarito on May 13th, Phyllis (with calf) on May 3rd. Millie (East Coast adoptee) was seen in May in the Silver River in Florida.

April 15, 2021

It is about noon, and Gator just went by the webcam with one of our older and larger females.

April 11, 2021

Just a quick note: two of our recent releases were hanging at the park. We just call them “the girls” as they are always together. Save the Manatee Club adoptee Rocket dropped in and was very happy to see them! The manatee season is over, but occasionally one or two or a group will drop by. They generally just cruise the run and leave. Thanks to Cora, the webcam, and the volunteers for the sightings!

April 6, 2021

The cold front seems to be over and the river is warming up. It was 70.7° F (21.5° C) this morning, and Cora counted five manatees. Three of them were down by the river and none of them were adoptees. The park opened today for the public to enjoy swimming and paddling again, so manatee season seems to pretty much have come to an end. Our webcams will be playing pre-recorded highlights from now on until the next manatee season starts in November!

April 5, 2021

The river temp was down to 69.8°F (21°C). We counted eight manatees, and the park staff counted seven. We ID’d seven but none were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. I think the manatees know it is warming up. Forgot to mention yesterday that Mr. Brutus passed the webcam Saturday in the late afternoon. We have seen much more of him this manatee season.

April 3 – 4, 2021

Well, the air temperature for the second night in a row dropped into the 40s, but apparently that didn’t impress the manatees or they are still on their way to Blue Spring. On Saturday, the river temperature was at 20° C (68° F) this morning, and both park staff and Cora counted one manatee. It was a juvenile manatee, that we named “Pre” at the beginning of the season after the famous runner Steve Prefontaine. Although a manatee is certainly not a sprinter or track runner, like the real “Pre,” this juvenile is a spunky male, so we thought it fit. After the count was over, Cora saw a couple of manatees in the river, close to the park. Maybe they were heading in and we will see some more tomorrow or Monday.

Roll call was a little better on Sunday. We counted 10 manatees, and the park staff counted 10 manatees. Most were not the same manatees. In the end we saw at least 23 manatees and Phyllis came in with her calf. Seventeen manatees were ID’d. Manatees were out in the river in front of the run and were chasing each other in and out. The river temp was 70.6° F (21.5° C), which was warmer than yesterday and should have kept the manatees out in the river. It makes no sense, but that was what we got. We are eager to see what tomorrow will bring.

April 2, 2021

I am going to stop predicting the end of the manatee season. Cold has returned, but the river temperature is only down to 69.8° F (21° C), and no manatees have returned yet. Maybe some will be seen during the day on the webcam. It takes awhile for the river to cool and for the manatees to travel back from wherever they have gone off to. We are looking forward to the next few days.

March 26, 2021

The air temp yesterday was in the 90s. The river temp today was 73.6° F (23° C), and the park staff counted one manatee. I launched the canoe and met folks from Stetson University and the park staff coming down the run as they were removing exotics. I asked if they had seen the manatee, and they had not. I knew the Volusia County Sheriff’s underwater search and rescue team was training and drilling up near the boil, so I turned and went home. I think the manatee season is over.

March 25, 2021

The river temperature was up to 71.6° F (22° C), and I counted one lone juvenile manatee. The park staff counted seven manatees — they must have all left the spring run right before I started the count, probably going out into the river to feed. No adoptees today. The forecast is predicting high temperatures, so this might be the end of manatee season at Blue Spring. We were happy to see “Schwinn” (aka the “bike tire manatee”) this week. He looked good, besides his horrendous scars that will always stick with him, but we’re happy that he made it through the winter season, and he seems to be doing well, which is a big relief for us and I imagine all of our partners!

March 24, 2021

River temp was 71° F (21.7° C). We counted 49 manatees and only spotted three more after the count. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees at roll call were Aqua with calf and Rocket. Yesterday, sharp-eyed Cora spotted some fishing line in the run and started to pull it out so the manatees would not eat it or entangle their flippers. Cora soon realized she had a garfish on the other end of the line. I got out my pocket knife and asked for the line, but I did not use the knife. Gar are strong, and when I got it near the canoe, it broke the line. The hook should rust out in time, and the gar will not get caught on something and starve now that the line gone.

March 23, 2021

Research note: Yesterday we recorded two manatees we could not ID. One we ID’d as Streak (not an adoptee) when we saw more scars today on the recording. As to the other, I went home and began going through scar drawings and referencing photos on any possible candidates. I finally matched it to Hafiz (not an adoptee). Hafiz was in, it seemed, almost every day last season. Now here he was on March 22nd. Further study found Hafiz in a scar drawing on January 1st, so it was not so amazing as I thought. Just a little insight into what the research entails…

The river temp today was 71.6° F (22° C). We counted 79 manatees at roll call and ID’d 19 more after roll call for a total of 71 ID’d. For the Save the Manatee Club adoptees, we had Aqua with calf, Phyllis with calf and Gator. Gator was also with Phyllis. I guess he was worn out from playing with some other manatees on and around and all over a palm log in the run. Cora caught that on the webcam. We are always watching Gator!

March 22, 2021

The manatee season is not quite over! The river temp today, after a weekend of cool, was 69.8° F (21° C). We had hope when Cora spotted Lily and some others on the webcam yesterday. Later on the same day, Cora saw Brutus come in and get pushed around by Lily. Good for Lily! Today the park staff counted 35 manatees, and we counted 38. Far more than we expected! Philip was the only Save the Manatee Club adoptee at roll call, but Cora caught Gator and Phyllis on the webcam. Tomorrow may be better.

March 18, 2021

The river was 73.4® F (23® C), but it might have been my thermometer that was a bit off. I don’t think the river temp has dropped since yesterday with a daytime high of 90 degrees F (32.2° C) and overnight low of 62° F (16.6° C). The park staff counted two manatees and three alligators. I counted the same two manatees (Amelia and Irma) and two alligators, one of them headed into the river as I was launching the canoe. Although it looks like it will be a little cooler the next couple of nights, manatee season may be coming to an end at Blue Spring.

March 17, 2021

The river temp today was 74° F (23.5° C) — definitely warmer than the spring. I expect the girls (Amelia and Irma) will leave us soon. I only had them to count, but the park service found a third manatee. The girls were in the boil as usual, but the park service was removing exotic fish from the run, so I found them three quarters of the way down the run moving ahead of the swimmers who were looking for fish. The park staff and I are both pleased to see them leery of swimmers. When the park opens to swimmers, it should insure the girls stay in the river where they belong until the winter cold.

March 16, 2021

The river temperature was up to 22° C (71.6° F), so it was almost as warm as the spring. Both the park staff and I counted only two manatees: Amelia and Irma (the ones who we released at the park about a month ago). They were at the spring head — very much to the enjoyment of the visitors who came to see manatees and were disappointed that none were there.

March 15, 2021

The river temp was up to 70.5° F (22° C). Our manatee count was three, and the park count was two. We see the recent releases Amelia and Irma in the boil every morning, but we know they go out to eat. Perhaps when the river is warmer than the spring they will stop coming in. Then SeaWorld brought another manatee for release. Known at rescue in Blue Spring as “U131/20” (U= unknown or unnamed manatee #131 for the 2020-21 season), she was a very pregnant manatee suffering with cold stress. She came in on January 29th and was rescued on February 1st. Now she is known as Moira-Rose! SeaWorld was assisted by Blue Spring State Park personnel, Volusia County Environmental Management, and Save the Manatee Club.

March 13 – 14, 2021

It is warming up and the manatees are moving out. On Saturday the river was 20° C (68° F), and on Sunday it had warmed up a bit to 20.5° C (68.9° F). Thirteen manatees were counted on Saturday with seven more coming in after the count was over, and only six were counted on Sunday. None of the manatees were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. The mother manatee who had an unsuccessful birth last week is hanging around still, so we are keeping a close eye on her to make sure she is doing okay. Amelia and Irma, who were released at the park last month, are also still using the spring run, but we are hearing from our partners that they are going out into the river as well, which is a good sign. Hermey, who was released just a day after the girls, visited the park this weekend too. We can easily identify him by a white scar on his back. Ralphie, who was released with Hermey, has no identifying marks, so unfortunately we have lost track of him.

March 12, 2021

Oddly the river temp was down but so were the manatee numbers. They know it is warming up! The river temp was 66.2° F (19° C). We counted 41 manatees, and the park staff counted 46. I’m sure the park count was better as the juveniles we tried to ID kept us confused on the count. If all you have to do is count, it is easier. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees present were Annie and Rocket.

March 11, 2021

The manatee numbers are going down. The river temp was 67.1° F (19.5° C). We counted 76 manatees, and the park staff counted 75. We pushed the count as we hoped to find Mandy and calf and commence a rescue. Mandy looked very emaciated recently but was not coming in on a regular basis. We wanted to get the rescue rolling as early as possible, so we rushed by the manatees we saw with out straining to ID them. Still, we ID’d 45 manatees — not bad for a hurried count. Yesterday Cora saw a cow that appeared to have just given birth, and my film confirmed it. She had no calf. Today we found the poor little male calf dead on the bottom of the run. We recovered the calf, and the park service secured it until it could be retrieved for necropsy. Meanwhile, we found Mandy and calf in the boil and called for rescue. We watched the pair for three hours until the rescue crew arrived. It was one of the smoothest rescues I have seen, and mother and calf were soon on the way to treatment. Those participating were Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Volusia County Environmental Management, Blue Spring State Park staff, and Save the Manatee Club. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees in were Una and Rocket! We also received word from Clearwater Marine Aquarium researchers to the north that they were keeping an eye on Brutus. Good to know he is well.

March 10, 2021

With the river temp at 64.4° F (18° C), we counted 125 manatees, and the park staff counted 128. We ID’d 97. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees were Howie and Annie at roll call. Doc, Paddy Doyle, and Phyllis with calf missed roll call. The manatee season may be winding down. The weather forecasters are offering no more cool weather.

March 9, 2021

The river was down to 66.2° F (19° C). We counted 147 manatees, and I am sure the wind kept us from seeing many more. The park staff had counted 101 earlier, and I am sure their count was lower because more manatees were constantly coming in. We identified more as I helped Cora clean the above-water camera dome. Our Save the Manatee Club adoptees in were Lucille, Aqua with calf, Howie, Flash, Floyd, and Annie, who missed roll call. One of the recent releases, Hermie, had his tag removed by Monica Ross of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute. Hermie was tagged to make sure he would know to come back to Blue Spring if it got cold. Having passed that test, his tag could be removed. We hope for even more manatees tomorrow!

March 8, 2021

Good day! We counted 85 manatees at roll call, and the park staff counted 81. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees in were Howie, Aqua with calf, and Phyllis with calf. Three of the newly-released manatees were in. This shows they know where to go to stay safe in the cold. Also, a hydrophone project being conducted in the run with the Club’s assistance depends on two of those released manatees. It is nice they have many other manatees to talk to! The river temp was 67° F (19.5° C), and it should be cooler tomorrow. Not only the manatees have been out in the river, but boaters have been out on the river, too. We noted at least five new boat strike wounds, each involving multiple cuts from propellers and the knife blade-like skegs that are in front of the propeller to protect it. Wear polarized glasses for the glare, watch for manatees noses, and manatee “foot prints!” A manatee foot print is formed on the surface as a circular eddy caused by the manatee’s tail moving up and down as they swim. These will be in a straight line, and the manatee will be a short distance in front of the last one that appeared.

March 7, 2021

It got quite a bit cooler over the weekend, and although it was very windy today, finally some manatees showed up for the count! The river had dropped to 68° F (20° C), and I counted 15 manatees with some more coming in after the count was over. None of them were Save the Manatee adoptees though. The overnight temperatures for the next two days look low again, so that may bring a few more manatees in. After that, the forecast looks warm.

March 5, 2021

With no manatees and bad weather, we have not blogged. We hoped as it was a bit cool yesterday and last night some might come in, but it didn’t happen. The river temp was 69.8° F (21° C). We hope to see some manatees by Monday as the cool weather will continue for a few days.

March 1 – 2, 2021

This blog could be the same as for the last day of February, except the river temp is higher. The river was 73° F (23° C) on Monday. The dark river water was in on the surface as it was warmer and lighter than the spring water. As the manatees come in to the spring to be warm, there is no real reason for them to be here now. The count for both Monday and Tuesday was zero. All the manatees are out in the river at the giant salad bar.

February 28, 2021

The river had come up to 21° C (69.8° F), which was not surprising as air temperatures have been in the 80s during the day. Neither the park nor Save the Manatee Club staff saw any manatees today in the spring. On Saturday, February 27th, the park staff counted four manatees. Although we’ll have some overnight lows in the 50s this coming week, most likely that will not bring many (if any) manatees in.

February 25, 2021

The river was warmer today: 67.8° F (19.9° C). But we still managed to count 11 manatees at roll call. After roll call, we saw six more. The park staff count was 13. None of the manatees seen were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. Looking ahead at the long-range weather forecast, we may be seeing the winding down of the manatee season at Blue Spring next week.

February 24, 2021

The river temp was 66.2° F (19° C), which was cooler than yesterday but did not impress many manatees, and none of the SMC adoptees came in. We counted 13 manatees and ID’d 11. We had hoped to rescue another manatee we deemed too thin, but she did not show. We see a manatee that worries us, and we film it. Film and pictures are forwarded to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and they ask us to keep an eye on the manatee or agree a rescue is needed. Then we have to wait for the manatee to come back in. We notify FWC when we see it and hope the personnel and equipment are available for the rescue. So many manatees need help right now that all rescue resources may be committed elsewhere. So we worry and wait and hope she comes in.

February 23, 2021

The river temp was up to 68.1° F (20.1° C), and we were down to 23 manatees at roll call. Nick was the sole representative of the Save the Manatee Club adoptees. However, the main mission today was the capture of a non-adoptee named Chloe. She was emaciated to the point we were very worried about her. She was in, and we alerted the capture team. We kept an eye on Chloe until the rescue team was able to arrive at the park about two hours later. Chloe was almost in the river by that time. It worked out well as she was very calm (until she was in the boat!) and out of the area where all the logs are — where she usually hangs out — which would have made a capture very difficult. By noon, Chloe was off to rehabilitation at SeaWorld Orlando. Thanks to the staff of Blue Spring State Park, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Volusia County Environmental Management, and our own Save the Manatee Club.

February 22, 2021

The river warmed a bit last night to 67.6° F (19.7° C), but the count increased to 42 manatees. Annie was the only Save the Manatee Club adoptee we saw. It is very hard to predict how the manatees will react to the weather right now. We have a couple of health problems we are watching. With so few manatees in, it would be a good time to capture them if they come in.

February 21, 2021

The river temperature had dropped a bit more and was at 66.2° F (19° C) this morning, but it didn’t bring in as many manatees as I had expected. I counted 32 manatees (which was double than yesterday). No Save the Manatee Club adoptees were seen. Ralphie (the tagged manatee we helped release last week) was in the spring run again, so that was good to see.

February 20, 2021

The air had cooled down quite a bit overnight, from a high of 82° F yesterday to a low of 45° F overnight. The river temperature dropped slightly to 68.9° F (20.5° C) and that should bring some manatees in. I counted 15 this morning but none were Save the Manatee adoptees. Ralphie, who we helped release last Tuesday, was in again this morning. He seems to be adapting well and was seen with one of our bigger Blue Spring females on the webcam yesterday afternoon. It’s supposed to stay cool this weekend, so more manatees should be in tomorrow and at the beginning of the week.

February 19, 2021

The river temp was back up to 71.6° F (22° C). The only manatee in was Ralphie. Not a Save the Manatee Club adoptee he was released here the 16th. Ralphie was leaving as we finished up. Hopefully the rest of the manatees are feeding up for the next cold spell.

February 18, 2021

It was so warm this morning that I was surprised to see the river temp had dropped. But it was warmer yesterday. Today the river temp was 70° F (21° C). As we got the water temp, four manatees swam into the run! We counted 11 manatees and ID’d 6. None were Save the Manatee Club adoptees.

February 17, 2021

The river temp was up to 71.6° F (22° C). Our official count was one, but we ended up seeing three manatees. Of the recent releases: they were up north of us somewhere. No Save the Manatee Club adoptees were in either. Correction: I reversed the info on the two girls released on Monday. Irma was rescued in Julington Creek and Amelia from Grand Canal. I wish I could blame someone else for that, but I did it all by myself! Temperatures may be low enough over the weekend and into next week to bring some manatees in. On the other hand, I have seen the season end in late February.

February 16, 2021

The river remained at 70° F (21° C) today. Two manatees were in and neither was a Save the Manatee Club adoptee. About noon, three young males were brought to the park for release in the run: Hermie, Gar, and Ralphie. All three had problems with the cold weather recently but could be released after only a brief rehab period.

February 15, 2021

The river temp was 70°F (21°C). The only manatee present for roll call was a young female named Chloe (not a Save the Manatee Club adoptee). Just after noon, she was joined by two three-year-olds who had been rescued as orphans. Irma was rescued from Grand Canal, Indian Harbor Beach in Brevard County on March 19, 2017. Amelia was rescued on August 29, 2017, from Julington Creek in St Johns County. They were raised at SeaWorld Orlando and Jacksonville Zoo and released from Jacksonville Zoo. Amelia was restive and made quite a splash as she swam from her stretcher into Blue Spring run!

February 12, 2021

The warm spell continues with an air temperature high of 85°F (29.4°C) yesterday. The river came up to 68° F (20° C), and I only saw one manatee at the head spring. It was not Buckeye, so not the same one that Wayne saw yesterday. We have been watching a small alligator over the past weeks too and got a nice film of him and a manatee the other day. Even the alligator was out in the river today!

February 11, 2021

I identified 100% of the manatees in today! However, the fact that there was only one somewhat detracts from the feat. He is not even a Save the Manatee Club adoptee. His name is Buckeye, and he was a release not too many years ago. The river temp was 67° F (19.5° C). Sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit is the magic number that brings them in at the first of the season, so it is reasonable they would be out in the river looking for food just now. When and if it gets cold, they will be back.

February 10, 2021

I guessed we would see 15 to 20 manatees. We saw four! The river temp was 65.3° F (18.5° C). In November, that would attract many manatees, but after some really cold days, it does not impress them much. I hope they are doing well out in the river!

February 9, 2021

The river temp was up to 65° F (18.5° C). If you notice discrepancies in the temps, we are going through broken thermometers and new ones that need to be calibrated. The manatee count was down to 42, but at least Lily showed up to represent the Save the Manatee Club adoptees! Tomorrow, we estimate we will have around 15–20 manatees. When it finally gets cold again, the manatees may come in with new scars, and we will have to ID many all over again. The new scars will have come from boats, as the warm weather is good for boating as well as for manatees looking for food. If you are on the waterways, keep a lookout!

February 6, 2021

The river was still cold at 58.1°F (14.5°C), but the air had warmed up significantly, and the manatees were mostly in the lower transects, ready to go out and feed! Conditions were great today for counting and IDing with no wind and a glassy, smooth water surface. The high winds and predicted rain shifted into later during the day, which was a plus. I counted 331 manatees, including adoptees Brutus, Annie, Aqua with calf, Phyllis with calf, Philip, Lenny, Gator, Howie, Lucille, Lily, Floyd, Doc, Nick, Paddy Doyle, and Whiskers! New manatees are still showing up that we have not previously seen at Blue Spring this season (they are known from previous years), so that’s always exciting.

February 5, 2021

The river temp was 59° F (15° C). The park staff counted 624 manatees, a new record! We counted 503, but we began later than the park so they had no wind to spoil visibility, and there was no steam off the water today. It also helped the park to be counting from higher up on the boardwalk. With the wind, it was harder for us to get in among the manatees without bumping one and causing a panic. So we often had to say at a distance, and being down low, it was harder to count. The wind for us began a quarter of the way up the run. We had counted 223 by then. Halfway up the run the wind seemed to increase to gale force, and we had counted 420. Just an illustration to show how they are tending to stay in the lower part of the run. We had almost no manatees from the quarter to the halfway point. Then there was at least 50 manatees “plugging” the run. We had to tiptoe the canoe through. We spotted no new arrivals after the roll call was over, but all I wanted to do at that point was to get back to the canoe beach. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees present were Paddy Doyle, Philip, Deep Dent, Moo Shoo, Floyd, Whiskers, Lily, Gator, Phyllis with calf, Doc, Aqua with calf, and Una. I am informed Lucille was on the webcam later in the day. Speaking of late, Nick was in late yesterday with Doc, but after I picked up Doc’s name for the blog I stopped and missed Nick. On February 3rd, Cora observed six manatees we had not seen this season but had in past seasons. They are still traveling and coming in!

February 4, 2021

The river temp today was 58.1° F (14.5° C). We counted 471 manatees. The park staff counted 437. How the park staff counted any from the boardwalk with the fog and mist from the water mixing to foil visibility, we could not imagine. Fortunately it was lifting as we started. Adding to the mist, the manatees were stirring up the silt so the water was murky. On our side was the fact that the wind was nonexistent at the start. We ID’d 289 manatees and saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Brutus, Lucille, Lenny, Paddy Doyle, Moo Shoo, Floyd, Philip, Whiskers, Lily, Gator, Aqua with calf, Deep Dent, Phyllis with calf, and Doc. The lack of wind also kept our fingers and ears from freezing.

February 3, 2021

The river temperature had dropped to 59° F (15° C) today, and 450 manatees were counted. The park staff even counted 514 manatees! The wind had calmed down a bit, but it was still more than ideal for the count as even little ripples in the water make it hard to count and identify the manatees. Yesterday we didn’t do a count due to high winds. Lots of adoptees were in today! Paddy Doyle, Howie, Lucille, Lily, Aqua with calf, Annie, Brutus, Whiskers, Phyllis with calf, Moo Shoo, Deep Dent, Doc, Floyd, Una, and Flash! Manatee Lesley, who we recently helped release, was also in the spring today looking good! She looks like she’s fitting right back in — coming to the spring when it gets cold and going out to feed when it warms up.

February 1, 2021

The river temperature remained at 62.6° F (17° C), and the park counted 31 manatees this morning. We didn’t get to do a complete count as we helped monitor a cold-stressed manatee. The only Save the Manatee adoptee seen today was Una. Along with our partners from FWC, SeaWorld, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, Volusia County, and Blue Spring State Park as part of the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership, we assisted with rescuing the severe cold-stressed female manatee today. It was a challenging rescue due to very high winds, but the team worked together perfectly to make this happen. The manatee was taken to SeaWorld for rehabilitation. We want to extend a big Thank You to everyone who helped! Another cold front is supposed to come in overnight, so more manatees should be in the spring run in the coming days. Hopefully the wind will calm down.

January 31, 2021

The river temperature had dropped to 62.6° F (17° C), and 165 manatees were counted. The park staff counted 174, so pretty close! The adoptees in today were Nick, Una, Lily, Phyllis with her calf, and Lenny! A large alligator was in the spring run, too. It has been hanging out close to the bank opposite the boardwalk where it seems to have its den. Today it came out though and was “posing” in the vicinity of the manatees. Luckily manatees and alligators co-exist peacefully. We did see it on the above-water webcam the other day too, along with manatee adoptee “Gator.” Gator was named after he was seen chasing alligators around a few years ago.

January 29, 2021

The river temp is on its way back down. The temp was 65.8° F (18.8° C) today. We counted 73 manatees, and many more had come in while we were up the run. The park staff counted 115 manatees, which may be closer to the truth. With the manatees and boaters both having been out in the river enjoying the warm weather, we observed six new boat strikes. None were life threatening. An adult female is in that we do not recognize with a bad case of cold stress. We will monitor. There were 51 manatees ID’d. Aqua greeted us on the way up, and Brutus was waiting at the river when we came back down the run after roll call. They were the only Save the Manatee Club adoptees we saw.

January 28, 2021

The winds were predicted to be 10 to 15 miles per hour with gusts over 20 miles per hour. I was going to do a roll call anyway, hoping the winds would be later in the day as usual. The winds were up at 6:30 am and I canceled the roll call. Should be a much better one tomorrow with the cool day today and the cooler night to come. The manatees should be back in the run with a good feed in their bellies.

January 27, 2021

The river temp continued to climb and reached 68.3° F (20.2° C). We counted 12 manatees and only did that well because we counted two that were in the river. We ID’d 13 manatees, but none of them were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. We could ID more than the count because five manatees came in after roll call, all of which could be ID’d and late comers may be ID’d but not counted.

January 26, 2021

The river temp was up to 66° F (19° C). I counted 16 manatees, and the park counted 12 manatees. Tomorrow should be more of the same! I ID’d six. Nine were unmarked juveniles that could not be ID’d. Juveniles need the warm water more than adults. As I reached the canoe, there was swish, swish over my head, and the three turkeys that had been in the picnic area passed over my head going to the far bank. Long ago one brushed my arm with a wing as it crossed the river near my canoe. No Save the Manatee Club adoptees in today.

January 25, 2021

Well it did warm up as the weather forecast said it would. The river temp was 66° F (18° C), and we counted 26 manatees. No Save the Manatee Club adoptees were in. With the warm weather, manatees and boats are both enjoying the river. We have observed several new boat strikes. It is sad, but manatees have to endure and carry on with injuries that would put us in hospital for an extended stay.

January 23, 2021

It was very warm yesterday and overnight and the river showed it — it had warmed up to 64.4° F (18° C), and most of the 98 manatees that were counted were congregated by the river, ready to go out and feed. The adoptees seen were Una, Gator, and Howie. Philip sprinted in from the river after the count was over, apparently wanting to make sure that he was still identified! The forecast for the next week looks unseasonably warm, so there probably won’t be very many manatees.

January 22, 2021

As I expected, the count was down today. The river was up to 60.8° F (16° C). Our count was 210 manatees with 102 ID’d. The water was like glass, which was perfect for IDing manatees until we launched the canoe. Then the wind came up. The only three Save the Manatee Club adoptees in were Howie, Gator, and Phyllis with calf.

January 21, 2021

The river temp was 59° F (15° C). We counted 272 manatees. We were happy to see Lesley, the manatee released yesterday, as she was released not into the spring but at a very nearby boat ramp. We knew she would be in, but it was good to see her. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees we saw were Deep Dent, Lily, Lenny, Margarito, Annie, and Gator. I imagine the count will be lower tomorrow as the weather has warmed.

January 20, 2021

Cora filmed the release of Lesley while I did the roll call. Lesley has been under treatment at SeaWorld Orlando for about three years for a terrible and infected boat strike. She was released upside down as she refused to stay on her belly. The river temp was 57.5° F (14° C). I counted 380 manatees, but ID’d only 160. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees at roll call were Doc, Paddy Doyle, Aqua with calf, and Phyllis with calf. Lily and Floyd were seen on the webcam before the count started!

January 19, 2021

The river temp was 62.6° F (17° C). We counted 376 manatees and ID’d 251. That is a lot of ID’s! The Save the Manatee Club adoptees in were Lucille, Lenny, Margarito, Paddy Doyle, Una, Deep Dent, Floyd, Lily, Merlin, Gator, Phyllis with calf, and Doc. Rocket, Nick, and Philip showed up after roll call.

January 18, 2021

I looked at the weather forecast and it was windy, but I had said I would go so I went. I got to the park and realized it was a holiday. I definitely would have canceled, but I was there so I got on the water. The river temp was 59.5° F (15° C). It should be colder — I do not understand! The manatees know it is cold. I counted 360. I ID’d 123. I would have done better, but the wind finally came up just after I took a break from the roll call to rescue a boy’s jacket that fell in the run. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees that were in were Doc, Margarito, Philip, Deep Dent, Paddy Doyle, Phyllis with calf, Whiskers, Aqua with calf, and Rocket. Merlin was seen by a volunteer as I was fighting the wind to get the canoe beached. Manatees are still making their first visits. Ordo and Roos (not adoptees) were in side by side near the mouth of the run. Makes me happy to see the old guys.

January 17, 2021

The river temperature this morning was 60.8° F (16° C), and I counted 375 manatees. The park staff counted 382, so it was very close. It was extremely foggy to the point where you couldn’t see the opposite bank on the St. John’s River! This happens sometimes but not very often. The adoptees in today were Margarito, Annie, Doc, Paddy Doyle, Merlin, Aqua with calf, Moo Shoo, Una, Phyllis with calf, Deep Dent, Whiskers, Lenny, and Floyd!

January 15, 2021

The canoe basin at the mouth of the run usually has about five or six manatees in it at roll call. Today it looked like 60! When we launched the canoe, the entire bunch went to panic mode! The USGS folks working on the flow meters had the same experience. I guess it was the capture yesterday that has them spooked. The river temp was at 58.8° F (14.9° C). The river, being cold, is heavier than the warm run water, so it goes up the run on the bottom. Instead of being a 100 or more yards up the run, it was not even all the way across the canoe basin. Has me puzzled. We counted 321 manatees in spite of the commotion. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees we saw were Lily, Paddy Doyle, Annie, Una, Deep Dent, Whiskers, Phyllis with calf and Doc.

January 13 – 14, 2021

Yesterday the river was at 60.8° F (16° C), and we counted 380 manatees. The adoptees in were Lenny, Paddy Doyle, Deep Dent, Rocket, Annie, Floyd, Nick, Moo Shoo, Philip, Phyllis with her calf, and Lucille! Today the river was at 61.7° F (16.5° C) and 397 manatees were counted; however, we did a rather quick count as we had to assist with locating some manatees in need of rescue today. We have been watching one manatee that looks very skinny, but he was very responsive to the rescue team and escaped all efforts to catch him. We assisted our partners from FWC, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, Volusia County, and Blue Spring State Park with hoop-netting a very small female calf that was not thriving. It was transported to SeaWorld Orlando for rehabilitation. The adoptees seen throughout the day today were Annie, Lily, Lucille, Floyd, Moo Shoo, Paddy Doyle, Una, Howie, Nick, Phyllis with calf, Deep Dent, and Lenny!

January 12, 2021

The river temp was 64.5° F (18° C). A third of the way up the run, the wind was so bad for visibility and my ability to guide the canoe. I allowed that if it was this bad at thestart,t we would not have started. To add to our troubles, a cormorant diving into the run spooked the manatees again so the water clarity became even worse. One manatee looked like the others had tried to bury him in sand during the panic! Still, we counted 277 manatees compared to the park’s 293. Of those, 122 manatees were ID’d. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees were Phyllis with calf, Paddy Doyle, Una, Howie, Floyd, Lily, and Philip. A little incident from yesterday: We were about a quarter of the way up the run when Cora seemed to have spotted an unusual manatee, but her reaction was off. I looked and found we were about six feet from a nine-foot alligator submerged in about a foot and a half of water. He was between a ruined dock (also submerged) and the bank. He did not bother us, and we sure did not bother him, so the count continued.

January 11, 2021

The manatees were very “spooky” today. They dashed about and stirred up the run at the least provocation. Still, we counted 400 manatees. The river temp was 59° F (15° C). The Save the Manatee Club adoptees present were Lucille, Nick, Margarito, Paddy Doyle, Flash, Doc, Merlin, Floyd, Annie, Whiskers, Lilly, Philip, Gator, Rocket, Howie, and Phyllis with calf. Pretty good attendance! Brutus was reported wandering the springs to our north. Sadly, we also received word that Bay, BS562, was found dead of cold stress at Salt Spring on December 19,  2020. Bay first appeared at Blue Spring in 2008 and was last seen at Blue Spring in 2018. Bay missed the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons but will come no more.

January 10, 2021

The river had dropped to 59.9° F (15.5 ° C), which was not surprising as the past few nights have been pretty cold! I counted 384 manatees, but there were most likely a lot more. Something stirred them up, and many manatees were swimming around in the lower transects, which made it hard to count them all and identify them. The adoptees in today were Una, Annie, Aqua with calf, Phyllis with calf, Merlin, Flash, Lily, Lucille, Gator, Lenny, Rocket, Floyd, Whiskers, Doc, Moo Shoo, Paddy Doyle, and Deep Dent! Una seems to be accompanied by a juvenile, which makes me wonder if it might be her calf “Maguna” from last year. Una and Maguna were rescued in February of 2020 and brought to SeaWorld Orlando for rehabilitation after Una had both her flippers severely entangled in fishing line. The pair was successfully released in the late summer, and we would have expected that Maguna would be weaned by now. Since Maguna has no scars, it is impossible to identify her.

January 9, 2021

The river remained at 62.6° F (17° C), but the air temperature keeps dropping. This morning, 394 manatees were counted. The park staff even counted 418 from the boardwalk and reported that over 100 of them were at the spring head, which seems to be a new record! When I reached the head spring, there were still almost 30 manatees up there. The adoptees seen today were Lily, Annie, Aqua with her calf, Lenny, Lucille, Whiskers, Una, Doc, Gator, Paddy Doyle, Flash, Floyd, Margarito, Nick, Moo Shoo, and Merlin! Manatee “Sawyer,” who we mentioned in our update the other day, is now back at Blue Spring, which is good news, meaning he did not get stuck at the other site he was visiting!

January 8, 2021

The river remained at 62.6° F (17° C). The number of manatees went down as the air temp was higher for the evening low. We counted 293 manatees. We saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Whiskers, Paddy Doyle, Moo Shoo, Nick, Merlin, Gator, and Doc. We filmed some question and answer sessions for educational videos, and then Cora did an interview with Channel 13 while I went home.

January 7, 2021

Late news from yesterday. As Cora reviewed the webcam film, she picked out Aqua in front of the camera! Today the river temp remained at 62° F (17° C). We counted 366 manatees, and the park staff counted 400 manatees. We would have done more except for the birds. Cormorants generally hop off the tree limbs into the water very quietly. This time one about 25 feet away must have landed on a manatee. Manatees (the ones awake) took off in all directions, and we were lucky to remain upright. This was in the mob near the river, and the dashing about and the silt stirred up did cause a decline in the count! Later an anhinga further up the run caused the same thing on a smaller scale. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees were Una, Annie (very pregnant), Aqua, Lily, Moo Shoo, Phyllis with calf, Gator, and, with roll call over, we saw Nick. Cora stayed at the park to work on the cameras and emailed me that Merlin was in.

January 6, 2021

The river temp was down to 62° F (17° C), and more manatees were in. Cora and I counted 264 manatees. More Save the Manatee Club adoptees were in as well. The 166 manatees ID’d included Una, Annie, Lily, and Phyllis with calf. Manatee numbers seen at Blue Spring as of today this season is 639. This number includes 78 calves.

January 5, 2021

The river temp remained at 65° F (18.5® C), but the humid cool air got more manatees in today. I counted 190 manatees, and the park staff counted 187 — close enough! Save the Manatee Club adoptees Annie and Una were among the 80 manatees I ID’d today. I watched a cormorant swallow an armored catfish and asked him to tell his friends it was delicious. The armored catfish is a South American import that is doing no good for the environment. Two more old timer manatees came in for their first visit, and it was good to see them. When I got home, I ID’d one of my unknown drawings as Nacho, not an adoptee. He came in back on December 8th. Nacho was always a playful manatee and often at the boil. You have to love a manatee named Nacho.

January 4, 2021

Eighty-one manatees, 47 ID’d, none were Save the Manatee adoptees! The river temp was 65° F (18.5° C). The manatees are out in the river feeding or waiting at the mouth of Blue Spring to go out. A Blue Spring manatee named Sawyer has entered into another warm water area with abundant food at a different spring. Water levels are going down, and if they go low enough he could be trapped there. Researchers, our own Cora Berchem among them, are keeping an eye on him in case human intervention is required. Hopefully he will leave on his own while the water is still deep enough.

December 31, 2020

The last day of the year! The river temp was up to 63.5° F (17° C). The manatee count was down to 145. Of those, 71 were ID’d. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees present were Margarito and Rocket. I forgot to relate a small incident from yesterday as I was so tired. As we started up the run, a great blue heron was perched on a four-inch in diameter limb sticking out of the water. The heron took exception to our approach and  launched itself with a squawk, causing about a foot of its perch to break off and fall in the water with a splash. The bird was lucky not to be with it. Seconds later there was another splash in almost the same place. Something snakelike was swimming rapidly to shore. It was a squirrel dragging its soaked tail behind it. I am sure it blamed us. It is what squirrels do.

December 30, 2020

The river was back up to 59° F (15° C). We counted 288 manatees as did the park staff. We ID’d 170 manatees. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees were Aqua, Moo Shoo, Lily, Whiskers, Gator, and Rocket. Nick and Howie were with the late crowd.

December 29, 2020

The river finally went down in temp today to 59° F (14° C). But with temps in the 80s coming up, the manatee count went down. Manatees seem to have a fine internal barometer! I saw 325 manatees; the park staff saw more but in the same ball park. Of those, 111 manatees were ID’d. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees were Howie, Philip, Phyllis with calf, Gator, Aqua with calf, Whiskers, Deep Dent, and Doc. Merlin was seen after roll call, but given the amount of clay the manatees had stirred up he could have been there all along. Today I rescued a small girls’ flip flop. Not as much fun as the toy stuffed manatee…

December 26 & 28, 2020

On Saturday, the river temperature stayed at 16 °C(60.8 °F). Cora did the roll call but felt her reading may have been influenced by the spring temperature as the air had cooled significantly to 29° F overnight. The park staff counted 524 manatees, and she counted 446, but she may have missed some again! Sometimes they are easier to see from the boardwalk and sometimes it’s easier from the canoe. However, almost all of the adoptees were present! The adoptees seen were Nick, Annie, Aqua, Phyllis with her calf, Philip, Deep Dent, Flash, Merlin, Brutus, Una, Lily, Rocket, Lucille, Doc, Floyd, Gator, Margarito, and Paddy Doyle. Howie showed up after the count was over.

On Monday, the river remained steady at 60.8° F (16° C). Cora and I counted 473, and the park staff counted 469 — not bad. Only four apart! We ID’d 259 manatees and saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Nick, Brutus, Paddy Doyle, Phillip, Lily, Lenny, Margarito, Lucille, Una, Flash, Moo Shoo, Aqua, Rocket, Phyllis with calf, Whiskers, Doc, Merlin and Floyd. Howie was too late for roll call again! The only ones missing were Annie and Deep Dent, and we think they were in two days ago.

December 25, 2020

The weather changed from a balmy 81 degrees yesterday to 35 degrees overnight with a heavy storm and winds overnight. The wind extended well into the morning. The river temperature (which always drops a bit slower than the air) was at 60.8° F (16° C) this morning and 216 manatees were counted. The park staff counted 262, which may have been more accurate. There may have been more manatees, but the wind made it almost impossible to see anything, especially in the transects close to the river. More and more manatees started to arrive, and when I reached the spring head 53 manatees were huddled there — a sight I have never seen before! The only adoptees seen today were Flash, Moo Shoo, and then Deep Dent after the count was over. I expect many more over the weekend as the weather remains cold. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

December 24, 2020

The river temp was 65.3° F (18.5° C) again today. With far less clay stirred up, we counted 328 manatees and ID’d 167. The manatees were mobbing up by the river as it warmed to go out to eat before the temperatures in the 30s arrive. We observed Save the Manatee Club adoptees Nick, Flash, Lily, Philip, Annie, Moo Shoo, and Rocket. So far, we have seen 559 individual manatees and 63 are calves. “In peace, move through the seasons like the manatee.” Have a safe and happy holiday!

December 23, 2020

The river temp was 65.3°F (18.5° C), but in spite of the increase from yesterday, the manatee count went up. We counted 333 manatees and so did the park staff! We get the same count sometimes, but 333? The wind was not too bad, which offset the clay the manatees were stirring up. We ID’d 174 manatees including Save the Manatee Club adoptees Howie, Annie, Moo Shoo, Philip, Lily, Merlin, Rocket, Whiskers, and Paddy Doyle. The park staff saw Phyllis with calf headed into the river in the early morning to avoid roll call.

December 22, 2020

Dramatic manatee rescue at Blue Spring! Sharp-eyed Cora spotted an object near the east bank as we came down the run after roll call. It was hung on a vine and floating high. Cora filmed as I maneuvered the canoe to close on a fuzzy beady blue-eyed manatee about eight inches long! It was, of course, a stuffed manatee with the price tag still attached. I said someone was crying — either they were told it was a life lesson or they got another manatee. It was the latter. As we continued down the run with our dripping prize, someone called from the boardwalk. They met us a the canoe beach to reclaim the victim, thank us, and announce they now had two manatees! The river temp remained at 62.6° F (17° C). We counted 304 manatees. We ID’d 147 manatees and saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Philip, Howie, Phyllis with calf, Una, Annie (forgot to mention her yesterday), Lily, and Flash. At least six more old-timers made their first seasonal visit. Twenty-one Blue Spring manatees have been recorded at nearby springs. It is good to know where they are and that they are well, but it not like being here!

December 21, 2020

The river temp today was 62.5° F (17° C), and we counted 341 manatees. The count was good in the clear water, but the manatees had the lower end of the run near the river obscured with the silty clay they were stirring up. ID’s were made difficult by the wind when we could see a manatee. Still, we did well. We ID’d 158 of the 341 manatees counted. Among them were Save the Manatee Club adoptees Howie, Lily, Brutus, Deep Dent, Phyllis with calf, and Aqua. We had at least four old timers in for the first time this season. They are always good to see. Yesterday Phud (pronounced Pud) came in. I was worried about him. He was the last calf of Phoebe, a dearly-loved adoptee, before she died from complications during calving. He is 12 now, and a beat-up manatee (with scars), but lively!

December 19, 2020

The river dropped a bit more to 59° F (15° C), and 365 manatees were counted. The park staff even counted 476, but something spooked the manatees halfway up the run and many of them were swimming quickly, which made counting and IDing in the lower transects more difficult. I just waited for a while in the canoe and tried to count and ID every manatee that passed me, but I have a feeling many more passed me that I didn’t see while I was looking down at my notebook and writing. The adoptees in today were Annie, Nick, Deep Dent, Aqua with calf, Philip, Lily, Una, Flash, Floyd, Doc, and Phyllis with her calf. The calf is a girl! (Click link to see the photo.)

December 18, 2020

The river dropped to 60.8° F (16° C), and 268 manatees were counted. The park staff counted 315, which may have been more accurate today. The wind was just enough to turn the water into ripples and push the canoe around, making counting and IDing very difficult, and more and more manatees kept showing up. The SMC adoptees in today were Annie, Brutus, Merlin, Flash, Una, Rocket, and Phyllis with calf. Lily showed up after the count was over. Most likely more manatees and more adoptees will be coming in over the weekend!

December 17, 2020

The river temp was 67° F (19° C) today. We counted 201 manatees and 78 of those were ID’d. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees present were, again, only Brutus and Philip. Colder days are coming, especially the next two days. It should be interesting!

December 16, 2020

The river remained at 64.5° F (18° C), but more manatees were in. I counted 154 manatees and ID’d 101. Good old Philip was back representing the Save the Manatee Club adoptees and, to my surprise, so was Brutus! The murky water was not too bad for roll call, but it was hard to film. We are IDing more new arrivals, and with our film we are finding named manatees among the unknowns.

December 14 – 15, 2020

It was a terrible weekend as three dead Blue Spring manatees were recovered. One never made it to Blue Spring this season but may have been on the way. I will await mare details of the causes of death before I use their names. None of the recovered manatees were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. On the 14th, the river temp was 67.8° F (19.9° C). We counted 164 manatees, one of whom was adoptee Philip. The next day the river temp was 64.5° F (18° C). We counted 137 manatees, and Philip was again the only Save the Manatee Club adoptee. As we assisted to load one of the dead manatees for transport, we were told another dead manatee was reported where one of the first three was found. Though sad, it was a young manatee that had never been to Blue Spring. To close on a more pleasant note, as we approached the boil we saw two deer walking along the west bank — one of the perks of the job.

December 12, 2020

The river temperature was at 59.9° F (15.5°) degrees today, but the air was warming up, so a lot of manatees seemed to be heading toward the river to feed or stay in the lower transects (which didn’t improve the visibility with the bottom stirred up!). SMC adoptee Merlin made his first season visit! We were so happy to see him! The other adoptees seen today were Annie, Philip, Phyllis with calf, Moo Shoo, Doc, Paddy Doyle, Floyd, Una, Howie, Margarito, Lily, Lucille, Deep Dent, Whiskers, and Gator!

December 11, 2020

The river temperature was 60.8° F (16° C) and 312 manatees were counted. Many seemed to be heading to the river as it was warming up just a little bit. The park counted 371, so I might have missed some! The water was still pretty stirred up. The SMC adoptees seen today were Whiskers, Aqua, Philip, Lenny, Brutus, Paddy Doyle, Lily, Lucille, Deep Dent, Flash, Howie, Gator, Nick, Una, and Doc! This was Doc’s first visit of the season, and it was exciting to see him, although he only briefly zoomed by the research canoe!

December 10, 2020

The run remains filled with the stirred up clay from a bunch of active manatees but we managed to count 400 manatees as the park staff counted 416. The river temp was 60° F (15.5° C). The latest from the Save the Manatee Club adoptees is that Lenny came in! Now we are down to waiting for Merlin and Doc. Other adoptees present today were Moo Shoo, Margarito, Floyd, Brutus, Lily, Rocket, Annie, Flash, Whiskers, Philip, Gator, Paddy Doyle, and Phyllis with calf. We have now ID’d 422 manatees and 57 are calves!

December 9, 2020

The river temperature was at 59° F (15° C) and 362 manatees were counted. More may have been hiding in the darker and murky water and a lot of cavorting and playing was going on further up the run, which was entertaining to watch, but made it hard to correctly count and identify the manatees! SMC adoptees Annie, Aqua with calf, Brutus, Flash, Howie, Paddy Doyle, Philip, Una, Moo Shoo, Lucille, Lily, Gator, Margarito, Whiskers, and Phyllis with calf were in. Phyllis was in the boil! Brutus was very far up the run too — he usually stays closer to the river, but once he realized cavorting was going on he decided to join!

December 8, 2020

The river was down to 52° F (11° C). We are still dealing with the manatees stirring up the clay, and a windy day rippling the water did not help, but we counted 254. We ID’d 131 and saw Save the Manatee Club adoptees Lucille, Philip, Una, Floyd, Whiskers, Annie, Aqua with calf, Lily, Moo Shoo, Phyllis with calf, and Gator.

December 7, 2020

I believe there were more than 300 manatees in the run today, but they had so much clay stirred up we could not see them all. We counted 231 and ID’d 135, including Save the Manatee Club adoptees Gator, Phillip, Floyd, Una, Howie, Whiskers, Aqua with calf, Annie, and Rocket. Deep Dent came in late. We are still waiting to see Doc, Lenny, and Merlin. If you have not heard it elsewhere, the manatee that was stuck in a bike tire has returned with out his tire! Now all we want to do for him is to make sure the wounds the tire caused are healed. What a relief to see him without the bike tire! Here are some numbers for the season: we have ID’d 328 manatees, 49 of which are calves. This does not include the many unscared juveniles and adults with no visible scars. We had almost 800 manatees last season, so we have a ways to go!

December 6, 2020

The river temperature was 65.3° F (18.5° C) and 264 manatees were counted. Many may have been hiding in the murk as the park staff counted 332! Adoptees Moo Shoo, Annie, Philip, Deep Dent, Lily, Floyd, Aqua, and Gator were in! A female manatee named Faye, who was rescued this past summer for watercraft injuries and released near Blue Spring on July 15th of this year, showed up at the park today! During her rehabilitation, SeaWorld vets and staff had confirmed her pregnant while she was undergoing treatment for her injuries. Today she brought in a little calf! This was heartwarming to see and also shows once again how resilient manatees are.

December 4, 2020

The river temperature was 64.4° F (18° C) and once again the water was extremely stirred up. The manatees still have a lot of energy as it’s early in the season, which makes counting and identification hard. You certainly don’t want to accidentally go over one that you cannot see as it rises to the surface to breathe and may tip the canoe over! I counted 276 manatees, but there could have been more. SMC adoptees Annie, Una, Aqua with calf, Phyllis with calf, Howie, Lucille, Paddy Doyle, Gator, Whiskers, Philip, Floyd, and Moo Shoo were present. This was Howie’s Philip’s, Whisker’s, and Moo Shoo’s first visit of the season! Then with the count over, adoptee Nick showed up! Many other “old timers” that are not adoptees also showed up for the first time today, which is always nice to see. It is also nice to see that since Una was released back into the wild this fall, she has not picked up any new fishing line entanglements.

December 3, 2020

The river temp was up to 65° F (18.5° C). Manatees were piling in. We counted 272, and there were more we could not see as the manatees had churned the bottom up so bad the visibility in deeper water was terrible. We ID’d 161 manatees. The Save the Manatee Club adoptees present were Phyllis with calf, Margarito, Deep Dent, Una, Brutus, Lucille, Lily, Aqua with calf, Gator, Flash and Floyd. Then Paddy Doyle showed up after the count was over. It was so good to see Brutus and Flash on the first big day! Many other old friends came in who are not in the adoption program. It was good to see some of the manatees with health concerns back and well. Particularly as we have new health problems coming in.

December 2, 2020

Save the Manatee Club conducted a Giving Tuesday fundraiser yesterday that was very successful. As a part of it, Cora and I did a livestream from the park during manatee roll call. My part ended when the roll call was over at 9:00 a.m. Cora stayed the entire day. The marvelous success of the fund drive was darkened when Cora discovered a manatee had died in the run during the day. We do not know the cause of death at this time. It was not a Save the Manatee Club adoptee. Today has been much happier. The river is down to 63° F (17° C), and we counted 114 manatees. There were more, but the wind was still blowing and the waters of the run were murky, so I’m sure we missed a few. Sixty-one manatees were ID’d. We saw Gator, Una, Phyllis with calf, and Lily. Lily was in the boil — something we cannot remember happening before!

December 1, 2020

It was so cold it hurt with the wind blowing as it was. The river temp was 68° F (20° C), and we still only counted 16 manatees. None were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. The wind rippling the water made a proper count impossible. I am sure there were a few more that we missed. Tomorrow should be much better.

November 27, 2020

The river temp was 72° F (22° C). We counted seven manatees, and the park counted five! We picked up a couple of new manatees, and one of them appears to be name and number worthy. With the count over, a cow with a large calf came in. I ID’d her as Carrie who I called as pregnant on February 25, 2020. Sometimes I get it right! So it was a sparse day but good research wise.

November 26, 2020

The river temperature was 69.8° F (21° C), and I counted 21 manatees. The park staff counted 19, so we were very close! None were Save the Manatee Club adoptees — they must be spending Thanksgiving out in the river and its tributaries, still enjoying a big meal before the cold front next week! The manatees that were at the park today were mostly cavorting/playing and stirring up the bottom, making it hard to see, let alone identify them. Both JJ and Molly have very small calves who were at first hidden in the murk, but I eventually saw both of them.

November 24 – 25, 2020

The river temp remained at 70° F (21° C) on November 24th. We counted 17 manatees, and none were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. We ID’d another unnumbered and unnamed manatee from last season and remedied that situation. On the 25th, the river was up a degree to 71° F (21.5° C), so it was a surprise that we counted 32 manatees compared to 17 on the 24th. None of the manatees sighted were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. However, Cora saw Annie on the webcam later in the morning! In the afternoon we got together with researchers that do other springs, using Zoom, and tried to find manatees that had been to another spring last season. We found eight, which we considered pretty good work.

November 23, 2020

I got a river temp of 70° F (21° C) today. There were 23 manatees in, but none were Save the Manatee Club adoptees. I did not file a blog Friday as I was not near a computer. When we had finished the count, a young manatee came over to push the canoe around and rolled enough we could see its underside. It had a large white scar that we recognized from last year. We named it Belly. It could come in a hundred times, and we would not know unless it rolled over! On Thursday the 19th of November, we counted 29 manatees, Friday we counted 30, and Cora counted 39 on Saturday. That means the 19th of November is the first day of the 2020-21 manatee season! We give it three days to make sure it is not just a random group like a mating herd. Now all it needs to do is stay cool for a while!

November 21, 2020

The river temperature had come up a bit and was at 21.5° C (70.7° F). I counted 39 manatees. None of them were Save the Manatee Club adoptees, but adoptee Annie showed up shortly after the count was over. Annie does look big, so we think there’s a good chance she might be pregnant. Annie usually gives birth every two years in the summer months and had calves in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018, so we expected her to calve this summer, but she did not come into Blue Spring. Maybe she will have a calf next spring! It seems like many manatees were headed toward Blue Spring when it got cold earlier this week and are just now arriving. It is nice to see many known manatees from previous seasons.

November 19, 2020

The river has reached a temp of 71° F (20.5° C). We saw 29 manatees and one of them was Lily! Two more days of this, and I can consider the manatee season started. It is Tarpon City in the spring run. Tarpon come in for the warmth of the run as well as the manatees. I had not noticed any tarpon until today.

November 18, 2020

The river temperature dropped down to 72.5° F (22.5° C), and 14 manatees were counted. None were Save the Manatee Club adoptees, but a couple manatees were known ones from previous seasons. JJ was in with her little calf, and the calf was seen nursing on her, so it’s definitely JJ’s calf! Three subadult manatees were accompanying JJ and her calf, including Buckeye, a manatee who had been released at Blue Spring in early 2018. It is nice to see that he seems to have adapted well to his life in the wild and is enjoying the company of other manatees. Since the river temperature always drops a little bit slower than the air temperature, we are expecting to see more manatees as the week progresses.

November 17, 2020

Our last river temp was 75° F (24 ° C). A few manatees have wandered in and out. Tomorrow we hope to see some. It would be nice to start the season! Research-wise, we got some pictures of a manatee and calf. It turned out to be S114/19 from last season. The S meant that I wasn’t sure if her scars would heal as something we could recognize this season. We did not even know it was female. It is nice to see her back and give her a name and Blue Spring number. I did pick S114/19 as one manatee to draw at the end of the scar sheet for this season. This made it easier to ID her.

November 13, 2020

Long time, no blog. The week has been warm, rain, windy, and Hurricane/Tropical Storm Eta. The cool weather is not arriving as soon as predicted, but next week should finally bring some manatees in. Only a couple of manatees a day have been seen by those braving the weather.

November 6, 2020:
The river temperature was up to 23° C (73.4° F), and I counted nine manatees. None were Save the Manatee Club adoptees, but JJ was back in with her tiny calf. The Manatee Observer volunteer saw the calf nursing, so I am pretty sure the calf is JJ’s. The pair was also accompanied by two juvenile manatees. People often ask if the juveniles are calves from previous years. That’s hard to say, but juveniles have a tendency to hang with cow/calf pairs and try to opportunistically nurse from the mothers, although they really don’t need it. Some mothers tolerate this more than others. The last couple of days, Mata Hari was in with her calf. The calf must have been born in the spring as the pair was seen at the park many times over the summer this year. Most recently, the pair was seen all the way up at Wekiva Springs State Park and a few weeks later near Katie’s Landing at the Lower Wekiva River State Park. We are happy they made it safely back to Blue Spring. The female calf already has a scar from a boat strike across her tail, so we should be able to keep track of her. The forecast for the next few days looks pretty warm, so the manatees will most likely all be moving back out into the river.

November 5, 2020:
The river temp remained the same, even with the warm day yesterday, and we had 25 manatees for the count. There were no adoptees in today. I did see the smallest manatee I have ever seen with a flipper entanglement. We saw a female named JJ with no calf and then the rest of the count we saw JJ with a tiny calf following her everywhere. We would like to see the calf nurse to be sure they are JJ’s.

November 4, 2020

The river temp has continued to drop to 70° F (21° C). Today there were 18 manatees. Annie was in with no calf. She went straight to the boil. Another manatee, EC023, was in. EC means east coast. From his low number you can see he has been around awhile. We first saw him last season. I named him Pascal and gave him a Blue Spring number, BS1120. Pascal has almost no tail, and his right side is almost white from all the large scars he is carrying. It is still predicted to warm up, so we will see.

November 3, 2020

The river is down to 72° F (24° C), and we counted 10 manatees for the roll call. No adoptees but one of our problem releases was in and looking mighty fine. His name is Buckeye and after his first release he had to be recaptured for some remedial training before he was released again. We knew he was okay last March, but it is good to see him. Cora just sent me photos showing scars that we could not see from the canoe on one manatee we thought was unscarred. It is Chloe. We ID’d eight of 11 manatees we saw. One manatee was late to make the total seen 11, but the official count stays at 10. Now it will get warmer again.

November 2, 2020

The weather has been cooler, in the 80s rather than the 90s, so we decided to do a roll call today. Yesterday was much warmer than originally predicted, but feeling a rehearsal for the new season would be nice, we persevered even though the winds were kind of high. Arriving at the park, Cora, Save the Manatee Club’s Director of Multimedia & Manatee Research Associate, and I were first informed that Floyd was sighted yesterday by the Manatee Observers! There were several other manatees seen in the run yesterday as picked up on the webcam, which is almost ready for prime time. We found the river temp to be 75° F (24° C). We fought the wind up the empty run until we reached almost to the spring where we found two manatees. They were Peaches, son of Georgia, and Mel, but no adoptees. With the canoe almost to the beach to be put up, we found O’Neil. He was released last year. We shall try a roll call again tomorrow as the day is to be cool.

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Wayne Hartley is a Manatee Specialist for Save the Manatee Club. Before joining the Club, he was a Park Ranger and then a Park Service Specialist with the Florida Park Service. Wayne served for over three decades as Principal Investigator for manatee research conducted at Blue Spring State Park.